Why own a Warmblood when you could have an Iberian?

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DuchessKizzy

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Considering the many problems people seem to have with Warmbloods and their unpredictable nature, I wondered how many people consider Iberian horses as a better alternative? Lusitanos and Andalusians (yes, they are two different breeds) are beautiful, kind, talented horses with a clever brain and a big heart. I think there is an Iberian horse for everyone, while it seems to me warmbloods only fit into the lifestyle of a select few riders.

Does anyone agree?
 
Perhaps some people choose warmbloods because that is the type of horse they like - just like some people choose Spanish horses, or TB', or even cobs...
 
I've looked at them many a time & my friend has imported 2. I have no means of importing & all the ones already over here seem extremely over priced & have been shipped over cheap then prices inflated to a ridiculous sum. The only way to get one anywhere near decent price is to import which can be both costly & risky.

I'd love one, but I could get more horse for my money buying another breed already in this country so it seems. As for the warmblood nature, depends totally on the horse & handling I find.

They carry a premium I'm afraid but only offer the same as a nicely bred anything else in my eyes.
 
I own an Iberian and I can think of many reasons why people would have warmblood instead!
That said Iberians are usually easier to get on in the first place being somewhat close to the ground and all that. You also don't have to fork out for extra huge sized tack. But then Spanish tack isn't cheap if you want it.
 
My DWB isn't unpredictable, on the whole :D. I pretty much know what she is likely to do in a given situation.

The only time I've been a donk and not taken notice I ended up parting company (okay, so she is a bit spooky in very high and strong winds :rolleyes:).

I hack her on her own, can go for a blast in company and know I'll be able to pull up okay, can load her, etc. etc. etc. :D :D

She used to be a bit of a donk when younger, hence her name, but she was predictable in what she would do (spin and go backwards were her favourites).
 
I have had both but here are some reasons off the top of my head:

1. Iberians are hugely overpriced, their price is so inflated that for the same price that you could buy a well established thoroughbred or a young WB with fairly decent breeding you can only get a very green Iberian.

2. If you want to import from Spain there are potentially huge acclimatisation issues as they adapt to the British way of life.

3. In terms of eventing Iberians just cannot compete as they are not built for it. They are fabulous dressage horses but because they are designed for collecting cross country can be an issue. (I'm sure some people here are going to jump down my throat claiming their Iberian is a demon across country and I'm sure there are some, but in general they are not.) Yes, WBs can be a bit big and slow for this too but their conformation is more suited to it than Iberians.

I'm sure there are many more reasons, and many reasons why you would have an Iberian over a WB.
 
I didn't choose my warmblood because she is a warmblood, I chose her because she has a high tolerance level of idiots, an honest jump and a genuine nature. She can be a plank occasionally but I don't think that's a trait exclusive to WB's!
 
Because the 3 WB's that I have had have been the most intelligent, kind and honest horses I have ever had the pleasure of owning :)

That said I didn't purposely go looking for a WB but hey ho, I always seem to come back with one.....and a mare too!!! Me, predictable....nooooooo ;)
 
Or is it a question of why people choose to have a WB (say if they are competing for example) so would an Iberian be just as suitable for the job?

I can't be the judge of that because I've never been in the position to judge the differences between the two if your wanting a certain type of 'competition horse' but it would be interesting to see a discussion about the two though.

Prove it, what ever a good WB can do an Iberian can do equally as well if not better?

:D
 
In my experience of warmbloods most are bred for dressage, therefore can be easily compared to Iberians for the job they do. Iberians are particularly suited to dressage and show a natural ability in this discipline but I consider Lusitanos (which me and my mum have one each of) as perfect allrounders.

I know of Lusos which hunt regularly, compete up to Pre St George dressage, are successfully jumping good sized courses and do very well in the show ring. The large Arab part of the Lusitanos breeding means they are likely to be brilliant endurance horses and their willingness to please and intelligent nature, I think allows them the potential to do well in anything asked of them.
 
I didn't go out to buy a warmblood, I wanted an ID, IDx or similar (looked at various draught crosses and cob crosses).

My warmblood was advertised as an irish sport horse, I bought her because she was sane and sensible to ride with an honest nature. I don't think she has many typically warmblood traits, and she's only 15.3hh.

The OH would love an iberian but we couldn't afford one. In fact I doubt we could have got a yearling for the money we paid for our backed and ridden away WB youngster.

I honestly believe that when you are buying a leisure horse or low level competition horse the breed should be very much a low level consideration, far behind issues of temprement and character, so I wouldn't go out to specifically look for an iberian, but I wouldn't go looking for a warmblood or a tb or anything else really.

If you are looking for a serious competition horse then an Iberian would be great for dressage, but for most other disciplines there are more appropriate types. Breeds are bred for a purpose and their uses these days depends upon their original purpose mirroring modern sports, you don't see many iberian eventers or showjumpers the same as you don't see many arab eventers or showjumpers. You do see iberians in dressage and you see arabs in endurance. Their conformation has to suit the sport, and pure bred horses have the conformation laid down in the breed standard.
 
DuchessKizzy said:
In my experience of warmbloods most are bred for dressage.
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Umm what about all the warmbloods specifically bred for show jumping? :confused:

Not to mention the warmbloods bred to drive (which is what most of the continental warmblood breeds originated to do).

And don't forget that while most people think of breeds like the KWPN, Belgian warmblood, Dutch Warmblood, Oldenburg etc when you say warmblood the good old irish sport horse is technically a warmblood, as is the cleveland bay.
 
Good point that very few Iberian horses are seen in eventing and disciplines other than dressage, however could this be simply down to the fact that few people have heard of Lusitanos or Andalusians?

Also, I understand that when buying a horse its temperament should be the first consideration over looks, breed or colour. Which is exactly why Iberian horses are important since they are bred specifically for their amazing temperament, being kind and intelligent.

The cost of them is a real problem but if it means having the horse of a lifetime, with looks and temperament to die for, you could save money in the long run??
 
I'd have an Iberian over a WB any day... But that is definitely personal preference.

Just as some people think my hairy cob and my highlands are ghastly, while I quite like them! Horses for courses as they say :p
 
Kat said:
Umm what about all the warmbloods specifically bred for show jumping? :confused:

Not to mention the warmbloods bred to drive (which is what most of the continental warmblood breeds originated to do).

And don't forget that while most people think of breeds like the KWPN, Belgian warmblood, Dutch Warmblood, Oldenburg etc when you say warmblood the good old irish sport horse is technically a warmblood, as is the cleveland bay.
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I take your point about the showjumping, I'm not very knowledgable in that area.
 
Definately agree, I've got no problem with any other breeds, I just wish people would investigate a bit more to find a horse that is right for them.
You hear so many stories of people being constantly thrown off and injured and not enjoying riding anymore but keeping the horse anyway!
 
DuchessKizzy said:
Considering the many problems people seem to have with Warmbloods and their unpredictable nature, I wondered how many people consider Iberian horses as a better alternative? Lusitanos and Andalusians (yes, they are two different breeds) are beautiful, kind, talented horses with a clever brain and a big heart. I think there is an Iberian horse for everyone, while it seems to me warmbloods only fit into the lifestyle of a select few riders.

Does anyone agree?
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Not at all, I think your stereotyping is laughable. Horses are individuals and you need to find an individual to suit you.

DuchessKizzy said:
In my experience of warmbloods most are bred for dressage, therefore can be easily compared to Iberians for the job they do.
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I'm guessing you may not have that much experience then. WBs compete at top levels in showjumping, dressage and eventing. There are some Iberians at top level dressage; very few at a high level SJ or Eventing (even partbreds).

DuchessKizzy said:
Also, I understand that when buying a horse its temperament should be the first consideration over looks, breed or colour. Which is exactly why Iberian horses are important since they are bred specifically for their amazing temperament, being kind and intelligent.
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Again, you are saying that every Iberian has a calm temperament and every warmblood doesn't. That is complete nonsense. If you read many of the posts in the CR section of the forum you will realise that a number of posters own and compete Iberians, and there are plenty of comments regarding them being 'difficult.' There was an extremely long and interesting thread on here a while back all about why Iberians are not an ideal choice for novices or first horses.

If your Iberians suit you, great. If your Warmbloods suit you, same :rolleyes:
 
DuchessKizzy said:
Good point that very few Iberian horses are seen in eventing and disciplines other than dressage, however could this be simply down to the fact that few people have heard of Lusitanos or Andalusians?
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Do you really think that people haven't heard of the iberian breeds? They aren't exactly low profile, in fact I'd hazard a bet that your average horse person would be more likely to have heard of andalusians and lusitanos than a great many of the warmblood breeds simply because they always feature in those "horse breeds of the world" books and magazine articles.

More likely that you don't see many competing in the uk because not many are bred over here, and they tend to have a disproportionately high price tag. Your average rider doesn't tend to import horses, they buy something in the uk and they have a budget and want to get the best horse they can within that budget. People who are serious competitors will have a serious eye on conformation and suitability for the job, this tends to rule iberians out for higher level eventing and showjumping. In the same way that cobs, arabs, draught breeds and native ponies don't tend to do higher level eventing or showjumping. Nothing to do with knowing about their existance, everything to do with suitability.

Plenty of people know about TBs but you don't tend to find many pure TBs in higher level dressage either. Because warmbloods have the conformation that makes the extensions easier. I don't know what the figures are but I bet at Grand Prix level there are as many if not more iberians than full TBs........
 
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