Tell me about Cleveland Bays

ihatework said:
Can you just imagine if you got the stereotypically bad bits from each breed. Jeez!!!!
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It does work ok when it comes to spook reactions - Monty has the Welsh ARGH but then the sensible “just gonna stand still till I’ve recovered my nerves” 😂
 
annagain said:
I think you're Scotland MoC? A bit far from me unfortunately. As much as I'd love IHW's not even Grandma Zelda has that much spare cash and he'd probably be bored silly pootling around 80-90 with me!
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fair enough-I know some dont like to travel, its probably just me that drives down to the end of Wales to view horses :) the stud is in South Scotland just a wee scoot up the M74 from the M6, she starts them really nicely..

there's also Maesmynach who breed large ones, generally unbroken.
 
I don't think you can generalise from the breeding to be honest and even if you could there would always be exceptions. Before the trend for continental warmbloods a TB/CB cross was a popular choice for a competition horse if you wanted more substance than a full TB, especially if you lived in the north of England. So they are probably a bit old fashioned for modern taste. I haven't looked at your videos but my impressions of the CB crosses I have come across is good, placid temperament and a tendency to produce a horse which is a middleweight type, a bit long in the back with a large head, especially if it is a 50/50 cross.
 
Still not sure what I was thinking about at the time, but I bought a TBxCB many years ago. I think what persuaded me was the farmer who was selling her, took me into a huge field on his farm with the most enormous Leicestershire hedges to try her out. When I asked if he had some jumps I could try her over, he just looked at the hedges and suggested I pick one! She was incredible to jump, but unfortunately spent most of her time when she wasn't jumping on her hind legs - true she had amazing balance! Based on that experience I would most definitely not buy another!

Oh, then she went down with Navicular - the vet said at the time that there was a common belief there was a predisposition within the CB breed, but I don't know if that was the result of any research - or if any has been undertaken since then.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
fair enough-I know some dont like to travel, its probably just me that drives down to the end of Wales to view horses :) the stud is in South Scotland just a wee scoot up the M74 from the M6, she starts them really nicely..

there's also Maesmynach who breed large ones, generally unbroken.
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Yes - only problem with Maesmynach is they tend to be cuckoo bananas! My friend has a Maesmynach part bred (crossed with a warmblood) - as amazing as he is to ride you couldn't pay me to deal with his anxiety and issues on the ground.
 
I'm from Cleveland and as such really want to like them. I dont. I also have never met one I like or would want even for free. The crosses are usually exceptionally nice looking horses but hit or miss on temperament. Sadly there is a reason they are dying out as a breed. Even carriage drivers dont seem to use them anymore. Saying all that, if hes reasonable distance I'd go and look. Hes the right size and stamp and looks like he would be a nice but fun ride. He might not be, but based on the video I'd say hes worth a look. I'd echo IHWs query over his back end though.
 
Leo Walker said:
I'm from Cleveland and as such really want to like them. I dont. I also have never met one I like or would want even for free. The crosses are usually exceptionally nice looking horses but hit or miss on temperament. Sadly there is a reason they are dying out as a breed. Even carriage drivers dont seem to use them anymore. Saying all that, if hes reasonable distance I'd go and look. Hes the right size and stamp and looks like he would be a nice but fun ride. He might not be, but based on the video I'd say hes worth a look. I'd echo IHWs query over his back end though.
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Thanks - that's 2 opinions I really value saying "go and look, but"! Will at least find out where he is.

PS Monkey's now on Horsemart. I still love him. Stupidly tempted to make the 3 hr drive. I think he's now with a dealer though as not the same person riding him in the photos.
https://www.horsemart.co.uk/heavyweight-hunter-alrounder-/Horses/575906
 
I own a purebred CB, everyone loves him on the ground but he is definitely a Marmite horse under saddle! There was a brilliant thread on here about Cleveland Bay stereotypes recently and honestly he fits every box. Obstinate and awkward, backwards and lazy whilst also being sharp, spooky and generally unreliable with an absolute enormous buck.

Bags of jump and could do a very nice dressage test if he wanted to... But he's very much a horse who either likes his rider or he doesn't, and if he doesn't you'll be lucky to get more than a llama trot out of him!

I think they are cracking horses but you definitely either 'get' them or you don't. Once they bond with you and decide that you are their person though, it's fantastic.
 
I'd be tempted to go. I wouldn't for just anything as I hate driving hours to have my time wasted, but there was something about him. He ticks all the boxes as well.
 
I had a Cleveland bay x warmblood. She was a unit. Absolutely bold as anything, would jump anything you put in front of her, but safe as anything. Very very gentle, loving nature. Could put anyone on her from novice to professional, wasn’t a horse more in the world that I’d trust.
Her only downfall was that she would break given any opportune moment, especially in heavy work, my Nan used her as a happy hacker until her last days and she was fine. But that was more her issues than her breeding.
 
Best horse I ever owned? A CB. Honest, willing, forward but not spooky. Jumped like a stag and for fun. Sadly lost her to PPID eventually. Her only negative point was one of the worst needle phobias my vet had ever seen, but that could be any horse.

I'd have another but have never found one for sale at the right time. My OH really wants another, and he's not even horsey! She looked after him like a pro (he is a total beginner) then could switch on the "go" button when I wanted it. Anyway every time anyone asks on here there are a lot of anti CB posts so I'm just redressing the balance.
 
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Nudibranch said:
Best horse I ever owned? A CB. Honest, willing, forward but not spooky. Jumped like a stag and for fun. Sadly lost her to PPID eventually. Her only negative point was one of the worse needle phobias my vet had ever seen, but that could be any horse.

I'd have another but have never found one for sale at the right time. My OH really wants another, and he's not even horsey! She looked after him like a pro (he is a total beginner) then could switch on the "go" button when I wanted it. Anyway every time anyone asks on here there are a lot of anti CB posts so I'm just redressing the balance.
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My horse of a lifetime was a Welshie so know how you feel :) The posts haven't put me off, just made me aware of things to look out for (e.g. rumours of navicular tendency)
 
I had a CB x Arab on loan for a year. Backed her myself and within a month she was out hacking alone, brave as anything. If she decided she liked you, she would do anything for you. If not, she'd ditch you pretty quick!
She could be quite sharp, and was very adept at disappearing out from underneath me, which I couldn't cope with due to dyspraxia. But otherwise lovely little mare. Only gave her up as I was moving to Italy and then Germany, and couldn't justify a horse
But she went to a family friends daughter, who had been having issues with ME. Girl was terrified on the first ride as even at 15.3, the mare was 2 hands bigger than anything she'd ever ridden before. But mare looked after her, and within 20 minutes they were cantering around the 15 acre field without a care in the world. Several years later they're out competing 64km endurance rides and loving life!
 
I had a wonderful CB x TB, mare. 16.2 and full of heart. She did loads with me, I was a teen and early 20's and did BS, won a newcomers, hunted with the drag hounds, did a bit of dressage and hacked all over.

I had a look at the advert, OH had a watch too. He says if you don't look, he might! I am not sure of his action, or why he was off for 5 weeks when for sale, but would be worth a trip to view and an offer. Not sure I would pay 6.5K for a horse who has done nothing and has been out of work, but you never know until you look.
 
I was on a CB mare when I was 11, she was 16h and carried me for the best part of 6 years before I progressed to another horse. Mum wasn't prepared to buy a pony each year so I just looked a bit small on her for a while. She remains one of my favorite horses and I have so many fond memories of days exploring the hills with friends and many many days hunting. She was bombproof and had the most fantastic temperament, mind you we got her when she was 18 months old and she was home produced. She went on to a local girl who had her until the day the mare died, she was over 20 I think. She produced a gorgeous foal, some sort of sport horse or TB she was crossed with. To be fair she was not quick but she'd hunt all day, she was super fit and never allowed to get fat and feet like dinner plates. Plus she was hogged, an absolute beauty. That my only experience of the breed and I'd have another one in a heartbeat for the right job, personally I like a bit more speed now.
 
I hunted a CB stallion many years ago....back late 80's, early 90's....when the owner died and he came to the yard I was on, initially on a sales livery, but he sort of stayed around. He stayed because he was an easy horse to have around, to handle and generally deal with. He was well mannered in the hunting field and I felt safe on him jumping rails, ditches and small hedges. He wasn't the most athletic however and I wouldn't have wanted to go down Town Thorns, or similar, on him. Having said that, he would probably be just the horse for me nowadays and given he was 13 or so when I first rode him, I've no doubt his athleticism could have been improved with more appropriate work in his younger days - he hacked and hunted and that was it.

Judge each horse on its own merits. There's many the exception that proves the rule.
 
I put my first horse, an off the track Tb, to a CB - Knaresborough Warlock - & bred the most fantastic horse. Fabulous temperament & ability in every discipline I tried. Qualified for SJ champs, did WH & Hunter Trials & always placed, qualified RIHS riding horse & all side saddle classes we ever entered, won BHS NW champs dressage & many BD classes & then bred me a super foal by Sandro’s whisker , just as good if not better (because I knew more by then) than she was.
 
Red-1 said:
I had a wonderful CB x TB, mare. 16.2 and full of heart. She did loads with me, I was a teen and early 20's and did BS, won a newcomers, hunted with the drag hounds, did a bit of dressage and hacked all over.

I had a look at the advert, OH had a watch too. He says if you don't look, he might! I am not sure of his action, or why he was off for 5 weeks when for sale, but would be worth a trip to view and an offer. Not sure I would pay 6.5K for a horse who has done nothing and has been out of work, but you never know until you look.
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Haha, I wouldn’t stop him, if he gets there before me that’s my look out! I know what you mean about £6.5k for a horse that’s done nothing but I’m finding them all about that price even if they’ve done very little. I missed out on one with a very good reputation locally that was £5k as he had no record (but knowing who bought him will have a BS record by the end of the year and will be twice that price) as I couldn’t ride at the time with my hamstring but anything else even half decent is £6k plus.
 
I know someone who has a Cleveland stallion she comes out with our hunt on him but generally stays to the back so not sure if he jumps much but I think she shows him as well .
 
annagain said:
Haha, I wouldn’t stop him, if he gets there before me that’s my look out! I know what you mean about £6.5k for a horse that’s done nothing but I’m finding them all about that price even if they’ve done very little. I missed out on one with a very good reputation locally that was £5k as he had no record (but knowing who bought him will have a BS record by the end of the year and will be twice that price) as I couldn’t ride at the time with my hamstring but anything else even half decent is £6k plus.
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I saw a 14 year old grey on Horsequest that was really nice...
 
My old boss had knaresborough warlock for a while but the police changed to irish ds so we changed breeds. We were breeding specially for them years ago.
 
I've ridden one regularly and fallen off him, liveried for several years with one and know a (now former) breeder. Tbh, neither the one I rode, nor the one at livery seemed genuine enough for my liking; easy to handle and ride - until they weren't!

I know 2 people who were nastily injured by CB's, both as it happens, loading. Person 1 had a split thigh and off work for months, person 2 had a broken jaw. Both horses were regular loaders but suddenly decided they didn't want to load that day (2 completely unrelated incidents on different yards, with different owners). If it's a TBx, it might be more genuine but who knows. I recommend viewing it several times if you decide that you like the look and sound of it
 
I had a CBxTB he was one of the best horses I’ve ever had. We had him from 16 years old but he competed at and won at Hickstead in his younger years. He wasn’t very spooky but quite sharp.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
yes, they are very Welsh lol.
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That is interesting. I have a Maesmynach mare and know quite a number of others and would say their temperament is fantastic - forward but sensible. Not bred to be plods but don't generally seem to have that infamous Welsh 'hysteria'! My mare, though young, is extremely level headed and a quick learner.
 
Middleton Park RDA group had a mare, Symphony. She was ride and drive. I loved driving her but never had the opportunity to ride her but from those I spoke to all liked her.
 
I have only ever met 2 full CB's and one CBxID, never ridden them myself but handled them. I know some people who really adore them, and I applaud those people for championing a rare breed, but tbh I found them all to be exceptionally bland and lacking a little....je ne sais quoi. Not worth missing out on a potentially good horse because of its breeding though and I would view if it ticked my boxes.
 
SatansLittleHelper said:
If I had the budget you have I'd view this boy yesterday ❤❤❤
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I know he's lovely isn't he. I stumbled across him a while ago. He wasn't advertised at the time but his owner was advertising another I asked about and she told me about him - her daughter is off to uni so they're selling two. I got it in into my head they were in Milton Keynes and was packing LW off to do an initial recce but at the last minute we established they're in Derbyshire - I'd got them confused with another in MK! The distance is the only reason I haven't been so far.
 
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