What breed do you prefer for eventing?

[Tangaroo]

I just wondered what breed you all prefer to event, or do you not have a preference?
I am looking for something and sort of decided on an irish x but there are a lot of warmbloods for sale.
My last horse has somewhat put me off warmbloods due to his opinionated attitude, even thought i had a lot of fun on him.
Thoughts?

 

[FigJam]

If I were to be looking, I'd like to find something with a large amount of tb, but also a bit of native- Welsh D/Connemara etc- in the breeding. I know all horses are individuals, but I just prefer the tb types and having some native blood would hopefully make it a bit more sensible/hardy and help with the 5th leg requirements!

 

[LEC]

I have no opinion about breeds - A good horse is a good horse. I am interested in breeding and think its no coincidence that well bred horses win things but do not care what breed it is.

 

[Noodlejaffa]

I like something with a bit of TB in it, but as LEC says it really depends on the horse. I've had super ID x TBs and I've also had horrific ID x TBs. Got a couple of WB x TBs at the moment who are both very different, but great fun (and most enjoyable for the dressage phase!). However, I did love my Connemara x TB - he was just the bees knees!

 

[bigboyrocky]

I love my irish horses so preferably ISH. Second choice would be TB, and third WB... although not always keen on the temprament of WBs though so would be choosy about WBs!

 

[millitiger]

i like full tbs or 3/4 tb and 1/4 id or native etc.

personally i wouldn't own a warmblood and wouldn't have anything for eventing without at least 3 out of 4 grandparents being direct tb blood- i'm not interested in all of the 'he is 64.2234% tb if you look far enough back in his bloodlines.'

 

[Doncella]

TB or very near, my current horse is 7/8tb1/8AQH, that's good enough for me.

 

[Kelpie]

ooh, I don't mean to threadjack, but I'm interested in this too as I may be in the market for a new horse soon....

....... so why do a few people not think much of the WB's??

 

[PorkChop]

Hi, I think a good horse is a good horse, it doesnt matter what the breeding is. Also it depends how far you want to go, the higher up the levels you go possibly the more tb, maybe more to do with the speed that needs to be attained, but of course there is always an exception to the rule.

But also remember that most 'irish' horses are now mostly warmblood, for example Cavalier Royale is warmblood

 

[ArcticFox]

I currently own a TB x ID who is doing quite well, I also have a TB broodmare who is in foal to an Irish Draught - might be too heavy but I do like a bit of Irish!

Will have to wait and see

 

[LoNatalie]

Ive just bought a 5yo Dutch Warmblood to event and his personality is fab. He's been xc clear rounds and sj and hacked around fields on his own, gone out on roads and just been shod for first time. nothing phases him. i wouldn't dismiss the idea of warmbloods so easily.

 

[Rosiefan]

What do the stats say about successful eventers? Someone must have done some research. I'm probably wrong but don't they say WB for jumping and TB for speed (not sure what you factor in for dressage though, WB again?)
eta - warmbloods have quite a bit of TB in anyway don't they?

 

[JamilaParr]

the people on the event yard next door have all tb crosses... They tend to cope with the xc a bit better than a wb?

 

[3DE]

Shire x TB seems fashionable at the mo...

 

[Eothain]

Technically, the ISH is a warmblood. The hot blood of a Thoroughbred crossed with the cold blood of an Irish Draught leads to warmblood. People rarely think of that.

People "In the know" about Eventing have told me several times that certain Continental breeds aren't cut out for Eventing because with the increased use of trick fences like bounces and the like, Continental horses with loads of jump can all too often explode in to the air and mess up the short distances they have to deal with etc. Great for the Dressage and Showjumping, a pain in the neck cross country. Big, big horses face the same problems.

I know of one hugely respected man here in Ireland both as a breeder and competitor who believes the future Eventing horses will be 16.1hh on average and feature mainly Thoroughbred breeding with Irish Draught breeding a generation or two back to maintain cleverness and that fifth leg.

 

[TheoryX1]

Amno expert but YO who is an event rider and her business partner, who rides at 4*dont ride big heavy warmbloods,and always have someting with some tb in it. Our mare is a kwpn crossed with a pure tb and daddy, who is the kwpn does have a lot of tb in his pedigree. She can shift xc and make the times and moves nicely, so it obviusly works for her.

 

[KatB]

Technically, the ISH is a warmblood. The hot blood of a Thoroughbred crossed with the cold blood of an Irish Draught leads to warmblood. People rarely think of that.

People "In the know" about Eventing have told me several times that certain Continental breeds aren't cut out for Eventing because with the increased use of trick fences like bounces and the like, Continental horses with loads of jump can all too often explode in to the air and mess up the short distances they have to deal with etc. Great for the Dressage and Showjumping, a pain in the neck cross country. Big, big horses face the same problems.

I know of one hugely respected man here in Ireland both as a breeder and competitor who believes the future Eventing horses will be 16.1hh on average and feature mainly Thoroughbred breeding with Irish Draught breeding a generation or two back to maintain cleverness and that fifth leg.

Agree 100% with this IMHO irish horses are the bees knees I do love some of the modern continental horses (I won't use warmblood, as as above, ISH's are WB's technically!) but their are too many continental stallions being graded very young without a proven performance record, which then go lame later in their career with a weakness that has already been passed on... I know I am generalising a lot, but a lot of the genetic soundness problems I have come across are in continental horses. However, there is no doubting there are a LOT of stunning and talented continental horses, but in my opinion they just lack the toughness and pony traits I love so much in the irish horses

 

[AutumnRose]

Irish all the way for me

 

[Spinal Tap]

I think what breed is best for you will depend very much on how far you want to go. I'm only interested in eventing at a very low level (BE90/100) and my friend's Irish cob is absolutely wonderful. He's got considerably more brains than me, has the heart of a lion and is built like for comfort rather than speed, but he can shift and has a lot of stamina - he's finished half a minute inside the optimum round a BE90. My best description of him is your most beloved 13hh pony, the one you cried about when they said you were too big for him, scaled up to 16.1 I think he's absolutely perfect!

 

[Avonbrook]

Any horse that can think for themselves to cover the times when I just plain get it wrong . And no, I don't compete at any exalted level

I have loved TB / pony crosses and (speaking very quietly now ) I do love an arabian part-bred (and Tamarillo isn't the only one to have made it to the top). I strongly doubt I'd get landed on top of by one. Go on my own, possibly.... but not get squished!

 

[Doris68]

ISH for me. A TB x ID a generation back.

 

[Festive_Felicitations]

I think Anglo-arabs are seriously under rated. The arab gives them that bit of intelligence that is sometimes lacking in a pure TB, and they have the speed and 'blood' to event, and some of them move very nicely. Well I suppose like any breed the good ones are bloody good!

However I currently event a TB x Trakaner (50:50) and he has the speed and stamina and has produced a much needed 5th leg on ocasions. XC at least he is smart enough to deal with tricky distances, SJ he doesnt care quite so much "'cause they fall down mum see!"
However all of the above only applies when he is sound! I'm constantly reminded of the sentence in the 'Observers Pocket book of Horses' (very old edition) "Trakeners while a great 'sport' breed are known for their soundness issues..." :s

 

[Spinal Tap]

The first youngster I bought to go eventing with was by an anglo arab endurance horse & out of a coloured cob who by all accounts was a fantastic hunter. He wasn't very big - only about 15.2 - but was very good looking, moved well and had a great personality. Unfortunately after I'd had him for a while & struggled with recurrant back soreness I found out that he had a pelvic problem which meant he wouldn't stay sound in anything more than light work I gave him back to his breeder & last I heard he was a happy hack. I do wonder what might have been with him though, he really was lovely

 

[Mbronze]

I have a wb and she is great at the dressage,a superb showjumper but can be a pain in the a*se xc, but I think 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

For all the questions and opinions she has I would never change her, she may never be fast but I believe she will competently do 1 star one day and that is all I am aiming for.

 

[alesea]

I think it depends (as someone else has mentioned) on what sort of level you're aiming at.

At the lower levels you can pretty much get away with anything (as long as it can jump, and has a reasonable gallop). However, going by the majority of top level horses, you need something with a large dose of TB to do the job at that sort of levels.

I'm sure that someone could come up with a list of horses that don't have loads of TB blood and have competed at that level, but the fact is that the majority do- there are always going to be exceptional horses.

Personally I'd probably stick within the spectrum of TB, or possibly Trakehner or Selle Francais, depending on the breeding. I wouldn't mind a little bit of ID/ISH, warmblood, arab, or even native pony a bit further back in the pedigree- they all have their own traits that could improve a TB type, whether it's that 'fifth leg', cadence in the paces etc.

 

[daisycrazy]

Interestingly, the top 10 at Burghley only included one full TB. Four, inclduing three out of the top four, were only 1/2 TB (albeit Carousel Quest will work out as more than 1/2 TB if you look back into his "warmblood" pedigree), with Lenamore being by the powerfully built ID Seacrest. One horse was only 1/4 TB, one was 5/8 TB and three were 3/4 TB. What is clear to me is that it comes down to the individual attitude, athleticism, soundness and training of each horse - and whilst more TB blood might make some things easier (and others harder), it is not essential to have a 3/4 TB or full TB to event successfully at top level.

In total, out of the top 10 horses at Burghley, their TB blood combined to 6.25 horses (if that makes sense) or 62.5% on average (based on the breeding info on www.allbreedpedigree.com and assuming Lead The Way's dam was not TB).

 

[daisycrazy]

I think the fifth leg and how they deal with technical questions comes down to intelligence, training and the rider. Plenty of TBs over jump (though often by jumping long rather than high) or are too flat to get themselves out of trouble. The worst horses I've ridden for dangling their legs, getting themselves into trouble and being clueless at getting themselves out of trouble have been TBs and IDxTBs. I've only competed one continental warmblood and he is awesome - but of course I couldn't extrapolate. My point is that I don't think you can ever judge it on breeding alone.

 

[daisycrazy]

This may be sad, but I decided to go down the top 20 for Burghley. Based on the info available - the TB breeding in the top 20 horses averages less than 50%.

 

[Mabel98]

My best horses over the years have been TB x ID albeit at a low level. The ones with pony in them have been cheeky but clever, the pure TB's too hot/tricky and the WB's stuffy and backward (that's not to say they are all like that though..........!)

 

[wench]

People saying I like "Irish" horses.... what do you mean by that... ISH, or just and old irish thing!