What do you think about thoroughbred horses? What experiences have you had with them? What have you heard about them? Would you want one yourself? Just curious to hear what you guys have to say.
I agree with this. There are some VERY beautiful thoughbreds out there, but I dont care for their build overall, along with their personalties. I have known Thoughbreds personally and ridden them. They are just not my "cup of tea." I think I will stay with the Curlies lolHmmm. Personally, I steer clear of thoroughbreds. Now just so everyone know I’m not bashing the breed, these are my personal opnions and experiences, and yes I have known a few really great thoroughbreds, but they are not for me. The main reason is that due to breeding for speed and sacrificing other traits, such as temperament and certain conformation traits, they can have soundness/temperament issues more commonly than a lot of other breeds. Thoroughbreds that have raced are broken in and asked to run at full speed on bones that haven’t knit properly yet and muscles that are still developing, not to mention their mental immaturity for such demanding work. A young horse often doesn’t know when it is tired or under too much pressure, and will simply keep going until it causes itself damage. Because of this, many ex-racehorses will have soundness issues, fear issues, trust issues, or any number of other problems.
I have also found thoroughbreds to be extremely injury prone… I know that is a generalisation, and there are always exceptions. But one thoroughbred I know flipped over and broke his wither, got stuck in a fence, ripped his leg open… Another reared over its yard when playing and broke its pelvis, and too many to mention are always lame, in fences, etc. The hardiness has been bred out of them. They often have problem feet, being weak and brittle and often requiring shoes. A lot of them are super high maintenance, needing more feed than other breeds to maintain a healthy weight.
So personally, I will never buy a thoroughbred. I prefer the hardier breeds, Arabs, ASH, Quarter horses, ponies etc. But there are definitely good thoroughbreds out there, and many bad ones. Thoroughbreds are exactly what some people want, and I’m glad that they match each other so well, but I’ll stick with my low maintenance horses :]
I definitely agree with the fact they are very easy to mistrain... I think the problem, around here at least, is that so many begginers and first time horse owers buy an OTT, because they are cheap. Of course this results in horrible horse/rider combinations, and tons of work from instructors/friends to make sure they can ride safely or find a more suitable horse. A thoroughbred that has never raced OR has been successfully retrained by an experienced rider may be fine for these new horse people, but an OTT is hardly ever the right match! This also contributes to the bad rep that thoroughbreds get from a lot of people.I agree that Arabs have very noticeable personalities, but at the same time I disagree when you say TBs aren't as smart as other breeds. Many of the TBs I've met have been incredibly smart and learn very quickly once they understand what you're asking. I think that most Thoroughbreds are so ready to please that if you ask them for something the wrong way, they will think that it is the correct way, then you're left with the task of correcting their ideas. Which is why I pointed out earlier that TBs are extremely easy to mistrain if you're not confident in what you're doing.
I also think arabs are another misunderstood breed. They, just like thoroughbreds, need a specific type of handling/training. Once you get through to them, they are very quick to bond with you and are often one-person horses. Personally, the more energy a horse has the better for me. It makes riding and training interesting and means you ahve to find ways to keep them occupied, and if you do this successfully it strengthens the bond you can have with your horse. there is a tendency for arabs to be headshy, I'm not sure why... But it is easily fixed by patient handling. We fixed my boy easy enough. I agree thoroughbreds are often easier to handle on the ground, a lot calmer. But to me this doesn't translate into personality. I find the more spirited horses have the greater personality. Ill manners is a product of training/handling techniques, NOT the breed. And as always, there are super horses that break everyones pre-concieved ideas of any breed, and there are the opposites of any breed.Like I dont really like Arabs all that much (too small i dont like little horses like QH and arabs) and would never own one or even a cross. The arabs i have been around are psychotic and have way too much energy than one would want to deal with unless you were an endurance rider. What I find funny is that most of the QHs, arabians, or most of the western horses at my schools equestrian team are extremely head shy, they freak out when i am trying to put their blankets on, and are skittish and they have no personalities or have ill manners. But the big TBs/warmbloods are the opposite.