Typical Warmblood Post

[Sanguine]

Decided I'm a wannabe eventer in the future lol
What a warmbloods like? I hear they breakdown quite easily (if that makes any sense) so I'm not really sure. I've been looking at connemaras, ISH and IDS as well as Thoroughbreds and TB x WB. But what about pure warmbloods like a KPWN? Anyone had any sort of warmblood before?

 

[Lady Jane]

They break easily, very easily, I know. I certainly wouldn't contemplate eventing

 

[Gloi]

They break down more often than the Morris Marina your grandad tried to maintain.

 

[Mahoganybay]

I have a Holstein Warmblood and there is no way I would want to throw her over jumps, whether that is show jumping or cross country.

Eeeek, the thought brings me out in a cold sweat ??

 

[awelshandawarmblood]

I have a warmblood - given he's only 5, but I intend on eventing him eventually at a low level. He's never sick or sorry. I think it depends on the individual horse too. My horses sire & grandsire both event!

 

[ThreeFurs]

My Oldenberg x tb gelding with Contango/Contact lines is now 26, got to FEI in dressage and never had a sick day. I know others that have 'illnessed' their owners out of house and home. It depends on bloodlines, nutrition, early conditioning, absence of accidents. conformation, a whole lot of things. I could think of less expensive breeds to go eventing on, but some are like Teflon. Just depends.

 

[Bobthecob15]

I love a warmblood! I don't know why they get a bad reputation, they are fantastic horses! I'd have a warmblood over a TB any day of the week! ?

If you want to event a WBxTB might suit you, there are plenty of very successful pure WB eventers and SJ out there...you'll just need deep pockets! Dutch warmbloods are incredibly successful in SJ for example...just take a look at the international circuit.

 

[Birker2020]

I've owned five WB's now and lost one with a heart attack, one with wobblers syndrome, one from old age after having multiple issues over many years and one I bought last year that has also multiple issues and I've never got started on.

I think my next one will be an ISH as ID is too heavy and I want something finer but still substantial if that makes sense so ISH or ISH x WB is a nice compromise although that in itself is probably too warmbloody.

WB's seem to all have joint issues, arthritic conditions and are quite spooky and high maintenance in my experience. Or at least the more modern types.

 

[Abacus]

For low level eventing I would always take a nice ISH, and they may vary from the old fashioned draught/TB crosses to types that have some warmblood in. They just seem bred for the job: sensible heads, a mix of strength and speed, and these days they often have quite good movement, not that you need flashy paces. My 24 year old horse evented with me for many years - very typical ish - not with well known bloodlines but just a fab horse and is still in work now. Current boy has a lot of kwpn alongside Irish breeding and he’s super - only 8 so I don’t know how he will last physically but in 8 months he hasn’t had a lame step.

 

[Cob Life]

I rode a tb x wb. She was sharp, super picky with who she liked and very opinionated, however she would have jumped the moon if I’d asked her. She did break down a lot though

 

[dixie]

I’ve had a broad selection of horses break down - warmblood, TB and ID. I don’t think you can generalise like that.

in fact my best ever horse was a Belgium warmblood who was never sick or sorry and I did everything with him including eventing up to Novice level. I lost him to breaking his leg in the field ?

That said my general preference for a good all round horse would be a IDxTB.

 

[j1ffy]

I don't think you can generalise about 'warmbloods' - it would be like trying to generalise about 'ponies'! Warmblood studbooks all have different breeding aims and target different sports. Bloodlines vary widely in terms of soundness, ability, temperament etc. so a lot of research is needed to get the horse for what you want.

Selle Francais are one studbook that is producing good eventers currently. They tend to have more 'blood', including TB and AA, than other studbooks but they can be sharp (e.g. a lot of eventers have Diamant de Semilly lines, but can be very quirky (including the only warmblood I have had, a SF on loan for a couple of years who had a very tricky spook and spin)). KWPN is a broad studbook and seems to produce eventers, SJ and dressage but again research would be needed.

RachelFerd on here has a lovely young purpose-bred eventer so it's worth having a look at some of her posts.

What level of eventing are you targeting?

 

[ycbm]

Decided I'm a wannabe eventer in the future lol
What a warmbloods like? I hear they breakdown quite easily (if that makes any sense) so I'm not really sure. I've been looking at connemaras, ISH and IDS as well as Thoroughbreds and TB x WB. But what about pure warmbloods like a KPWN? Anyone had any sort of warmblood before?

Warmbloods are a standard of quality only, not a breed. They can be any breed at all unless the studbook is a closed one and most are not.
.

 

[Zoeypxo]

I have a wb x ish and when sound she is brilliant.. but 70% of the time she is not sound for one reason or another.

 

[J&S]

I had a Hanovarian x TB, she didn't jump, was very quirky and unpredictable and generally very frustrating because she was strong and athletic and capable but just not ever putting her heart into a job.

 

[HollyWoozle]

My retired mare is KWPN x ISH (technically she is 1/2 KWPN, 3/8 TB and 1/8 ID). She was essentially bred to jump but she is sharp, unpredictable and I do not ride her due to behavioural problems which I believe come from pain of some sort. As poster above's horse, my mare is fairly athletic and capable but I completely over-horsed myself and was not able to figure out her issues unfortunately, but I expect a more capable rider/horse person may have gotten to the bottom of it, solved the issues and had a jolly time with some eventing. I will say that she is good-natured, very intelligent, pretty (if that's important to you), always tried her best out hacking and is actually quite tough. She lives out 24/7, unrugged, is a fairly good doer and is not often unwell. She does however have melanomas and a cyst in one eye.

I do think that you can be unlucky (or lucky) with any breed but I would probably avoid such a warm blooded horse in the future... the spooks can be out of this world.

 

[AnShanDan]

It totally depends on the breeding, as said above. You can get very straightforward WBs and you can get very sensitive ones that only do well with prof. riders.

For low level (by that I mean up to Novice) eventing, you might be better with a TBxID or pony, they tend to be a bit more forgiving.

 

[exracehorse]

I have a Warmblood x TB by Sempers Spirit. Was horrid as a youngster. He’s now 14. Don’t want to jinx anything but .. never been sick or sorry. Lives out. He’s quirky. Sensitive. Will soon tell you if he doesn’t like your style of riding.

 

[MarvelVillis]

I have a TB x WB that I bought as a 2 year old. He was my first youngster and he's been a complete dream, he was very easy to back/ride away and *touch wood* no health issues since I've owned him. I would recommend the stud I got him from down in Cornwall, don't mind sharing the details if you're looking at youngsters.

 

[paddi22]

I don't go towards warmbloods for eventing, because they are harder to keep fit and snuggle to make time compared to horses with more blood. I also don't think they have the same fifth leg that ISh's have. I wouldn't think a pure warmblood is the best call for eventing. wb crossed with something else would be a better fit.

 

[Ratface]

For many years, I've had purebred Arabian horses. Hot headed, strong willed and fabulous jumping horses. A little "creative" sometimes, in dressage, could be strong in jumping classes and incredible across any country.
An acquired taste. I believe WFP did well on a part-bred many years ago.

 

[sport horse]

Just be careful when choosing your ISH - many of them are warmbloods!

 

[teddy_]

I think Trakehner is the only closed studbook within the warmblood realm - Arabian and TB blood is accepted upon grading. So, unless you're looking for one of those (they are probably one of the 'warmbloods' most suited to the sport of eventing due to the strong TB influence), you simply cannot generalise.

As above, view warmbloods as a type, not a breed.

 

[lannerch]

For many years, I've had purebred Arabian horses. Hot headed, strong willed and fabulous jumping horses. A little "creative" sometimes, in dressage, could be strong in jumping classes and incredible across any country.
An acquired taste. I believe WFP did well on a part-bred many years ago.

Tamarillo and what a lovely horse he was especially in wet conditions as he just skipped over the mud.
For what it’s worth my soundest horse I have owned to date in which I novice evented was a warmblood .

 

[Sossigpoker]

I don't think ant breed is more or less likely to break down. It comes down to the breeding, upbringing and training and also luck.
Buy the horse with the best conformation you can and ideally with a known background , that's really the only mitigation against breakdown you can have.
A friend of mine lost 5 horses in 5 years , all for pretty random reasons and northing to do with breeding : one had an accident in a walker, another was bitten by an adder !

 

[Cortez]

Most warmbloods, certainly of the type that would be recommended for eventing, have a high percentage of TB blood. Most modern ISH's have a high percentage of WB blood. Any individual horse of any breed or type can go wrong...I've been remarkably lucky with my horses, but the only one that went really wrong was an ISH (I don't event, for clarity). I would suggest doing some research before buying any specific "breed", looking at the bloodlines of successful event horses. Having said that many eventers are really one-offs (like Tamarillo - as far as I'm aware there hasn't been another similarly bred horse that has done as well), and there isn't a guaranteed formula*.

* I have a friend who has bred a promising rising 4 year old by one of the highest rated Irish eventing sires (old fashioned ID X TB), out of a WB X ISH mare with jumping lines, if anyone's in the market

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I've got a han x tb. He is now retired but he is stunning looking., moves beautifully but is very sensitive. He was a dressage horse and showjumper. Not sure he would have stood up to eventing. My ridden horse is now a tb and he would event easily. Brave, bold, quick. He looks like an ISH which is what many people think he is. I've a few friends with heavier types who really struggle to make the time even at 80cm.

 

[Barton Bounty]

This is a nice type! Mix of two but solid looking ?

 

[Cortez]

This is a nice type! Mix of two but solid looking ?

He's waaaay too heavy and clumpy to be an event horse.............

 

[sassandbells]

I have a ISH x Belgian Warmblood rising 2 year old. Too early to say what she’ll be good for but parents & siblings are successful eventers. She’s very bold & sweet but the most fickle thing. I’ve had the vets out twice for ailments my vets have “never seen before”. She does move beautifully though.

I used to work on an eventing yard which bred & produced Trakheners, fab horses for eventing. Were very sensitive and slow to mature mentally, but once it clicked they’d give you the world. They were incredible hardy and we rarely had any kind of issues with them, but they would spook at the most random things. If I wanted to purely event I’d have no hesitation in getting a Trakhener.