[disastercupcake]

They're just the best in every way! So versatile, loving, and STURDY.

I want to see your beauties in action. What do you do with your big lovelies?
Oh and this is Cloud; he is a 9 yo Paint Belgian cross. He does a bit of everything, but his favorite is eating We dabble in Dressage from time to time as well.

 

[NavigatorsMom]

Oooh, yes, good thread! Cloud is super handsome, and I love his name!

I have always loved draft horses and am lucky enough to own a half Shire half TB gelding named Navigator. He's eleven years old (twelve in April) and is 15.3 hands - even though his sire was a Shire, he was a pretty small stallion. We mostly just ride "for fun" and work on bettering ourselves, but just recently have started getting involved in my local dressage group and last April we went to our first show together! He's a super sweet and friendly boy and just loves being around people.

And now, pictures and video!

 

[jgnmoose]

I like these. If I find a good excuse to buy one, I'm all in.

 

[disastercupcake]

Navigator is beautiful and so talented! I love how light he is and look at him jumping! *jealous

 

[NavigatorsMom]

Thank you! I'm lucky he is a pretty versatile guy

 

[Smilie]

Nice examples of draft crosses !

 

[BlindHorseEnthusiast4582]

I do not own one but absolutely love them! A friend of mine fostered two draft crosses last year and I couldn't get enough of them. The gelding was a lot of fun to ride too. Such big, smooth movement!

Cloud and Navigator are both gorgeous!

 

[stevenson]

We have 3 . I cannot ride them, my hubs does in the arena. They are big strong and easy keepers.

 

[Woodhaven]

Over the years I have owned/or ridden a few draft crosses and I found them to be nice horses, one I owned was a bit stubborn and had his own ideas but once we sorted these out, he was a great horse, honest,willing and dependable, they tend to be gentle horses and easy to work with but I did find some of them hard work when riding dressage a lot to keep together but nice when it worked.

 

[Zexious]

I love draft crosses!

Stevenson -- What a handsome group! I swoon ;o;

 

[gingerscout]

well I love draft x's as well. I would like for my next horse to be one but if I don't end up with a full draft first..lol. I have to admit you guys have some good looking crosses to boot, kind of makes me want one more

 

[disastercupcake]

We have 3 . I cannot ride them, my hubs does in the arena. They are big strong and easy keepers.

Pretty one with the blaze wish we could see the others better!

 

[DraftyAiresMum]

Wouldn't trade my draft cross for the world. 2009 paint/Percheron gelding. His sire's name is APHA Little Bit of Black (Little Bit of Black Paint). His dam is CPA Edelweiss Ida. He got the Perchie build with the paint coloring.

Here's our journal (don't feel like trying to dig through all my pics. Sorry)
http://www.horseforum.com/member-journals/buenos-aires-new-beginning-660513/

 

[stevenson]

Disaster .. I did not feel like scrolling through all my photos..lol. They should show on my main page under photos.

 

[Sherian]

love a good draft cross and do breed them - but it costs me more to produce them than the average buyer is willing to pay, so only produce one every few years or so as I feel the itch for a project.

sorry no idea how to post pics here

 

[phantomhorse13]

Meet Fluffy (the grey) and Brimstone (the bay), who are both 1/2 Perch and 1/2 Arab siblings (same dam):

They are both endurance horses, though have also dabbled in eventing and fox hunting with their owner (riding Brim here).

Fluffy and I did our first 100 miler last August!

Brim is also a 100 mile horse, though now he is semi-retired from distance.

 

[Sherian]

think I got it figured out

 

[WhattaTroublemaker]

I'll look around for pictures of our Belgian Arab cross. Gorgeous fella but a bit nutty.

He's 15 years old, never really done anything. We've put him in harness a couple times, and I've started him in the round pen and put a few good rides on him but he's very reactive and unpredictable. I don't think he'd ever be rideable in an uncrontrolled environment.

 

[Smilie]

Why can't you ride those horses, Stevenson?
Draft crosses are known for being mellow
The draft cross works well for many English disciplines, esp when it gets the right stuff from both parents. They also make good recreational riding horses, but lack the quickness for most western disciplines, and why I personally am not a fan of a draft crosses, as I mainly ride western
I did learn to ride on Percheron, as we used them in the tobacco fields, when I was growing up I have seen full siblings from a draft X TB cross, and they were nothing alike, a chance you take, when you use that degree of variability of type for either
One of those crosses, got the best from both parents, with the bone, temperment , size from the draft dam, and the refinement and movement from the TB
The full sister, on the other hand, had a draft build and movement, with the hottess of the TB sire
The best draft crosses I have seen, have been mainly Hot blood crosses (TB and Arabian ) , although there are exceptions, same as anything else

 

[WhattaTroublemaker]

Here's my big fella.