What sort of horse...?

[Gwenllian]

My friend is looking for a horse to buy.She's also disabled, but quite a good rider.She can walk, trot, and is progressing very well at canter.She loves dressage and looks well doing it.She's shortish and about 11 1/2 stone.She does look quite strange on very tall horses, and needs something with a very smooth trot, rather than the choppy one that Rosie and most heavy horses have.Any ideas what she might get around the 15HDS, that would take her weight but is not too cobby? She also has trouble with very wide horses because of her disability.It's for hacking and dressage exclusively.Any of you have any suggestions please, that I can give her??

[Tammy]

or Quarter Horse mix. They come in all shapes and sizes, great disposition and smooth gaits for the most part. Are QH common in the UK or not?

[Tammy]

or Quarter Horse cross. They come in all shapes and sizes; not all are built like blocks! Great disposition and smooth gaits for the most part. Are QH common in the UK or not?

[Maci]

But I'm trying to think if they would be too wide for your friend, perhaps? Since you said she has trouble with wider horses. What about Arabians? Some can be a little high-strung, but the ones I ride have AMAZING gaits! Smooth......

Good Luck To Your Friend!
Maci :)

[Edited by Maci on 30th May 2001 at 08:34 PM]

[Silvia]

A friend of mine has a Haflinger X Westfalian. About 15hh with beautiful gaits and VERY good at dressage. A bit on the cobby side, but not too wide. A stunning horse, just a little nervy. His build would be just what you described - but I would not feel save riding him. I think a native X warmblood would be a good possibility.

[Mossy]

If you can find one Highland TB crosses exist and a good one gives you the best of all worlds. They can do anything and do not split your difference. You don't hear of them very often but some folks breed them for endurance. Try the Highland site. Just a thought. Welsh cobs would suit the job but be too wide I suspect. Mind you if she is like most of us she wil know what she is "looking for" and finish up buying something totally different.
Good luck to one and all

[floppy]

hehe my haflinger is stocky! my friends haflinger though is not so stocky..i rode my haflinger bareback to the field the other day and vowed not to do that for a while...she is just so round..
i would suggest that cobs etc would do for the weight an arab may be a bit high strung..but a little girl has one at the yard that is an absolute angel and the horse is only 5..but but th ehorse also has a roundish belly and the little girl that rides it legs stick out as if she was sitting on a plump pony..
i would, look in all magazines to see what is avalible on the market and also enquire at a disabled riding school what they would recommend..of all the english magazines i have read i have rarely seen QH advertised..and i could imagien that they can be somewhat expensive...i know here in germany QH's are pretty expensive...compared to other breeds.

[Gwenllian]

Printed this off to show my friend.She was kinda impressed with the friendliness and relaxed tone of this message board.Any way, we sort of got the idea from you folks that a native X of some kind to take out some of the wideness, but keep up the weight carrying capacity,might be a safe bet.So we shall go window shopping.Don't think we have many QHs around,folks.....but ya never know!! Thanks all.

[LindaAd]

I'd say just keep looking, Gwenllian, and try anything that seems suitable without any preconceived ideas: you just can't know what's out there. My Barney's as chunky a cob as you could hope to find, but quite narrow across the back, only wears a medium saddle. Perhaps a warmbloodXpony cross, but they're all unique, and you can't really decide in advance. Good luck!

[Cathy Reynolds]

Gwenliann. Such fun. Good luck with your search. Your friend will know what's right when she sees it! Thing to do is I guess not to rule anything out in advance because you never know what you will find when you get to view. I think what I would say is take your time and enjoy the hunt!

We have a young horse at the yard who is Exmoor cross Lippizaner. She'll make 14.2 and is medium width but will carry a decent weight eventually. Benny is WelshA x Carthorse (well, some sort of cob) he takes a medium/wide saddle and is 13.2 and will carry at least 12 stone. Also what about a Dales or DalesX. Or Highland.

[Outrider]

I would suggest a Tennessee Walking Horse. Not too tall or wide and a great, smooth, easy going gait that is great for dressage. Happy Trails!

[Fran_C]

Personally I would say a TBX Welsh would be ideal, they are sound smooth comfortable, not too wide and not to hyper. Unfortunately here in England Qhs and Tennesee walking horses are extremely unusual and even arabians aren't over common. A welsh X is hardy and many make top pony club dressage horses so I see no reason they couldn't make good RDA dressage horses?

[Barkless]

How about a Morgan?

http://website.lineone.net/~bmhs/

[Gwenllian]

Sorry to be ignorant...but what is a Morgan??? Well,I certainly have some interesting things to tell her.That Welsh XTB has come up a few times now...maybe there's something in it! As for an Exmoor X Lippizaner...now that DOES sound interesting!! But back to my original question...what IS a Morgan..DO tell!

[Barkless]

The Morgan is an old American breed generally standing 14-15hh, and known for its versatility and endurance. It was used to help create other breeds such as the QH, Tennessee Walking Horse, American Saddlebred and Standardbred. There are two body types: a very refined show type and a stockier old-fashioned type. You can see a picture of a Morgan doing dressage at:

http://www.morganhorse.com/info_dress.html

That link in my previous message is for the British Morgan Horse Society.

Hope this helps!

[Edited by Barkless on 7th Jun 2001 at 02:49 PM]

[Gwenllian]

Oooooooh Nice!! Was that picture of the finer one or the stockier?? Can you get them in UK???

[Barkless]

Looks like the stockier type to me. There's a picture of the show type at this link:

http://www.morganhorse.com/info_modern.html (second picture on the page)

According to the British Morgan Horse Society, there are 600 Morgans registered in the UK. This is their link, I'm sure they could tell you where to find one:

http://website.lineone.net/~bmhs/

I also have a couple of other suggestions. Has your friend considered a small TB? The international dressage champion Seldom Seen was a 14.3 Connemara/TB cross, maybe that would work too.

Good luck, and let us know what your friend ends up buying!

[MadWoman]

Hi Goforblue,

I think you'll just find that although we don't have many quarterhorses, you don't have many Irish DraftxThoroughbreds or coloured cobs (remember the Gypsy Vanner Thread?). I don't think it's down to not liking the breeds, but more to the cost of importing breeding stock, and also what horses are used for - we don't have a vast demand for horses which excel at Western riding!

It's not that strange really, we do have the Atlantic Ocean between us! :)

[kelsey]

Just to put in my two cents worth - I have a Canadien horse (of course I live in Canada!) and he is fantastic. Very forward going, but bombproof and easy to train. And he has the most fantastic smooth trot. This breed is similar to the old-fashioned Morgan (some people think the first Morgan was part Canadien!) and usually about 14 to 16 hands.

Had to get a plug in for Canadiens.

[Sharon H]

What about a Freisan? They're up to weight but are narrower to ride than you might think. They do well at dressage and are hardy enough to live out.

[foxyroxy]

Like some people have said i think maybe some kind of TB x would be great. Maybe even an appendix QH? I would definitley suggest something with Tb in it though just because of there usually narrow build. In the UK (seeing youve said there are few QH's) are there paints or appaloosas? just curious! this wasa really pointless post but i felt like putting something on this thread

[larri]

Have you thought of going down the Iberian route?
Lusitano, andalusian or X with thoroughbred/ native.
Fair few in the uk, unbelievably smooth paces, excellant temperament, easily trained. Can let you know more if you want!

Larri