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A breed for eventing/ all around horse?

3K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  jaydee 
#1 ·
I'm looking into buying a horse in the next few years, and have a lot of interest in eventing. Don't worry, I will be more focused on temperament rather than breed when I actually go horse hunting, but there's no harm in narrowing my search down a little bit.:wink: Anyway, once I get past cantering issues, I am hoping to get into eventing, and especially XC, however I don't have the money to get a WB, and am a little concerned with the temperament of a TB (Not that I won't stay open minded towards either). I also have experience in Western, and because my area is much more Western oriented, it is much easier to get into a Western show/ event than English. I love paints and QHs for the most part however if I am going into XC, I know that many quarter horses don't have much stamina. Is this also true with paints, especially if it was a paint with a large amount of TB blood? I am open to any breed of horse from 14 - 17+ hh, even ponies (I kind of have a weird obsession with haflingers atm.) Anway, I am just looking for suggestions on breeds of horses that can do great at eventing and won't get funny looks in the Western ring. (If I go Western as well I really like reining, so all around horses are great here.) Thanks!
 
#2 ·
You could always look for an Appendix QH, or a Paintbred (with TB). You probably wouldn't get to high levels, but as a low level allrounder they should be fine. Then you could probably use them more easily for western too. I've even seen full QHs compete in low level eventing fairly well, depending on type.
 
#3 ·
TB's can be great eventing prospects, and not all of their temperaments are bad/negative. There is quite a few members here with TB's or TB crosses that compete in eventing. I wouldn't cross them off just yet. Obviously you need to get the right conformation and temperament in any breed you purchase, I wouldn't ignore any breeds just yet (unless they are completely unsuitable).
 
#4 ·
Agreed. I have an 8 year old Thoroughbred gelding who is retired from racing. He came off of the track this March and I adopted him (for free) from TPR in May. He's more quiet on the ground and under saddle than any horse i've ever been on before (and we're talking 20+ years riding ladies and gentlemen). :wink:

It all depends on the individual horse and the riders confidence. Certainly do your homework (which it seems you're doing an excellent job as thus-far) and shop around. Like I said, I adopted my guy and it didn't cost me a dime and he's a major eventing prospect for me right now. :)

Good luck
 
#5 ·
My first horse was a TB, got him when I was 10 and he hadn't been ridden in 6 months. He was calmer than a few QH Ive known. So I wouldn't cross them off. I even took him chasing cows and did everything with him, you name it we tried it.

The breeds that first come to my mind are TB or QH. They are both great breeds. But, like you said, don't limit your search to a breed. eventing has all kinds of breeds in the lower levels.
 
#7 ·
You definitely see a lot of TB's in eventing, and you do sometimes find ones that are super mellow, so I wouldn't rule them out just because of the reputation for being hot.

That being said, my good friend events with her Morgan and does quite well. She also drives him and did reining with him in the past. Talk about an all around horse!
 
#8 ·
The TB tends to stand out - or a good cross that's not too heavily built. It really depends on how far up you want to go in the sport but a good TB has got what it takes to dressage, X country and show jump
X country they just have that bit of crazy courage to attack the fences, tremendous scope and the uncanny ability to get out of trouble when needed
 
#9 ·
Yup my 8 year old ottb is MUCH quieter, on ground and under saddle than my 16 year old appy. I definitely recommend a thoroughbred. Mine is an eventer, though I don't event. He's a great all around very athletic gelding. I use him for all flat work and he's just a dream I don't think you can go wrong with aTB.
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#10 ·
I will definitely look into thoroughbreds as a possibility. Do thoroughbreds always tend to be hard keepers, that's my only real concern if I went that direction. Also, do paints with lots of thoroughbred lineage and appendix qhs tend to have any stamina, or do they tire easily? The little paint I'm leasing can canter for about 1 minute before losing all interest and panting for the rest of our ride, but then again she comes from all qh bloodlines with no tb bloodlines. Thanks for all the replies so far everyone!
 
#11 ·
None of the ones I had were hard keepers, sometimes they have ulcers if they've been in racing but once treated and they get a settled routine in a normal environment they seem to be OK.
A mare we bought that had raced at Goodwood (UK) only days before had about the worst worm burden I've ever seen.
They don't always do as well as hardier breeds wintering out without a blanket/rug in colder climates unless you feed them 'both ends' but seem to cope better if you stable them in bad weather if you don't want to blanket.
This is one of the last OTTB's I had and he pretty much lived on his daily turnout on not great grazing, no more hay than the cobs and a small feed of beet pulp, chaff and grass nuts. If he was competing he got some micronized mixed flakes which we get in the UK - steam cooked oats, barley, peas, beans, wheat & soy - but not a lot, just for some extra energy. His biggest fault was like a lot of TB's - he had awful flat feet - not great feet in general and could never work without shoes but one my husband had came with bad feet but they improved so much he could ride on roads barefoot.
I don't know much about pintos & quarter horses - other than my pinto that has no history is probably a Paint so is likely a mix of QH, TB and whatever else goes into them. Over a short distance she is full of life and go - she's so light on her feet - but on a longer ride our cobby types are still going at the same speed while she's struggling a bit so I have to work harder at keeping her fit. My TB X welsh cob who's now retired pretty much would still be going like the same nutcase at the end as she started out as - I could never wear her out.
 

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