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What's your LEAST favorite breed? Why...?

126K views 883 replies 443 participants last post by  Speed Racer 
#1 ·
Mine is Quarterhorses.

I just don't like them...they are too bulky, too muscled, and most...well, I don't like their legs for some reason... Most that I have seen have too long a back too, and too small a head, or too short a legs. They're just one of those breeds that 'irk' me. Don't get me wrong, I like some QH's, but not a lot, and normally, there is something about the QH's I do like that gets on my nerves.

But there are some I would love to have.

What's your least fav breed? And why?
 
#3 ·
LOL I was thinking about not posting after i saw the user name of the thread creator.. LOL

Mine has to be Tennessee Walking Horses for a few reasons...

1- How abused and mistreated the show horses are.. when i think of a walking horse, the first thing that comes to mind is those HUGE shoes and wide eyes.

2- They look like a really crazy riding horse.. most of the "pleasure" ones i see are absolutely insane.. but you cant tell their owners this.. their owners i have encountered believe that since they are well papered, they must be wonderful animals.. and the bucking/rearing? Its just SPIRIT :D Yeah.. RIGHT.

3- That every single Walking Horse breeder I have met think that they are the best breed on earth and that all other breeds just dont cut it. Paint horses and Quarter horses are my favorite breeds, but just because they are doesnt mean i don't think any other breed sucks. If i meet someone who breeds Arabians i don't run my mouth about how much i dislike arabians.. but good lord.. every Walking Horse Trainer/Breeder I have met has shoved TWH's down my throat as soon as they find out i like Quarter Horses and Paints and down on me for liking my breed. There is no such thing as the ULTIMATE horse breed.. all breeds have their strong points.. but no one breed is the best.

4- There is no real work when you ride them.. you just plop your butt in the saddle and feel it grow. At least with riding horses with a trot, you can post and whatnot.. this is where i get most of my excersize when riding.

5- Midnight Sun bred horses have huge ugly heads.. its a cruel hard fact.. LOL

6- I just dont care for the build of Walkers.. their heads tend to look a little huge, their eyes bulge, and the stance they put them in when they are posing for pictures reminds me of a horse that has sore feet and is trying to stretch its weight out.

7- They bred the original purpose out of the horse. The horses that are the best breeders, make the most money, and most people drool over are the World Grand Champions in the heavily shod division thing.. when they have the thick pads on.. Well, i worked with show Walkers.. and they cant be turned out with those shoes on.. and cant be worked for longer than 15 minutes a day with those shoes on or they get overly exhausted. Walkers were created to walk ALL DAY and have a smooth efficient gait so the farmer could check fence lines and check over their crops all day. Now, the "best of the best" cant go for very long at all under saddle because of those stupid pads. If they horse wont pick its feet up that high WITHOUT shoes.. maybe they arent supposed to pick their feet up that high at all!

8- They are broke to ride at a mere 16 months if they are used to show... from what I have seen from 4 different show barns.. Sure, Thoroughbreds are also broke at an early age.. but guess what? They only carry about 90 pounds because thats racing regulations.. Walking Horses? The people i have seen that break these yearlings weigh over 200 and less than 400... Poor babies =/

Its more the people that own Walking horses that i dont like.. about 15% or 10% of all walkers i met were actually GOOD horses.. the rest were absolutely terrible horses because of one thing or another.. whether it be their trainer, owner, or their breeding.

Again, this is my opinion, so im not right or wrong, im just speaking from my experience =)
 
#427 ·
LOL I was thinking about not posting after i saw the user name of the thread creator.. LOL

Mine has to be Tennessee Walking Horses for a few reasons...

1- How abused and mistreated the show horses are.. when i think of a walking horse, the first thing that comes to mind is those HUGE shoes and wide eyes.

2- They look like a really crazy riding horse.. most of the "pleasure" ones i see are absolutely insane.. but you cant tell their owners this.. their owners i have encountered believe that since they are well papered, they must be wonderful animals.. and the bucking/rearing? Its just SPIRIT :D Yeah.. RIGHT.

3- That every single Walking Horse breeder I have met think that they are the best breed on earth and that all other breeds just dont cut it. Paint horses and Quarter horses are my favorite breeds, but just because they are doesnt mean i don't think any other breed sucks. If i meet someone who breeds Arabians i don't run my mouth about how much i dislike arabians.. but good lord.. every Walking Horse Trainer/Breeder I have met has shoved TWH's down my throat as soon as they find out i like Quarter Horses and Paints and down on me for liking my breed. There is no such thing as the ULTIMATE horse breed.. all breeds have their strong points.. but no one breed is the best.

4- There is no real work when you ride them.. you just plop your butt in the saddle and feel it grow. At least with riding horses with a trot, you can post and whatnot.. this is where i get most of my excersize when riding.

5- Midnight Sun bred horses have huge ugly heads.. its a cruel hard fact.. LOL

6- I just dont care for the build of Walkers.. their heads tend to look a little huge, their eyes bulge, and the stance they put them in when they are posing for pictures reminds me of a horse that has sore feet and is trying to stretch its weight out.

7- They bred the original purpose out of the horse. The horses that are the best breeders, make the most money, and most people drool over are the World Grand Champions in the heavily shod division thing.. when they have the thick pads on.. Well, i worked with show Walkers.. and they cant be turned out with those shoes on.. and cant be worked for longer than 15 minutes a day with those shoes on or they get overly exhausted. Walkers were created to walk ALL DAY and have a smooth efficient gait so the farmer could check fence lines and check over their crops all day. Now, the "best of the best" cant go for very long at all under saddle because of those stupid pads. If they horse wont pick its feet up that high WITHOUT shoes.. maybe they arent supposed to pick their feet up that high at all!

8- They are broke to ride at a mere 16 months if they are used to show... from what I have seen from 4 different show barns.. Sure, Thoroughbreds are also broke at an early age.. but guess what? They only carry about 90 pounds because thats racing regulations.. Walking Horses? The people i have seen that break these yearlings weigh over 200 and less than 400... Poor babies =/

Its more the people that own Walking horses that i dont like.. about 15% or 10% of all walkers i met were actually GOOD horses.. the rest were absolutely terrible horses because of one thing or another.. whether it be their trainer, owner, or their breeding.

Again, this is my opinion, so im not right or wrong, im just speaking from my experience =)
i show a TWH and mine is NOTHING like that! we do NOT sore or break there tails. acaully the abuse crazy TWH is only a small part of the breed mostly there laid back trail horses. thats not a very good reason to dislike the horse its the trainer/riders fault there like that. there breed to be lazy trail horses and to work in feild.
 
#4 ·
Lol. Heck, it's fine. I see your points, which is why I don't want to ever show TWH's. I hope you don't mind if I break some of this stuff down a bit.

2- They look like a really crazy riding horse.. most of the "pleasure" ones i see are absolutely insane.. but you cant tell their owners this.. their owners i have encountered believe that since they are well papered, they must be wonderful animals.. and the bucking/rearing? Its just SPIRIT Yeah.. RIGHT.
This made me laugh, becasue I used to be that way until I got my mare. Yes, a lot of the pleasure TWH's are crazy, but some are really level headed and sane.

4- There is no real work when you ride them.. you just plop your butt in the saddle and feel it grow. At least with riding horses with a trot, you can post and whatnot.. this is where i get most of my excersize when riding.
Could you please, please, please tell this to my mare? Pretty please...? She may be a Walker, but it is VERY rarely that she gaits... her favorite thing to do is...you guessed it, trot. Trot this, trot that...her trot is bouncy and kinda rough too...but she trots... she don't rack, do a running walk, or anything hardly... she trots.

5- Midnight Sun bred horses have huge ugly heads.. its a cruel hard fact.. LOL
Not quite... my girl is 'Sun' bred and her head isn't big... Maybe she's just a rebel...?

Again, this is my opinion, so im not right or wrong, im just speaking from my experience =)
I'm sorry for kinda...'puttin' you in the spotlight' but I couldn't help but feel the need to point out those few things...opinion or not. Thanks for replying to this thread and I hope you forgive me for my...'need' to point out those things.
 
#6 ·
I HATE Pasos....ugh. Every single paso I've ever met is nuts. Though smooth I don't think it looks very pretty. I don't know I just don't like them. And then i have to agree I'm not a big fan of TWH but the two at my barn are the most darling horses ever. I hate their conformation though. Small butts, weird hips, way way way jutted out hind legs, huge shoulder. These two are the only two I've met and liked.
 
#7 ·
Could you please, please, please tell this to my mare? Pretty please...? She may be a Walker, but it is VERY rarely that she gaits... her favorite thing to do is...you guessed it, trot.
LOL are you -sure- she is a Walker then? From the people i've known, if there ever was something worse than a NON walking horse.. it was a Registered Walker that would not gate *coughcoughMyExBoyfriendsHorsecoughcough* Well.. no.. i cant say its THAT bad, because these morons would just sell them as broodmares and still make a profit. I always thought when registering a walker, you had to have video proof of it gaiting? Or are they getting so lazy that so long as they are from registered parents, all they need is the blood typing? Ugh... it seems the AQHA and APHA arent the only registries that are not upholding the breeds integrity.. Before you know it, they are going to start having more and more registered walkers throwing trotting horses =/

At least you don't have beef with the "trot" gate.. Lordie i cant begin to say how much it irked me when people would put me down because i actually enjoyed WORKING when i was riding my horse. Walkers that gait would be good retirement horses for older people because they are very smooth... but i personally would like to work my weight off while i ride, LOL

Yes, a lot of the pleasure TWH's are crazy, but some are really level headed and sane.
Thats why i said that out of all the walkers i met, 10% or 15% have actually been decent horses.. but then again, i worked at show barns, i worked with horses that had some serious abuse and serious issues.. Well, anything that happens to those horses in those show barns creates issues..

Glad to know you have a Midnight Sun mare without a huge 2 foot long head and 6 inch long nose... LOL The MS walkers i have seen look like emaciated draft horses.. HUGE heads... but tiny, tiny bodies .. She must not be linebred for him (or as i call it.. INBRED) Because every single horse i met that was linebred with MS had the ugliest head and the tiniest body.. blyuck!

And nah, your fine for commenting on that. I'd love to see more critique on other "least favorite" horses though.. err. not critique so much as more information as to why they are someones least favorite. I feel like the odd man out for actually posting eight lengthy points when everyone else put sentances, LOL.. maybe i just dislike TWH's that much, LOL
 
#9 ·
Racking horses. I just don't really see much of a point. But then again, I'm a dressage rider at heart.
Racking Horses are very nice for people who have joint problems, because they don't jostle you around as much.

LOL are you -sure- she is a Walker then? From the people i've known, if there ever was something worse than a NON walking horse.. it was a Registered Walker that would not gate *coughcoughMyExBoyfriendsHorsecoughcough* Well.. no.. i cant say its THAT bad, because these morons would just sell them as broodmares and still make a profit. I always thought when registering a walker, you had to have video proof of it gaiting? Or are they getting so lazy that so long as they are from registered parents, all they need is the blood typing? Ugh... it seems the aqha and apha arent the only registries that are not upholding the breeds integrity.. Before you know it, they are going to start having more and more registered walkers throwing trotting horses =/
I'm positive she is a full blooded walker, but she isn't registered. She couldn't be registered, because her sire was TWHBEA registered, but her dam was registered in the RHAA (she racked better than she did anything else, even though she was a full TWH)...therefore, my girl can't be registered.

At least you don't have beef with the "trot" gate.. Lordie i cant begin to say how much it irked me when people would put me down because i actually enjoyed WORKING when i was riding my horse. Walkers that gait would be good retirement horses for older people because they are very smooth... but i personally would like to work my weight off while i ride, LOL
Lol. Yeah, it's surprising to most people that I own gaited horses, but my favorite gait is the trot... I don't know why it is, but it is.

Glad to know you have a Midnight Sun mare without a huge 2 foot long head and 6 inch long nose... LOL The MS walkers i have seen look like emaciated draft horses.. HUGE heads... but tiny, tiny bodies .. She must not be linebred for him (or as i call it.. INBRED) Because every single horse i met that was linebred with MS had the ugliest head and the tiniest body.. blyuck!
I know exactly what you mean! From the 'Sun' bred horses I've seen...well, yuck sums it up... I think my girl is just a rebel...lol. My girl, honestly, some people have asked me if she was a thoroughbred or a standadrbred...nobody hardly ever GUESSES that she's a full blooded Tennessee Walker.
 
#643 ·
Racking Horses are very nice for people who have joint problems, because they don't jostle you around as much.


Yes I agree. Cause I have Spinololythisis in my back and I own a Racking mare. She is so much more Confortable for me to ride then lets say a QH or Arab,ect..
But my DR. actually said that a gaited breed would be much better for me. So there for I have no issues with the gaited breeds.
But I really dont like Ponys or the big draft horses. I dont like ponys because for one there to much work! They can be naughty and bad.
Draft horses, IDK really why I dont like them its just something about people riding them I dont like.
 
#10 ·
That's very limited. I don't really believe people with semi-serious or serious back problems should ride. As far as joints, only specific joints can truly benefit, others are used while riding racking or non-racking horses. I have a joint problem, by the way, a racking horses would cause no benefit. And I meant riding in general. But these are just my opinions.
 
#11 ·
That's very limited. I don't really believe people with semi-serious or serious back problems should ride. As far as joints, only specific joints can truly benefit, others are used while riding racking or non-racking horses. I have a joint problem, by the way, a racking horses would cause no benefit. And I meant riding in general. But these are just my opinions.
Umm...sorry? :?
I just said that about the Racking Horses because my best friend rides our Racker and she has back and knee problems, and it doesn't cause her near as much pain as riding my Walker or the Arabian. She says that Butter's gaits and way of walking are just easier on her back and knees. I have knee and back problems as well, and it is true in my case too, but I prefer to ride the Arabian or my Walker because me and Butter...well, we have a history of not getting along.
Hope that clears up why exactly I said that.
 
#12 ·
I understand what you meant, it is a low impact ride. When you are trotting on a big Carnial Cruise Ship of a Thoroughbred, there is a lot of impact on the butt and knees, and strain in the ankle and heel. Gaited horses are a heck of a lot smoother and a good option for people who want horses that they do not need to worry about re-injuring themselves on (Though, as we know, horses are very err... prone-to-causing-injury animals, LOL)

The "Walk" and the "Rack" from what I gather, are nearly Identical. They are both 4 beat gates, both are rapid motion, but the Walk makes the horse throw the leg out more, where as the Rack makes the horse throw its leg more upward. When i was watching Walkers show, i watched the Rackers and the Walkers. They say Rackers are a dime a dozen, but a true Walker is something special.. blargh.. I dont like the show industry, LOL

So, from what i gather:

Walk:

Knee is nearly straight, and hoof is out.

Rack:

Knee fully bent, hoof tucked in.

I hope that helps.. in its own special way, LOL i dont mean to hijack the thread for the difference between a walk and a rack, LOL

((Anyone else notice their toes are down, not their heels? On the riders i mean))
 
#14 ·
LOL i hear Connemaras are very "fun" and "spirited" My friend went to france and rode one and said it was the scariest experience ever.. this from a girl who owns a 4 year old registered Arabian gelding.. and when i say Arabian i mean dished head, flagged tail, and bugged out eyes ALL THE TIME. that horse doesnt know any gate besides spook! LOL!

I'd have to agree with ya on those.. those breeds arent for the faint of heart! Out of all the Shetlands i have known, only one was actually really cool.. but still a cheeky pony at times! He didnt bite or kick though.. all the other ones did! =)
 
#15 ·
Skippy!, I don't know about you, but I'm finding this fun! Lol.

You are talking about the 'showy' and 'enhanced' Running Walk and Rack. Yes, they look both the same (kinda) in the 'showy' world... but get two regular shod horses, Walker and Racker, and the difference...is huge...

The Walk, flat shod, is much more toned down... the only reason that show Walkers walk such an exagerated walk is because of the weights they wear. (it's ridiculus...)
Here is a picture of a TWH doing a 'real' running walk.


And the Rack, again, you are talking about the show horses Rack... they also wear weights to exagerate their gait. (again...it's ridiculus...)
Here is a picture of a 'real' rack.


(and yeah...for some reason, most people who ride the show Walkers and Rackers heels are almost always 'up' and toes 'down'...it really irks me, even though I have a bad habit of my toes 'down' and heels 'up'...lol.)

And Kiki...I hear ya! Connemara's...never really been around one, so I can't say nothing...but Shetlands (or, as my uncle calls them, Sh!tlands)...ohhh boy...I think they have to be evil because of their size! Those little monsters make me wanna...!
 
#18 ·
You can really see the difference in the walk and the rack in those flat shod pictures.. see, looking at a TWH in that light makes them look like smooth efficient riding horses. But what stinks, is the actual breed standards don't get much spot light at all. the ones that make all the money breeding are the ones with the big old clogs on their feet.

Like you said.. its kind of odd to weight the hoof in order to get them to pick them up higher.. when i first saw it before i started working with TWH's i was thinking "How does that work?" i found out more about it after working with the poor souls though.

Its so sad to watch a heavily shod walker turn in its stall. It literally has to pivot on its back legs and nearly rear up in the front and tweak its body to the side to reposition itself. Poor horses =/ It looks so darn painful and uncomfortable =/
 
#24 ·
I don't like Arabians. Mainly because of their conformation. I don't like the concave profile in some either, and it also doesn't help that most Arabians I've met were ditzy and nuts. :lol:

I don't mind Arab crosses, also long as they don't have that strange, dished face. Just looks weird on a horse. Oo
 
#315 ·
it amuses me that the things you dislike about arabians are some of the reasons why i show them ;)


hmmmm.... breed i dislike the most would for sure be the TWH. cause of all that BS soring they are doing to them (dont get me wrong we have got our fair share of dirty-work in the arabian circuit as well)

also the HUGE weights on their feet (totally dont have a problem with a little toe weight for a pleasure class) BUT COME ON!!
lol and last but not least that preying mantis-like crawl just erks me WAYYYYYYYY wrong

i dont mean to bash the breed though, my bad.
 
#26 ·
What's your LEAST favorite breed and why?

I would have to say the TWH, and forgive me please, TWH fans, but at a walk, it feels like you'r riding a camel! Plus, and this is my experience only, you can't ride with horses outside of gated horses, because the speed is too different at every gait.
 
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