Why do you hate Warmbloods? Aplogies to Zizz!

A

anniedoherty

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Following on from Zizz's thread asking why people hated Arabs I am wondering why people hate Warmbloods? It is a genuine question as I am new to horse ownership and I asked my YO to find a horse for me and she imported a KWPN whom I love totally.

Everyone says they are thick but Ollie got off the boat in Autumn speaking only Dutch and I spoke only English. Now its Winter and Ollie is bi-lingual and I still only speak English! He doesn't seem any thicker (or cleverer) than my pony who was a part-bred native.

I think people have also said that Warmbloods are ugly. I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder but Ollie gets lots of compliments about how handsome he is when I ride him so I don't think he can be that bad looking. He's in my avatar pic so feel free to disagree though - I won't be upset - honest!

Finally, many people have said that Warmbloods are "over bred". Can someone elighten me on what this means? I thought that TBs might be said to be "overbred" as (from my limited understanding) all full TBs are by full TBs and out of full TBs and some can trace their breeding back for years and years? Whereas, Ollie is by a Holsteiner out of a Belgian Sports Horse. He also has TB, Anglo-Arabian, Selle Francais blood so I am not sure in what way he is overbred? Am I missing the point? Does "overbred" actually mean something different to what I think it means?

Please be kind with your replies - these are genuine questions from a novice who wants to learn
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I think they are stunning animals and if they perform well in the ring then who cares.

But

The WB's I have dealt with put me off for life as they wer so dumb!I have never known stress like it...horse walking backwards on the horse walker after she turned around whilst I stoppped to put another one on.....even after I had sorted her by the time I had turned around to start it of she had turned around again...stress like you wouldn't believe...not to mention same horse jumping out of ndoor arena straight to her stable door with rider on board...others have been just the same I'm afraid

Maybe I just don't know the right one!!!
 
I used to think they were stunning but silly and not for the everyday riders HOWEVER the other day I met the sweetest kindest Belgian warmblood mare and I fell seriously in love.
 
It really is interesting to read that so many people have had encounters with them being dumb - tell you what my irish boy is as thick as they come
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no seriously! This is the horse that when i hung up a swede, he head butted it, then again, then again, then again, til i had to take it down..
 
LOL to the backwards walker and the swede head-butting horsie! Comedians or what? Seriously though, from my personal experience of homebred (not mine) warmbloods I never thought they were stupid but certainly highly strung. Ollie, however, is very laid back and definitely not stupid as he has learnt quite a few English words in a short space of time.
 
i LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i think that everyone can say their opinion on any horse but must not be based on preceptions or certain horses. I disliek certain horses of breeds but loev the bredd in general, they are not ALL big and scared of their own shadow.
 
Thanks for coming out in support of Warmbloods everyone. I had read so many criticisms of them that I thought I should stick up for them. Some people have said that they think they would be overhorsed on one or that they are not for the average, run of the mill rider but I disagree with that too. I'm most definitely a run of the mill rider (and that's probably complimenting myself too highly!) but I don't feel at all overhorsed because Ollie is kind and he looks after me.
 
I think Warmbloods are stunning horses. They are very proud and do love to show off (well mine did!)

He was and still is highly intelligent and needed to be worked.
 
He he my horse is an Arab cross Warmblood so I'm not able to comment on either breed except I'd never have a pure Arab but I would have a Warmblood mainly because moat of the Arabs I've known are very beautiful but the most accident prone and silly horses I've ever met and all the Warmbloods I've known have been lovely
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Axel is mainly lovely but will have a silly 5 mins which I'm sure is the Arab coming out
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I've ridden some very nice WBs and some horrid ones. Just like I've ridden nice and horrid tbs/irish horses etc etc!!
I'm not a fan of the gelderlander types and I think that most of what's imported is cr*p but at the higher ends of the scale there are seriously nice WBs. I just get hacked off when people automatically think they've got a quality horse because its an imported warmblood!!!
 
Same here, I would never want one, I had one here on livery (a friends, I'm not a yard) and it was permanently in a tizz about something.
They also seem IMO to be thick, opinionated and bolshy!
Sorry, but that is only my opinion and I realise I am generalising big time!
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I love warmbloods, trakehners in particular!!
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I can only speak from my own experience but the ones i have encountered have been thoroughly nice people who work well, move beautifully and are very intelligent!!
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I love them but just like any breed they are all different.

I have only ever met 1 thick warmblood, a few have had no personality but they have not been thick. My mare is by no means thick and most of the WB's I have ridden have been very clever. If all warmbloods were thick then how would we get them to do the high school movements or jump large courses?!

They are not all BIG, my mare is only 15.2 and it is possible to get ponies.
As for them being ugly.... what a load of tosh! My mare is so pretty IMO and lots of ppl on here have said so too. Again like any horse you get ugly ones and pretty ones.
 
That is a good point nat1003. If Warmbloods really are as thick as people say how would they perform so well? Really stupid horses surely are incapable of being trained to a high level?

I agree that they are not ugly either. Ollie has had more compliments in the 4 months I've owned him than my pony received in 6 years. All these people can't be lying to me can they? Mind you, the way he looks is irrelevant really - all I wanted was a kind horse that would help me to improve my riding and he seems to be doing his job in that respect.
 
I think what puts me off them is the high percentage of draft blood - i.e. the bit that makes them 'warm' instead of 'hot'.

Physiologically their genetics make them react slower than a hot blooded horse (one designed to be able to tolerate and operate in high temperatures). This aspect makes them very trainable and more forgiving of mistakes, but also makes them more easily abusable by those less knowledgeable or who want/expect quicker results.

As for the over bred criticism what I hate that you see more and more is the overly flashy front end action - extreme extended trots, flicking toes etc - but with corresponding hind legs trailing behind them. Their action is false, they aren't 'going' in a classically correct manner and yet many judges don't seem to see beyond the flashy extensions.

For an example of the flashy WB being bred now see this video (it takes a while to download but makes for very interesting viewing):

video link: (click News then under Older Stallion Parade click on Quaterback and evaluate to download or PM me and I'll email it to you)
http://www.eurobreederstour.com/Home-EBT.htm


This horse is only three... and that is supposidly his 'natural' trot... this little video sums up everything I don't like about WBs
 
Thank you Gedenskis_Girl. Now I think I understand about the "overbred" part. I don't that was his "natural" trot!!!! Oliver doesn't move like that although he does carry himself well and makes me look like a much better rider than I actually am. I have been told that he has good "lift" but I am not quite sure what that means? Can you help me on that one as well? Annie x
 
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Thank you Gedenskis_Girl. Now I think I understand about the "overbred" part. I don't that was his "natural" trot!!!! Oliver doesn't move like that although he does carry himself well and makes me look like a much better rider than I actually am. I have been told that he has good "lift" but I am not quite sure what that means? Can you help me on that one as well? Annie x

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Terms like 'lift' get bandied about like sweeties! I'd interprete 'lift' as being elevation and cadence. As in the natural spring, elasticity and expressiveness of their paces.

I've probably been a bit harsh on WBs in my post. I don't hate them
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but they have become like a fashion accessory to the exclusion of anything else getting a look in at BD... even if the non-WB goes more correctly and is more classically correct a flashy warmblood will always score better.
 
I dont find warmbloods ugly at all, most of them are gorgeous! I just dont like them from personal experience, I had one who had the sweetest nature however he just did not have the right attitude! He was very difficult to train and very stubborn! I prefer my TB x's any day!
 
I dont agree that they are ugly or all big either. Listed below are 3 we have had to sell.
[image]http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2185849300082796070EICJml[/image]
coloured german warmblood. 15.2hh

[image]http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2852244170082796070NfZkvJ[/image]
dark brown russian warmblood, big but not thick! BSJA winnings and BE points.

[image]http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2307645200082796070gtZdpI[/image]
and again a german warmblood.

I dont think any of the above are ugly
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Well, I have two of them and I love them both...

They are both bred very similarly (i.e Selle Francais sire line, and Dutch dam lines). They are like chalk and cheese though in the way they behave, react, learn and are put together.

Bo is extremely intelligent and quite 'sharp'. He will clock you in no time, and take the p155 if he believes you aren't up to the job. However, he is also the sweetest natured horse in the world and wouldn't harm a fly. He is ultimately trainable and you never have to tell him anything more than once. I also think he is extremely handsome, and if I had to describe him in 'old speak' i'd call him about 3/4's TB.

Trike is the opposite to Bo. He's much heavier built and can be a grumpy s*d. He looks much more like a cart horse than Bo and he does the best 'snake head' you'll ever see
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He is still trainable, but not to the same degree as Bo and he really doesn't try very hard a lot of the time....although his physical problems may well be a factor in this. His nickname is Eeyore as he can look like a donkey with his big floppy ears....but he can also look quite handsome too when he wants to.

What they both have in common is amazing power in their backends which gives them both a very good jump.
 
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I love warmbloods, trakehners in particular!!
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I can only speak from my own experience but the ones i have encountered have been thoroughly nice people who work well, move beautifully and are very intelligent!!
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My Trakehner x is particularly intelligent, but that often leads to him thinking about things too much, which can lead to stress. Apart from that, he's very trainable, loves to work, and is very human in his approach to life. He loves to stand and chat, is incredibly affectionate, and is generally a nice boy to be around. He picks new things up very quickly, and he's pretty adaptable.

When he is a problem is when he's worried, which leads to problems at shows, or with loading etc.

But other than these things (which may well be the TB in him), he's a super horse - I'd definitely consider getting another trakehner if I had the time for two!
 
gedenskis_girl has pretty much summed up what I also think.... I don't hate them I have just not met one yet I could own. I do hate how having a warmblood now seems to be a bit of a fashion accessory though - when spectating at my local equestrian centre it just seems to be big bay/brown wb after one another....

At the end of the day it would be a boring world if we all liked the same horses.
 
At the jumping yard where Oliver is kept people have a mixture of breeds but the majority are TB, TBx, Warmbloods and jumping ponies. Maybe I am just lucky because it is a friendly, non-snobbish yard but I have never met anyone who thinks that owning a Warmblood makes them something special, with the highest ranking going to the owners of the imported Warmbloods. As the owner of an imported Warmblood myself I am at pains to point out to all and sundry the shortcomings of my riding ability, neither am I rich and I honestly don't feel superior to anyone whatever horse or pony they own!

Can anyone explain why Warmbloods are seen as a "fashion accessory"? Again, this is a genuine question because it has puzzled me for ages.
 
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