So in a previous post I made about OTTB someone mentioned Standardbreds and I started looking into them for a breed. I probably won't be looking to purchase a horse for about 4 -5 months (waiting until I get settled in the new year) but I want to very well know what I want by then. I like the idea of Standardbreds as I have heard that they can be (like many other breeds) calm and friendly, they are versatile, they are cheap as chips, and most of all I like the idea of "saving" a horse rather than just buying a purpose bred one.
I don't have any experience with Standardbreds, but i've worked with young/untrained horses. I've met one in my entire life and I didn't particularly like him - but the owner was a bit strange and this horse couldn't canter or jump. I'm sure there are many others out there that I would like.
So difficulty level. I plan to do some eventing, maybe some jumping, even a little endurance and trails, I preferably with a horse that I can work up through the levels with, not necessarily to the top, but reasonably competitive. I know Standardbreds are not the traditional choice but I've looked on the net and seen that there are fair few that are pretty decent. How difficult is it to train a "standard" STB to trot and canter correctly, are they all retrainable or is it a select thing?
I don't know exactly how it would be done, but I guess I would establish the canter in a round yard, get it used to voice aids, and give it the opportunity to learn to balance before starting cantering under saddle. I wouldn't know how to teach it to do the "normal" trot. Does this sound somewhat right?
Does anyone have any showjumping, dressage, eventing or just training experience with Standardbreds that they want to share? I am just trying to figure out if they would be the right breed for me.
I don't have any experience with Standardbreds, but i've worked with young/untrained horses. I've met one in my entire life and I didn't particularly like him - but the owner was a bit strange and this horse couldn't canter or jump. I'm sure there are many others out there that I would like.
So difficulty level. I plan to do some eventing, maybe some jumping, even a little endurance and trails, I preferably with a horse that I can work up through the levels with, not necessarily to the top, but reasonably competitive. I know Standardbreds are not the traditional choice but I've looked on the net and seen that there are fair few that are pretty decent. How difficult is it to train a "standard" STB to trot and canter correctly, are they all retrainable or is it a select thing?
I don't know exactly how it would be done, but I guess I would establish the canter in a round yard, get it used to voice aids, and give it the opportunity to learn to balance before starting cantering under saddle. I wouldn't know how to teach it to do the "normal" trot. Does this sound somewhat right?
Does anyone have any showjumping, dressage, eventing or just training experience with Standardbreds that they want to share? I am just trying to figure out if they would be the right breed for me.