What breed has been your soundest horse?

Probably the New Forest - Shetland had some stifle issues and some laminitis when younger. Diva have not owned long enough to tell but the only time she's hurt herself is walking into things, before I knew about the CSNB and put things in place to manage it accordingly, so Rosie may have a competitor for her crown soon.
TB is an idiot who damages himself with monotonous regularity but that's just him, I think, not the breed as a whole!
 
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I've had everything from
Shetlands
lots of Welsh A,B,C and partbreds
ArabXConnie,
DalesXtrotter,
Gypsy cobs,
Dutch import warmblood,
ShireX,
Luso,
ArabXtrotter
All bar the last 4 on the list never a day lame so I think I have more luck with native types
 
Heinz 57 welshx trotter sort is my soundest- 3 days lame in a 14 year (so far) high milage career. His 7/8 welsh 1/8 arab pair retired lame at 18 though so it's not all down to breed :p
 
Had Rosie 6.5yrs and only ever saw the vet for vaccinations. She wasn't the best put together, but she never took a lame step. However, how she would have lasted into old age I don't know, as she was worked hard as a youngster, because I lost her age 12 to a freak accident. She was a Polish Warmblood.
 
Best was my Connemara x Irish draft. Worst was my ex racer. American Saddlebred broke 😞. Now have a warm blood x TB who touch wood won’t fall apart
 
Sorry for your bad luck, and I am sure that really is all that it is, depressing as it may be. In the interest of not tempting fate with my current lot, I will just refer to my old mare. I had her 30 years and she was still sound the day she died at 35. She was 3/4 TB and 1/4 pony of some sort, presumably Connie as she was Irish. Broken at 3, hunted over all all sorts and and I bought her from a SJ yard at 5. Other than the odd lameness due to a specific knock or abscess, she was amazing. This is her at 33 with my son on board - I never expected that my teenage son would ride the batty mare I got as a teenager.

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I had a tough little TB that never had a single thing wrong with him all through eventing and hunting, but I think the word little is significant.

A friend had an arab who didn't have good conformation, in fact I was shocked when I saw how much her front hoof was twisted, but she raced, did all PC events and was doing endurance into her 20s including the season she died at home in the field at the age of 26.

Some are saying that cobs have been trouble, but I would hazard a guess that some of these get hammered as youngsters.

Dr. Bennett and the vet that was the first RSPCA equine vet both say that the optimum size for a horse is around 15.2hh, ponies are "over engineered" for their size, that is why they stay sound, and anything over 15.2 is going to have some weakness somewhere.

Having said that, there was a local TB that had raced as a 2 year old and was still hunting into his 20s, although he did have a few problems along the way. So in a way it is a bit of a lottery.
 
My son's horse is a cob x Anglo-arab, now 17 and apart from one bad hoof abcess about 8 years ago he has proved to be very sound. He does have some arthritic changes in his hocks now though and had had them injected a couple of times.

My Young Cob is part Irish Draught/ some Irish cob and well put together both in brain and body. He is 6 and (touches wood frantically) sound so far.

Old Cob is Welsh and at 30 now retired. He had a hard working life as a hunt pony then in a busy riding school. He has been with me for 13 years now. He had stifle issue when he was in his early 20s and eventually retired due to annular ligament problems.

I think I'd go for an Irish cob cross of some sort - tough, sound, intelligent and fun. If you enjoy more madness then go for a Welsh!
 
20 years of owning Welsh, NF, Dartmoor and a Shetland, all out 24/7 and ridden/driven barefoot on the roads regularly. Solid as a rock, the lot of 'em.

One of the above is 30+ years old. He was diagnosed with a dodgy hock aged 4, and is uncomfortable if you work him on a surface, but is still hacking out 10 miles at speed no problem, including the odd canter on tarmac (shock horror!). Much depends on what you do with them, and I am not a fan of tight circles on sand.
 
Two, both Arab crosses. One crossed with Welsh C, the other 3/4 thoroughbred, 1/4 cob. The spotty lump seems to be doing ok so far, with just a bad back caused by a saddle (almost sorted now) and one bruised sole.
 
We have had 3 Appaloosa mares with no soundness/lameness issues between them. The one we had first got to 31 before pts with arthritis. The 22 yr old does have RAO and Cushings but is responding well to Prascend.
The piebald cob who also lived to be 31 hardly caused us any vet problems either, other than a mystery colic which lasted nearly a week when she was 26.
 
Never ever would I buy another 'well bred' warmblood or even warmblood x . I do have a friend who has 2 teenage TB's still hunting that raced in their youth.
 
PB arab that we bought as an 8 year old and was still riding at 32 with very few problems inbetween. We lost her at 36. Sect D that is now 15, had him 10 years only one injury the first 2 weeks he arrived when he slipped coming off the mountain but few days rest and he was fine. TB/Welsh that I bred, had to be retired at 7 due to health issues but is now a 24 year old healthy, happy horse.
 
As another poster said it is size that is the issue not breed. Although I love natives they can be difficult to keep if you cant control their environment due to being good doers in the main. Best soundest horse I had was a clydesdale cross arab he was nuts but was brilliant at everything. Never had a mechanically lame native or horse over 15.2 even the TB i sarted out with was sound until he was killed on the road and never saw a vet in his entire life apart from his initial vetting. Too long ago to have had vaccinations as routine
 
yep i agree with the size concept too..and also having bone that isnt too heavy. Any of the 14.2 to 15.2s i have have definitely been the soundest out of my lot.

Soundest one of my varied breed herd is a 14.2 ex sulkie racer who would have been pounded on the roads for two years from about 8 months old, so I always wonder are some horses just born more sound in themselves.
 
Well I've only had one horse but owned him since he was 3 and he never had a sick until he got diagnosed with EMS and has had the onset of laminitis 3 times in the last 6 years. He's coloured cob x native , not sure exactly what but we all reckon welsh of some sort as he's only 14hh.

I have to say I feel in my opinion anything with Welsh in it seem to be the most common type to be diagnosed with EMS or lami. That's purely in my experience though.

He is perfect though and despite the bouts of laminitis he's been totally sound for years.
 
Section D x TB, 24 yo barefoot and in full work. Only time off since I've had her is following a frank exchange of views with another mare who challenged her dominant status and resulted in them both been cut up on their back legs.
 
Another Welsh D here. I don't think they're necessarily less prone to problems, I think they just have a higher pain threshold due to their incredibly stubborn nature.

At the age of 23, mine stopped at a fence for the first time in his life. We went straight to the vet as it was so unusual. He was diagnosed with arthritis in the knee - vet was amazed he wasn't hobbling with the extent of it on the x-rays but he wasn't even slightly unsound unless flexion tested and then only 1 or 2 10ths, the jumping was the only symptom. He was still hacking and doing the odd fun ride and popping the odd little log if he seemed like he wanted to (he'd always let you know!) when he died very unexpectedly of colic at 27.

My IDx has been plagued with problems for 10 of the 12 years I've had him. He's 21 now so since about 11/12. My TB x Shire x Sec D share was brilliant until he had a fractured splint bone at 16 (accident rather than physical issue) but since then has had two other prolonged episodes - a hock issue at 18 and an arthritic elbow last year. The last few years have felt like a bit of a slog but I suppose a total of about a year off in 21 isn't that bad and he's still doing some low level jumping and doing very well at dressage.
 
My TB has been absolutely sound leg-wise in the 7 or 8 years that I've owned him, despite having raced quite a bit to the age of 5. However, he has made up for it with ulcers, ks and serial self-harming... **sighs**
 
my cheep as chips cob couldn't injure herself if she tried (and boy has she!). despite various moments where i watched in horror sure it was going to end in broken bones she always trots away without a scratch on her and has never been lame or sick. My ISH (read welsh d/connemara/various others) also never been lame leg wise.
 
My soundest horse is Fig, who is exracing TB...

His only sick and sorry days are by his own doing - usually the splits in the field! But never had soft tissue damage and *touches wood* no joint problems such as arthritis etc.

He does have tummy problems but that's a reflection on his previous discipline rather than the breed imho.
 
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