Trakehners...

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Charla

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Initiated by a post in competing and training....I’ve heard three people recently, who have all commented about how sharp Trakehners are (or have experience of one they that know is). I know you can’t tar one breed as all sharp....but what are people’s personal experiences with them?
 
I've had experience of two - one was super lazy and switched off, very nappy and would rear at a moments notice - belonged to a hacking type person, had been a showjumper
The other was a high level dressage horse who was delightful on the ground and like a spooky ironing board to ride ?
 
Charla said:
Initiated by a post in competing and training....I’ve heard three people recently, who have all commented about how sharp Trakehners are (or have experience of one they that know is). I know you can’t tar one breed as all sharp....but what are people’s personal experiences with them?
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Cortez on here used to breed them. I would ask her.
 
I used to breed Trakehners so have a working knowledge of background and bloodlines. Some lines are hotter than others, there was a lot of TB and Arab used in the foundation of the breed, so they are considered amongst the hottest of the warmbloods.

I must say I have not found them to be particularly difficult compared to other WB studbooks, but then I followed my own breeding philosophy and was looking to produce rideable horses. For instance I would say that Swedish Warmbloods and Selle Francais were more difficult to ride.
 
Cortez said:
I used to breed Trakehners so have a working knowledge of background and bloodlines. Some lines are hotter than others, there was a lot of TB and Arab used in the foundation of the breed, so they are considered amongst the hottest of the warmbloods.
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is it ok to PM you?
 
I've had lots from one particular line and my current mare is from a different line. None have been hot or sharp, but maybe a bit 'opinionated'?!
 
I used to own one by Holme Grove Prokofiev, I wouldn't necessarily call him sharp as he wasn’t silly or anything but he wouldn't have been suitable for a novice. Sharp can be a really difficult term to define and what one person calls a bit sharp someone else might call dangerous or homicidal. It's generally best to be aware of the stereotypes but judge each horse as an individual.
 
So as not to derail the comp thread I'll answer here! No idea of his breeding off the top of my head, but my sisters is a Russian bred one, not European.

He was bought as a RC horse, pretty sure he was dopped up, has had everything go wrong with him, costs us a fortune in rugs on the other horses, has basically never done anything useful with us because his brain melts at random and inopportune moments, but has so much character we've still got the bugger!!!

This was him in his hey day at about 12 years old!

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Had one on loan for a few years. Sane in constant work but a nightmare if he had time off - winter was a struggle. Loved riding him.

We had one with the Holme Grove prefix on my old yard. Stunning - more araby head than my old boy - but quite sharp. Also better in work.
 
Maybe showing my ignorance but are most warmbloods not pretty similar in that they’re sports bred ultimately mongrels. Obviously some books are more open than others and Trakehners are pretty closed book but I don’t think you can generalise any of the breeds. The aim for a lot of the warmblood breeding is an elite sports horse, some will be too hot even for a professional set up to get a tune out of, most will fall in the middle in that they’re still sports animals but have good ride ability and there will be the odd complete plod. Some are bred to be amateurs lower level horses with higher priority on temperament but mainly I think they’re the ‘failed’ ones we can afford!
 
TheHairyOne said:
So as not to derail the comp thread I'll answer here! No idea of his breeding off the top of my head, but my sisters is a Russian bred one, not European.

He was bought as a RC horse, pretty sure he was dopped up, has had everything go wrong with him, costs us a fortune in rugs on the other horses, has basically never done anything useful with us because his brain melts at random and inopportune moments, but has so much character we've still got the bugger!!!

This was him in his hey day at about 12 years old!

View attachment 49581
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At least he's handsome:p
 
rara007 said:
Maybe showing my ignorance but are most warmbloods not pretty similar in that they’re sports bred ultimately mongrels. Obviously some books are more open than others and Trakehners are pretty closed book but I don’t think you can generalise any of the breeds. The aim for a lot of the warmblood breeding is an elite sports horse, some will be too hot even for a professional set up to get a tune out of, most will fall in the middle in that they’re still sports animals but have good ride ability and there will be the odd complete plod. Some are bred to be amateurs lower level horses with higher priority on temperament but mainly I think they’re the ‘failed’ ones we can afford!
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I hope this mare will be somewhere in the middle. She is bred in the UK, by a small time breeder, with the aim of showing/eventing/dressage. Never tried or tested. Well handled. The breeder herself no longer rides.
 
My friend had a Trakehner / ID cross. Wonderful combination of breeds. If we could have cloned him neither of us would ever ride anything else. He excelled at anything he turned his hoof to, was a joy to handle, never a day’s lameness other than a foot abscess once, just perfect in every way. She retired him in his 20’s and had him PTS when he started dropping weight.
 
Flicker said:
My friend had a Trakehner / ID cross. Wonderful combination of breeds. If we could have cloned him neither of us would ever ride anything else. He excelled at anything he turned his hoof to, was a joy to handle, never a day’s lameness other than a foot abscess once, just perfect in every way. She retired him in his 20’s and had him PTS when he started dropping weight.
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Yeah, I bred a couple of ID/Trakehner crosses myself out of an Irish mare I had in the US. They were lovely horses temperament-wise, but a bit uneven in type (this was down to the mare's pedigree being a bit iffy and the stallion not stamping his get): out of four full siblings I had a 16.3, 15.2, 14.2 and 16hh, some looking like Arabs, some like heavy hunters!
 
I've known quite a few Trakehners and in my experience they've been nicely rideable, a bit more sensitive, as in not dull. They're sensible yet can be creative if you let them. One is like a child if he has too much time on his hands, so being in work is best.
They've all be reasonable to get along with and all owned my fairly experienced amateurs. All have been rather people friendly and generally pleasant. I think they're quite suitable for eventing in most cases.

If I were to ever own a Warmblood again (please smack me, hard!) I'd consider a Trakehner since I do like something a bit more sharp, but not insane.
 
I used to ride a Trakehner/Shire cross, by a pretty obscure stallion called Star of Orion.

No idea whether it was the Trak or Shire side, or just that she was a 20yo who'd been in the same home since birth and extremely well-handled, but she was a joy to ride and handle. Very sensible, but would occasionally get bored out hacking and let you know she was about to launch in a very large but very slow spook!
 
They have quite a fascinating history just finished reading 'flight across the ice'. IMO quite different to other warmbloods although I think a lot of the toughness is getting lost in the pursuit of modern sports performance.
 
Cortez, my friend’s was 17.2, middleweight WH type. So I am really interested to hear of your spread of results!
 
Pippity said:
I used to ride a Trakehner/Shire cross, by a pretty obscure stallion called Star of Orion.

No idea whether it was the Trak or Shire side, or just that she was a 20yo who'd been in the same home since birth and extremely well-handled, but she was a joy to ride and handle. Very sensible, but would occasionally get bored out hacking and let you know she was about to launch in a very large but very slow spook!
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I do like a Shire/ WB cross. As long as they are well-handled (because they’re often huuuuge) they are delightful.
 
I noticed a few ID/ warmblood crosses at eventing Ireland competitions last year. It wasn't a cross I'd heard of before. They got good results too, one was at the new 2* level.
 
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