** thoughts on Andalusian horses **

Mule

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It's really not necessary to have a particular breed for any level of dressage. Once a horse is sound and trainable with strong hindquarters it will be physically and mentally capable of dressage at any level.
The key is the is the competence of the rider/ trainer.

I'd look for something with a good mind/ trainable and good conformation. Mabey ask your eventer neighbour to help. Good luck with it:)
 

Seville

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I am the proud owner of a PRE.
'Andalusian' now refers to any horse of Spanish parents but unregistered and breeding unknown.
I imported mine last Autumn. He is late cut gelding, with the temperament of a saint. He is really nicely put together, with the 'stallion look' but he is Baroque, as opposed to the sport horse type more commonly bought for UK dressage. In the few months I have had the pleasure of owning him his walk has developed to have an over track and his trot has gone from "hackney" to long and swinging.
He is however, very sensitive as are most PREs, and while I have no wish to offend you, OP, while I am certain you work hard toward your goal and running your yard, at 13 its a little early in your dressage career to be picking a particular breed that can have issues, while getting the best possible grounding, and learning as much as you can should take precedence. You are already doing well, now develop what you can, expand yourself with your present horses, and stick at it!! When you are twenty and STILL want to do this, the world will be your oyster! Good luck.
 

Clava

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My sister imported an Andalusian stallion when I was about 14/15, I used to ride him. Keeping a stallion was a nightmare though and not much fun for him I think in the end.

Now I'm in my 50s and love dressage, but I woudn't be rushing to get one of them, give me a pony with lovely paces and sense of fun any day. They often dish and it is quite hard to find a straight gaited one.
 

tallyho!

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OP if you are indeed serious...

Please look up GBPRE and BAPSH first before you import or buy from the UK.

There are very strict rules regarding PRE and BAPSH are the legal body in the UK for ANNCE if you want a PRE Stallion to breed from (!).

Andalusians really only refers to unregistered horses, so if you want unregistered horses then this is what you would look for.

PSL's are not in any way shape or form PRE's legally speaking. PSL is PURA SANGRE LUSITANO which is a Portuguese breed, not Spanish and you need to go to the Lusitano Breed Society for registrations.

The old adage, look before you leap - although perhaps not on HHO whereby judging by these posts here, very few know anything about either breed.

ETA: The Spanish & Portuguese horses are probably the original "dressage" horse. What you see in competition nowadays may be getting the modern marks but it's very untrue to say that "Andalusians can't do dressage" - and yes they CAN extend - it's about the training, nothing to do with the breed. Next thing people will be spouting nonsense such as they can't jump!
 

Abi90

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I've known many PREs and they've mostly been level headed and well mannered, even the ones imported from Spain (including one that had been used for bullfighting and was covered in scars, was a nice person albeit terrified of men but he did come round). I've known once that have done dressage, some that have hunted and several even went on to low level event. Yes, some are hot headed and sensitive but I have an IDx that's hot headed and sensitive. Some are very easy and sensible. Like any breed they are all individuals. However I would not limit yourself to one and I would definitely steer away from a stallion to make your life easier.
 

oldie48

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If you only expect to ride to elementary level then any breed, mare, gelding or stallion will get you there with proper training. why give yourself the restrictions of having a stallion if it's only going to compete at such a low level. with regard to PREs, well they float some people's boat but tbh I think they start to show their talent at the higher levels when collection is more important as their basic and extended paces can be a bit disappointing.
 

Apercrumbie

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The old adage, look before you leap - although perhaps not on HHO whereby judging by these posts here, very few know anything about either breed.

ETA: The Spanish & Portuguese horses are probably the original "dressage" horse. What you see in competition nowadays may be getting the modern marks but it's very untrue to say that "Andalusians can't do dressage" - and yes they CAN extend - it's about the training, nothing to do with the breed. Next thing people will be spouting nonsense such as they can't jump!

To be fair, posters were saying this in the context of British Dressage which prioritises extension before collection - even at low levels you are asked to show extended strides but never collected strides. In this context, a horse that finds extension harder is likely to be marked lower than a horse who finds it easy. Were the system different, the result would be different. I don't think it's nonsense to say that Andalusians/PREs find collection harder than extension. Yes you can train them to improve it, but if a poster asks us about our opinions on the suitability of a breed for modern dressage then it is hardly surprising that this natural trait is mentioned. Andalusians/PREs can be fabulous horses, can be schooled to an extremely high level but their natural action is not prioritised for dressage.
 

Micropony

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You say you are likely to want to sell in a few years, so I would join others in advising against a stallion for that reason. The only people I've known to sell ridden stallions have ended up needing to geld first because nobody wanted them as entires, and that can be expensive and risky with a mature horse.

You don't say why you are drawn to this particular breed? I have only ridden a couple and found them quite different from what I was used to. Not sure I would be rushing out to buy one tbh, although all horses are individuals so I would never rule any breed totally out. And I know lots of people who wouldn't choose to have anything else. Just depends what you like.

As others have also said, it's not necessary to look for a particular breed of horse for what you're looking to do. I would have thought you'd be better off focusing on finding something sound, nicely put together that moves well and has a really great temperament. Goodness knows that can be hard enough to find without restricting yourself to a minority breed where there's so much less to choose from.
 

tallyho!

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To be fair, posters were saying this in the context of British Dressage which prioritises extension before collection - even at low levels you are asked to show extended strides but never collected strides. In this context, a horse that finds extension harder is likely to be marked lower than a horse who finds it easy. Were the system different, the result would be different. I don't think it's nonsense to say that Andalusians/PREs find collection harder than extension. Yes you can train them to improve it, but if a poster asks us about our opinions on the suitability of a breed for modern dressage then it is hardly surprising that this natural trait is mentioned. Andalusians/PREs can be fabulous horses, can be schooled to an extremely high level but their natural action is not prioritised for dressage.

So was I if you read my post correctly - you are wrong though about extension -if anything iberians "generally" find it EASIER to collect and harder to extend. That though is a myth... have you been to a breed show?

Their natural action IS prioritised for true dressage.
 

tristar

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well i must say i think you have good taste i horses

the advice i would give if you do follow your dream, is to realize from day one that you need to ride like a spanish rider, ie. look at and try to see how they sit and ride and copy them, too much english dressage pushy riding may not suit a spanish horse.

you will need lots of patience and time riding very quietly and in a thinking way to form a partnership and to get your spanish horse fit for purpose, and get him to a place where he will do the work and you can just sit there and enjoy, that is my take on the spanish horse.

if you can truly get into riding well on a spanish horse it could just be the best thing ever for your skill as a rider.

they can teach you so much, and they compete at the top level no one can deny them that, and thrill spectators in a way that the warmbloods can`t, they touch peoples hearts with their sheer beauty and brilliance.

whatever gender you might pick, no one can make that choice for you,best of luck.xx
 

Hallo2012

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As a mare owner I can honestly say having a stallion around would piss the hell out of me.
Makes it hard for people around you, I imagine especially so at a livery yard.

But hey if you have your own land go for it?

Out of interest why not get a mare? They are wonderful! Some can be mareish but if you put the work in and take the time to forge a bond you have a partner who will work to the death for you. (Unless they're in season, which can be a pain with some female equines, so it's worth asking about that when you go to view a horse - ask to see their feed room, if there's a supplement geared towards calming mareish mares you can guess the horse is a pain, regardless of what the owner says).

and as the owner of a stallion your attitude stinks.

ive trained my boy not to misbehave, to keep his brain between his ears and concentrate on me.................you can just do the same with your mare :)

i dont like mares for my own horses and dont enjoy training them, i much prefer geldings and stallions....my choice.

and as for the comment that having 2 stallions together is a death wish.......also not true. I teach a young girl who has 4 stallions and 1 mare on the same yard with zero problems. Boys are fine together in general as long as you dont put them in a situation where they can fight over a girl.

none of that is really relevant to the OP, the hysterical attitude to testicles just drives me up the wall!
 

Apercrumbie

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So was I if you read my post correctly - you are wrong though about extension -if anything iberians "generally" find it EASIER to collect and harder to extend. That though is a myth... have you been to a breed show?

Their natural action IS prioritised for true dressage.

Sorry I meant to write what you said - that they find collection easier than extension - brain getting my words mixed up. I'm still not sure by what you mean for "true dressage" though. Do you mean the more classical school of training? Are we wrong that the current British system prioritises extension over collection?

As a side note, I've often thought this was wrong as both abilities are required for a well-balanced horse.
 

noblesteed

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I have an andalusian x connemara and he's a very nice mixture!
He's sharp and needs his brain stimulated otherwise he's a handful, but he's very nice. He's brave and friendly and very beautiful. In his younger days he did dressage and could have gone a lot further than I was capable of, but he much preferred sj and xc! He can seriously jump.

My advice regarding andalusians is to be VERY careful with grazing as it's commonplace for andalusians to get laminitis in the UK. Our grass is utter unsuitable for them. They are bred to live on scrub and straw not lush grass. They have sensitive tummies too - mine can't handle haylage at all and I believe the behaviour problems I initially had with him were largely due to unsuitable diet. Once that was sorted he settled right down.
 

Leo Walker

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and as the owner of a stallion your attitude stinks.

ive trained my boy not to misbehave, to keep his brain between his ears and concentrate on me.................you can just do the same with your mare :)

i dont like mares for my own horses and dont enjoy training them, i much prefer geldings and stallions....my choice.

and as for the comment that having 2 stallions together is a death wish.......also not true. I teach a young girl who has 4 stallions and 1 mare on the same yard with zero problems. Boys are fine together in general as long as you dont put them in a situation where they can fight over a girl.

none of that is really relevant to the OP, the hysterical attitude to testicles just drives me up the wall!

I'm glad you said that. Stallions tend to be demonised unfairly.

OP you might want to change your user name. It took me 30 seconds to find a fair bit of information about you, and at 13, you need to be a bit smarter with your internet use.

Are none of your current horses suitable? Your grey looks to be a lovely horse. Why do you want a PRE? It might be that lots of horses will fill your criteria without the sharpness and hang ups that some PREs come with.
 

Alexrouse1

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and as the owner of a stallion your attitude stinks.

ive trained my boy not to misbehave, to keep his brain between his ears and concentrate on me.................you can just do the same with your mare :)

i dont like mares for my own horses and dont enjoy training them, i much prefer geldings and stallions....my choice.

and as for the comment that having 2 stallions together is a death wish.......also not true. I teach a young girl who has 4 stallions and 1 mare on the same yard with zero problems. Boys are fine together in general as long as you dont put them in a situation where they can fight over a girl.

none of that is really relevant to the OP, the hysterical attitude to testicles just drives me up the wall!

Yeah I agree I don't understand why people are so against stallions as long as they are trained properly and learn to focus on the handler. I'm sorry for saying that multiple stallions couldn't go together I always thought it would be a testosterone battle but you probably have 10 X the experience with multiple stallions in one space than I do. Thank you
 

Alexrouse1

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I'm glad you said that. Stallions tend to be demonised unfairly.

OP you might want to change your user name. It took me 30 seconds to find a fair bit of information about you, and at 13, you need to be a bit smarter with your internet use.

Are none of your current horses suitable? Your grey looks to be a lovely horse. Why do you want a PRE? It might be that lots of horses will fill your criteria without the sharpness and hang ups that some PREs come with.
My ideal horse is a PRE because when you walk into a warm up ring your horse doesn't look the same as the average warmblood. They have a certain presence when they are in a room, I love the way they move and always have done ( i have wanted a PRE Andalusian since I was about 3) I like how they have history about being cavalry horses and bullfighters. They are a breed of horse that beauty is not only skin deep in them they have beautiful minds and personalities as well, This is why I would love to have an Andalusian horse
 

MDB

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and as the owner of a stallion your attitude stinks.

ive trained my boy not to misbehave, to keep his brain between his ears and concentrate on me.................you can just do the same with your mare :)

i dont like mares for my own horses and dont enjoy training them, i much prefer geldings and stallions....my choice.

and as for the comment that having 2 stallions together is a death wish.......also not true. I teach a young girl who has 4 stallions and 1 mare on the same yard with zero problems. Boys are fine together in general as long as you dont put them in a situation where they can fight over a girl.

none of that is really relevant to the OP, the hysterical attitude to testicles just drives me up the wall!

Here is my part of Spain there are few geldings. Most male horses are stallions. Now, I will be the first to admit that the Spanish can be quite rough in the way they handle their horses... but, I have been at horse fairs where there are stallions everywhere, tied up, being ridden together, transported together. We are talking hundreds of horses.. mares, geldings, stallions, foals. Never once seen a scene caused by a stallion. I have friends who have stallions and I have hacked with them. Their stallion was impeccably behaved. I think a lot of it is training and exposing them to situations. Like with any other horse. If you keep a stallion isolated from other horses and mares, then sure, on the occasion where you do come across other horses, it may well go a bit crazy.
 

mariew

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and as for the comment that having 2 stallions together is a death wish.......also not true. I teach a young girl who has 4 stallions and 1 mare on the same yard with zero problems. Boys are fine together in general as long as you dont put them in a situation where they can fight over a girl.
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That was me - but you misread the post, i didn't say it was a deathwish, it was a practicality comment from experience with very well trained stallions and experienced handlers, i said what would you do if two stallions decided to go for each other, knowing that the OP is 13, and doesn't always have adults on yard (correct me if i'm wrong).

OP i think you seem very sensible and experienced for your age, and i know this sounds patronising, it really isn't meant to be, but you are only 13, don't go for a PRE stallion right now, gelding by all means, they still come with heaps of presence. There are so many other options, hold fire for a few more years. I totally get why you like them, i love them too, for their presence, sensitivity and agility. I hope you find what you are looking for!
 
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and as the owner of a stallion your attitude stinks.

ive trained my boy not to misbehave, to keep his brain between his ears and concentrate on me.................you can just do the same with your mare :)

i dont like mares for my own horses and dont enjoy training them, i much prefer geldings and stallions....my choice.

and as for the comment that having 2 stallions together is a death wish.......also not true. I teach a young girl who has 4 stallions and 1 mare on the same yard with zero problems. Boys are fine together in general as long as you dont put them in a situation where they can fight over a girl.

none of that is really relevant to the OP, the hysterical attitude to testicles just drives me up the wall!

My attitude doesn't stink - the only stallion I've tried to ride/work my horses around was a complete *******, made doing anything with my girls impossible, the owner specifically requested that i stop lunging so she could ride past(!), in fairness I think it was young but rider could not control it properly, and if OP is really 13 surely they won't be able to either? Particularly a big fit dressage stallion??
 
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Auslander

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My attitude doesn't stink - the only stallion I've tried to ride/work my horses around was a complete *******, made doing anything with my girls impossible, the owner specifically requested that i stop lunging so she could ride past(!), in fairness I think it was young but rider could not control it properly, and if OP is really 13 surely they won't be able to either? Particularly a big fit dressage stallion??

That was ONE stallion! You can't tar every single entire with the same brush, based on the behaviour of one. That was poor training/handling, rather than normal ridden stallion behaviour
 

Alexrouse1

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My attitude doesn't stink - the only stallion I've tried to ride/work my horses around was a complete *******, made doing anything with my girls impossible, the owner specifically requested that i stop lunging so she could ride past(!), in fairness I think it was young but rider could not control it properly, and if OP is really 13 surely they won't be able to either? Particularly a big fit dressage stallion??

Look i did not start this thread to have my ability as a rider judged by people who have never met me. I will do my best to make sure that im able to control what ever horse I decide to buy in as many situations as possible. But you can't give all stallions bad press based on one stallion. True you get stallion that are better handled than others but I don't believe that any horse is born bad even stallions it the way they are brought up and treated. They don't need to be locked away and hiden from mares they need to be exposed to them so when they see a mare in a field or on a hack they don't go all hormonal but yet again this is down to how the horse is brought up and trained. So maybe the stallion you encountered was young or not as well handled on some others but don't go shaming people on their age and ability.
 

Alexrouse1

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and as for the comment that having 2 stallions together is a death wish.......also not true. I teach a young girl who has 4 stallions and 1 mare on the same yard with zero problems. Boys are fine together in general as long as you dont put them in a situation where they can fight over a girl.
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That was me - but you misread the post, i didn't say it was a deathwish, it was a practicality comment from experience with very well trained stallions and experienced handlers, i said what would you do if two stallions decided to go for each other, knowing that the OP is 13, and doesn't always have adults on yard (correct me if i'm wrong).

OP i think you seem very sensible and experienced for your age, and i know this sounds patronising, it really isn't meant to be, but you are only 13, don't go for a PRE stallion right now, gelding by all means, they still come with heaps of presence. There are so many other options, hold fire for a few more years. I totally get why you like them, i love them too, for their presence, sensitivity and agility. I hope you find what you are looking for!

My family lives on site at my yard so there is always an adult on hand if needed. I understand what you are saying but I think that I will still try a few and if I find the right horse and it turns out to be a stallion I will buy it but only if it is right for me also my instructor and vet would have to look at it first and of course a 5 star vetting is necessary for any horse I may choose. As regards for if the stallions got in a tizzy we have 6ft metal poles at the yard that we used when the mares came into contact with each other they were enemy's so we used to stick the poles in between them and push them apart but we NEVER hit them with the poles we only used the poles to force the mares apart in emergencies and would do the same with stallions if that didn't work we would recall our 'horse whisperer' and have 'bonding classes' between them.
 

Seville

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I posted earlier in this thread as the owner of a PRE. I also own a TB and a WB.
Op, you are obviously doing well, but I think most posters have advised caution to you for good reasons.
Playing Devils Advocate here, but you have school exams, then more major exams, not to mention boys, which usually means all interest in horses lost. You need to get past all these major life milestones before you even consider causing your parents greater expense of a horse you probably don't need. At 13, you can't yet be that honest with yourself so others will do it for you.
Edited to add all credibility you may have had has gone IMHO in your previous post regarding "you buying it" and metal poles.
 
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Alexrouse1

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I posted earlier in this thread as the owner of a PRE. I also own a TB and a WB.
Op, you are obviously doing well, but I think most posters have advised caution to you for good reasons.
Playing Devils Advocate here, but you have school exams, then more major exams, not to mention boys, which usually means all interest in horses lost. You need to get past all these major life milestones before you even consider causing your parents greater expense of a horse you probably don't need. At 13, you can't yet be that honest with yourself so others will do it for you.
Edited to add all credibility you may have had has gone IMHO in your previous post regarding "you buying it" and metal poles.
School exams aren't for another two years and I understand about the whole boys things but I'm not really that eligible for a boyfriend anytime soon lol I'm not really part of the 'popular crowd' I understand what you are saying tho. I want to be a riding instructor so my life will always be geared around horses.
 
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