Talk to me about "Quarter Horses".

[DJ]

I will be looking to get a horse next year, I was pretty sure I wanted a stocky sturdy coblet after having my highly strung plonker for so long. But, it has been put to me to think about Quarter horses ... So ... those of you who have them, what are their personalities like, temperaments (for the most part) issues/foibles etc?

I didn`t really want anything bigger than about 14hh really, do they come that small lol .... any info on the breed would be appreciated

 

[Imogen Rose]

The QH is my absolute favorite! The personality will vary according to the bloodline, but you can get some really chilled, nice to be around types. They are more expensive in the UK because they are unusual, but I would definitely say they are worth the little bit extra.
They do come that small! I worked on a ranch where one year we had a 13.1, 13.2 and a 13.3! Interestingly all from the same blood line. The reigning types are more likely to be small, but you wont have to look very hard Good luck!

 

[DJ]

Ooohhh thank you for that, it`s good to know they come in smaller sizes What sort of budget do I need to be looking at? I`m thinking of getting a youngster and having them started professionally, so it`ll be good to have a target for saving up lol

 

[Spring Feather]

I own a lot of quarter horses and they are the most fabulous horses ever. Mine are all related, and all are working cattle stock bloodlines, except for one who is reining bred (and yes he is small framed and only 14.1hh). The rest of mine are all between 14.2hh and 15.3hh and as they are cattle stock horses they are quite chunky horses. There are a few different strains of AQHAs so you need to figure out what type you are looking for. I'll speak about working stock though as that's what I have. They are very sane, very biddable and a real pleasure to own. They are happy to potter around quietly and normally in a totally non-spooky fashion but don't forget they are the fastest horses in the world over a quarter mile so if you ask them to zing it up a bit, they will. If they have been produced correctly then they will turn on a dime, will stop immediately on command and will gallop off from a standstill on cue. AQHAs won't ever set the world on fire in the English riding competition ring but they will generally be good enough at everything. They are totally versatile and most definitely work with their rider. They're very easy horses to handle and generally have a very calm and sensible nature.

I am talking about purebred registered AQHAs only. I have no crossbreds however I often read people on here talking about their QHs and sometimes I think 'eh?' until it's later disclosed that the horse actually isn't a purebred horse, so obviously if you look at buying a crossbreed then you are not going to get a true to form AQHA.

 

[MasterBenedict]

In my experience you tend to get 2 types - the very laid back and the bat s**t crazy! Thankfully the majority in the uk fall into the first category. You will definitely find one at around the 14hh mark and they are very strong for their size - think stocky native pony strong. They are bred to work in heavy western tack and carry full grown men all day long doing intensive work. There are the 'halter bred' QH's, which personally I think are awful and wouldn't stand up to 1 hours work let alone a full day because of the awful conformation they are bred to have, but again these are not common in the uk. They are wonderful horses and quite sensitive, again depending in breeding - you really need to look into the breeding to see if there is a high % arab, thoroughbred etc.

 

[cptrayes]

Mine is the dopiest creature ever! So sweet and cuddly. He is young as yet, but he looks set to be an absolute doddle to manage and ride once I have completed his base level training. He is currently still a little unsure of his own abilities.

Someone at a lesson I went to said you can't get quarter horses to do anything that they don't want to do, but I'm finding him slow, but not difficult in any real sense.

He's my first, and unless he turns out to be too quiet for me, I wouldn't rule out another.

 

[cptrayes]

In my experience you tend to get 2 types - the very laid back and the bat s**t crazy! Thankfully the majority in the uk fall into the first category. You will definitely find one at around the 14hh mark and they are very strong for their size - think stocky native pony strong. They are bred to work in heavy western tack and carry full grown men all day long doing intensive work. There are the 'halter bred' QH's, which personally I think are awful and wouldn't stand up to 1 hours work let alone a full day because of the awful conformation they are bred to have, but again these are not common in the uk. They are wonderful horses and quite sensitive, again depending in breeding - you really need to look into the breeding to see if there is a high % arab, thoroughbred etc.

Mine's halter bred and he's lovely, very athletic, lovely paces, and jumps for fun (loose currently, but high hopes for ridden later). I'm not sure what his mother was though, so it may be that halter breds can make decent crosses.

 

[Imogen Rose]

As others have said, they are very chilled and easy to ride if trained correctly. Riding english trained and bred horses, I find it bizzare! I have got used to coming to a sliding stop because I slid my feet forwards, spinning the opposite direction because I turned my shoulders and twitched a foot, galloping in the other direction because I made a kissing noise. There is nothing else like it Teaching and training a horse to do this is so rewarding, they really seem to love it!

 

[MasterBenedict]

Mine's halter bred and he's lovely, very athletic, lovely paces, and jumps for fun (loose currently, but high hopes for ridden later). I'm not sure what his mother was though, so it may be that halter breds can make decent crosses.

Apologies - I hope I haven't offended you. Perhaps I should have made it obvious that these are the horses on the American show circuit that I'm talking about, see below for an example. I haven't ever seen any in the UK with this 'look' thank god. 'Impressive' bloodlines and more than likely to have HYPP and yet still approved as a brood mare *facepalm*

I'm sure your QH is lovely. I have a pb appaloosa with a very high % quarter horse and he is a delight. 3 yrs old and the most easy young horse I've ever known

P.s OP - do make sure any youngsters you are looking at have been tested to be HYPP negative!

 

[cptrayes]

No, don't worry. Mine is by Like a Clu and some of his relatives certainly look a bit odd As it happens, mine looks like he has picked up just enough of the heavy muscling to make him mature into a lovely solid horse.


OP, I would also test for hereditary EPSM, test is done in Manchester by mail order for 55 quid. It is very prevalent in the breed.

 

[MasterBenedict]

No, don't worry. Mine is by Like a Clu and some of his relatives certainly look a bit odd As it happens, mine looks like he has picked up just enough of the heavy muscling to make him mature into a lovely solid horse.

Sounds similar to mine, I swear his arse gets bigger by the day XD hehe! By god he can shift when he wants to, but thankfully is more inclined to be most happy when being a dope on a rope

 

[DJ]

Wow, thank you, it`s the one thing I love about this forum, it doesn`t matter how obscure you think your questions are, there are plenty of knowledgeable people who can help CPT thank you for the heads up about EPSM.

Spring Feather, I`m wanting to do hours of hacking/pleasure rides/beach rides and ultimately endurance. Not into the "English" riding/showing ... Just want to go on adventures round our amazing dales, valleys and beaches

Thank you all, I now have plenty of food for thought.

 

[cptrayes]

Sounds similar to mine, I swear his arse gets bigger by the day XD hehe! By god he can shift when he wants to, but thankfully is more inclined to be most happy when being a dope on a rope

What a spectacular colour!

Here's mine, he's a lot bigger now:

 

[cptrayes]

Wow, thank you, it`s the one thing I love about this forum, it doesn`t matter how obscure you think your questions are, there are plenty of knowledgeable people who can help CPT thank you for the heads up about EPSM.

Spring Feather, I`m wanting to do hours of hacking/pleasure rides/beach rides and ultimately endurance. Not into the "English" riding/showing ... Just want to go on adventures round our amazing dales, valleys and beaches

Thank you all, I now have plenty of food for thought.

No problem, I had mine done, it took two days after I sent them some hair roots out of his mane. It came back negative thankfully.

 

[asmp]

What about a Criollo? I've owned one of the past 7years and he's been brilliant. He plods around the country lanes with me but my daughter does TREC, endurance, HT, SJ and hunting with him plus he also does RDA once a week. A brilliant all rounder.

 

[MasterBenedict]

What a spectacular colour!

Here's mine, he's a lot bigger now:

Gorgeous! I think I remember you posting a pic when you first got him and I was v. Jealous! How big will he make?

 

[cptrayes]

Gorgeous! I think I remember you posting a pic when you first got him and I was v. Jealous! How big will he make?

He's 16.2 now, much more muscles and deeper through the girth than he was then, and four years old. So he's going to go a minimum of 16.3 I think. But he is so, so sweet, I've never met a horse like him. He's terribly slow to learn, very unsure of himself, but so gentle and kind. He's not the kind of horse I would have liked a few years ago, but he may be a keeper now. And if he's not, how much is a quiet horse who looks like him worth ?!?!

 

[MochaDun]

I've only known one, a mare that a friend had - she was of very good breeding and had had several foals herself. She was trained in Western/reining and ridden in a Western saddle, my friend used to have a few lessons but mainly hacked. She was the sweetest natured horse, quite fast and could spin on a sixpence due to her former training. I had a Western lesson on her once but it wasn't for me. She had the most amazing back leg muscles too which I loved for some reason.

 

[TPO]

Unless I've missed something the horses pictured on this thread aren't purebred QHs. QHs are solid; coloured are Paints. A lot if paints have high % QH breeding in them nonetheless.

I worked with QHs on cattle stations in the outback waaaay back in 2003 and came home well and truly bitten by the bug.

A long story short I ended up with a mare from the Impressive (halter) line. She was HYPP N/N and didn't have the strange shape and excessive muscling of the Halter horse posted.

She was approx14.2hh and as solid as they come. Extremely intelligent and going by all the "colourful" stories from her past she excelled at training her humans. When we went to view her she "had" to be cross tied to stop her biting and everytime she stamped her hoof (a lot!) she was given a carrot to pacify her! The then owner actually had a sandwich bag full of carrot slices always on her person to enable her to handle the mare. Funnily enough we didn't have any bother with her although she was always a diva/princess.

We unfortunately lost her back in 2009 but I just bought a 2yr old gelding in June this year.

It didn't go to plan initially as he arrived directly from the stud looking like this....

That was 12 June and this was him in October

I don't have the energy to upload the most recent pictures to photo bucket but his album is public on my Facebook

https://m.facebook.com/jill.stephen.9/albums/10152476963009914/?ref=bookmark

Anyway... He's an absolute dream to work with having arrived very nervous and clearly not a happy boy

The better his condition and health has gotten the more his personality had come out. I can't wait to get him going under saddle but that's a while away yet. He's been over/through poles, tarps and cones. For walks up the woods, through narrow gaps, leads excellently and is very quick to learn.

I think QHs are the border collie of the horse world. They are very clever and need stimulation/a job or purpose. Even if that job is "only" to hack the ones I've known have had a very strong work ethic and have been naturally curious.

Have a look of at the AQHA UK and WES site. My geography sucks but there are places like Oakridge QHs and Sovereign QHs where you can get lessons on their QHs and get a feel for them and western. Western Horse UK is a brilliant magazine to subscribe too as well.

I can't see past them but don't tell my TB

 

[Leo Walker]

I own a lot of quarter horses and they are the most fabulous horses ever. Mine are all related, and all are working cattle stock bloodlines, except for one who is reining bred (and yes he is small framed and only 14.1hh). The rest of mine are all between 14.2hh and 15.3hh and as they are cattle stock horses they are quite chunky horses. There are a few different strains of AQHAs so you need to figure out what type you are looking for. I'll speak about working stock though as that's what I have. They are very sane, very biddable and a real pleasure to own. They are happy to potter around quietly and normally in a totally non-spooky fashion but don't forget they are the fastest horses in the world over a quarter mile so if you ask them to zing it up a bit, they will. If they have been produced correctly then they will turn on a dime, will stop immediately on command and will gallop off from a standstill on cue. AQHAs won't ever set the world on fire in the English riding competition ring but they will generally be good enough at everything. They are totally versatile and most definitely work with their rider. They're very easy horses to handle and generally have a very calm and sensible nature.

I am talking about purebred registered AQHAs only. I have no crossbreds however I often read people on here talking about their QHs and sometimes I think 'eh?' until it's later disclosed that the horse actually isn't a purebred horse, so obviously if you look at buying a crossbreed then you are not going to get a true to form AQHA.

This sounds perfect for me! I am a physical wreck and very fat at the minute But come spring I will want something safe but with a bit of zing! And I think western riding sounds ideal for me. I am massively put off by their conformation though I went to view one with a friend, he had been bought as a youngster to be a breeding stallion then gelded as he was a bit of a git! Lovely, lovely horse who had had literally thousands soent on western training. He was so upright behind I thought I was seeing things! I'm now looking at paints who seem to have the same qualities but with much, much better conformation

 

[MasterBenedict]

Unless I've missed something the horses pictured on this thread aren't purebred QHs. QHs are solid; coloured are Paints. A lot if paints have high % QH breeding in them nonetheless.

My post stated that my horse is pb appaloosa with a high percentage of QH.

What a fab job you have done with him after arriving in that state! Shame on the breeders!!!

 

[TPO]

Yes sorry, re-read Master Benedict

 

[TTK]

Umm I've got an American bred AH,he's intelligent, crazy and the best horse I have ever owned. It's not a type, its the blood lines
. if you want something calm & small look at David Deptford's horses ( Sovereign QH). Oh yes, and ask for PSSM and Herda tests

 

[MasterBenedict]

Umm I've got an American bred AH,he's intelligent, crazy and the best horse I have ever owned. It's not a type, its the blood lines
. if you want something calm & small look at David Deptford's horses ( Sovereign QH). Oh yes, and ask for PSSM and Herda tests

I meant this - SOME american bloodlines are used to breed a certain type seen in the show circuit. Not ALL american bred QH. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Spring Feather]

OP, please, if you truly are interested in purchasing a registered AQHA then there are (if you're lucky) a very small handful of people on here who actually know what we are talking about when it comes to AQHA pedigrees. I'm talking about those who fully understand the bloodlines, who know what type these horses are just by looking quickly at the pedigrees, and who have years of experience in producing AQHAs. I breed, raise and produce registered foundation-bred AQHAs and am most certainly happy to help if you are serious about buying a registered AQHA and need some help understanding the bloodlines

 

[DJ]

OP, please, if you truly are interested in purchasing a registered AQHA then there are (if you're lucky) a very small handful of people on here who actually know what we are talking about when it comes to AQHA pedigrees. I'm talking about those who fully understand the bloodlines, who know what type these horses are just by looking quickly at the pedigrees, and who have years of experience in producing AQHAs. I breed, raise and produce registered foundation-bred AQHAs and am most certainly happy to help if you are serious about buying a registered AQHA and need some help understanding the bloodlines

Thank you, I`m very lucky to have an amazing person to come horse shopping with me when the time is right, and of course I would be very appreciative if you could take a look over the breeding for me too. I suppose I started this thread because I wondered what QH were like to live with in general, from a number of different peoples point of view/perspective if you see what I mean.

 

[Equi]

Apologies - I hope I haven't offended you. Perhaps I should have made it obvious that these are the horses on the American show circuit that I'm talking about, see below for an example. I haven't ever seen any in the UK with this 'look' thank god. 'Impressive' bloodlines and more than likely to have HYPP and yet still approved as a brood mare *facepalm*

I'm sure your QH is lovely. I have a pb appaloosa with a very high % quarter horse and he is a delight. 3 yrs old and the most easy young horse I've ever known

P.s OP - do make sure any youngsters you are looking at have been tested to be HYPP negative!

Oh god, sorry to anyone who has a horse like this but this is vile. That ass only looks good on a bull!

 

[Spring Feather]

Oh god, sorry to anyone who has a horse like this but this is vile. That ass only looks good on a bull!

Skipper W linebred. Halter horse. Halter horses are not a representation of what most AQHA owners have or want but where there's big money for doing not a lot of anything then aberrations like this will continue to be bred.

 

[cptrayes]

......Unless I've missed something the horses pictured on this thread aren't purebred QHs. QHs are solid; coloured are Paints. A lot if paints have high % QH breeding in them nonetheless

I answered because I thought the OP put quarter horse in the title in quotes because she wanted to know about qh types and cross breeds.

 

[cptrayes]

OP, please, if you truly are interested in purchasing a registered AQHA then there are (if you're lucky) a very small handful of people on here who actually know what we are talking about when it comes to AQHA pedigrees. I'm talking about those who fully understand the bloodlines, who know what type these horses are just by looking quickly at the pedigrees, and who have years of experience in producing AQHAs. I breed, raise and produce registered foundation-bred AQHAs and am most certainly happy to help if you are serious about buying a registered AQHA and need some help understanding the bloodlines

Unless you are into showing, though SF, if you are only looking for a pleasant little horse to do everything on as the OP first suggested, isn't it better to judge the horse that you see in front of you?

My cross bred, for example, has a father who you pulled to shreds on another thread, whereas everyone who meets him says what a delightful creature he is and how well he moves and I feel lucky to own him