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Its nice to see this - the Iberian horses are certainly becoming more popular in the Ammy world and in the national classes around me. I have a pro showing my current Lusi/Hanno. cross and doing pretty well even in tough competition PSG/I-1. ; hoping to do GP by fall with him. Mine is on the small side but I also see some much bigger ones showing up. I wonder if size does matter. I think that a lot. But then I also think about Charlotte and her little WB Gio.
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I donāt know how much size matters. It might matter somewhat, but I think itās about presence too. A horse thatās 15.2 can have more presence than one thatās 16.2 if the horse had the right movement, attitude, training, and rider, size is a factor, but less important than some others, I think.
I prefer a mount right around 15.2-3 but my next up and comer is 2 (PRE) and is just about 15.2 so I think heās going to exceed my preference. Which is fine, because heās lovely.
Iāve seen more Iberians popping up here and there and higher in the rankings, which is exciting. Even if they werenāt, Iād still love them anyway! Total convert here.
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My new young PRE arrived to the barn two weeks ago & Iām excited to begin my journey with him. I think heās about 16.2 at the measuring point. But heās slightly built compared to many Iberians in the barn already, so he appears smaller. And he lost some muscle tone & fat in the process of castration followed shortly after by international travel.
So it will be interesting to see what height & body shape he ends up. Heāll be five in June. We donāt have anything like CDI aspirations like the HGF horses & others in the article. But Iām eager to re-visit Training & First Levels with a horse of his build & movement this time around. And then to see where things lead from there.
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He could make anyone want a PRE! And want you to shop for one for them!
My only problem with many Iberians is the tendency toward rounder build, and my hips donāt handle that well. Some are not as round, and I love the personalities, so as numbers increase here I could see myself with one in the future.
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So cool! Over the last few years theyāve become more prevalent here in South Africa too. We have 2 lovely ones at the yard doing dressage. One a flashy imported one, the other (the one I WANT) is a smaller, stockier pony type. Sweetest little guy with almost his own bodyweight in mane.
We also have a stud thatās breeding really handy purebreds and some wb crosses. Theyāre out and about and doing well with with amateur owners, which I always love to see.
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My concern is that as PRE become more popular in dressage, the characteristic traits of the breed are altered to better fit the expectation of the sport. I donāt mind losing the dishing in the trot but I think very tall PRE are not good. As well as parade horses, they are functional cattle horses. 16.00 hh is about as large as one used to see them in the Spanish countryside.
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I feel the same way.
Which is why I donāt ālikeā that mine appears to be the taller type, but, to be fair, he wasnāt purposely bred to be tall, and does come from some nice bloodlines. His breeder has some nice older lines in her breeding stock and Iām so tempted to buy another from her before she retires. Sheās getting older, as is her main stallion, and a majority of her mares, so Iām not sure how much longer sheāll be at it. Iām very tempted by my horses full sister.
I also donāt want the PRE to lose too ouch if itself for the sake of conforming to the sport, so to speak. That would sadden me.
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There are starting to be taller Lusitano stallions also. Casa Lusitano ha one that is quite lovely but 17.1 hands! I also have a friend who has a several PREās. two of them are pushing 17 hands, if not there.
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I bought my Lusitano from Casa Lusitana, and heās 16.3. Iād stayed away from this breed and PREs in the past because of their small size and āpaddlyā trot, so Iām excited to see breeders like this producing horses for dressage competition and for the taller riders among us.
I donāt see why itās a problem that some breeders are now producing taller horses - it just means more people can ride them and helps expand awareness of the breed.
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Not exactly how I feel, but fair enough.
I just donāt want the breed straying too far from itās origins/foundation which I think are quite good. A āpaddlyā trot can depend on the breeding too, not all are like that. I just find with larger horses they are sometimes not as hardy, and I just prefer a good medium sized mount. Theyāve always been my healthiest and most sound horses. When you take something a modify it, such as add height, there can be drawbacks, so itās just something to keep in mind. Sometimes more attention on or toward a breed isnāt always a good thing, but it can be. I mean weāve seen all sorts of extremes and odd things in horse breeding over the years.
On the other hand, if this one I have now ends up taller and larger, then OH can ride him. He hasnāt ridden any other of my PREās or those that Iāve worked with previously because theyāve been too small for him. Heās quite tall and solid. Theyāre not the best weight carriers.
I just donāt think that the PRE should be, or needs to be 17hh. I donāt want that for the breed, personally.
I do like āexpanding awarenessā of the breed, but on the other hand it can have drawbacks as well. These arenāt horses for everyone nor are they always the ammy friendly alternative to a WB that people like the advertise them as. They can be sensitive souls, and I do see many rushed along or ignored and just a bit miserable in their work, but they still do it because theyāre very much a people pleaser type. Itās a breed I hold near and dear to my heart, so Iām a bit sensitive about it all. Theyāre the best horses and will walk through fire for you.
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I just saw a blurb that the Oldenburg Verband has approved Hobbit Interagro for breeding. He is not a PRE but rather a Lusitano (and a Grand Prix one at that), and I believe stands a hair under 16.0h. His foals out of taller WB mares will likely end up taller - for those of you that like bigger horses.
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I saw that too. Sometimes an Iberian WB cross can turn out really nice, but Iām too ādiehardā or set in my ways and prefer just straight Iberian. Donāt get me wrong, a good horse is a good horse. He is certainly veryyyy nice!
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Love this! Iām a total convert. I had warmbloods in the past, and Iāll never go back (not that there is anything wrong with warmbloods, obviously - but I find for my reasonably competent Ammy self, Spanish horses are the way to go). After having a young wb that was a disaster, I found an Azteca who restored all my shot confidence; could take that horse anywhere and do anything. Rode during a thunderstorm, had a tent blow over into the ring at a show - nothing happened - he was like āandā¦?ā Ha. Liked him so much, I went back to the breeder and bought a weanling Andalusian, who is coming 6 now and second level/schooling third. The Azteca was 15.1, and this one is about 16.1 and quite leggy. Heās not particularly wide in build, though he does take a wide tree.
Mine has a phenomenal brain, but can be a Type A overachiever. At some point, I hope he learns that itās okay to make a mistake because he REALLY wants to please and doesnāt want to do anything āwrong.ā Thatās good because heās super safe and learns so, so quickly. Thatās bad because he can get tight and his legs just go faster when heās learning something new. Once he knows it, though, itās installed in his operating system, and he goes back to being loose. I do have a good trainer who rides him as well because I think that once something is installed in him (and again, that happens very, VERY quickly), I think it would be pretty hard to undo. So, in the wrong hands, that could be an issue. He also does best with softness - weāre starting to do just the idea of half steps, but it needs to be soft and effective on the ground - no coming in hot to him. He wouldnāt DO anything bad - he doesnāt leave EVER. But he would get tight, and thatās not the point. I find the rider really has to be soft and relaxed and encouraging to get him to be looser and, you know, breathe. Ha.
I do think itās harder to access their backs and move the middle - we spent a good 18 months (from age 4 to now) really making that happen. Some of them are certainly just ridden āroundā with tricks but not āthrough,ā IMO. It took that time to get him to swing. He also can default to just pulling around with his front legs rather than carrying but now that heās starting to carry more, heās very, very good at it. We basically always have him in some sort of positioning, e.g., haunches in, shoulder in, etc. so he learns to actually use himself instead of just fling his legs up and down. LOL. Now that he can swing more, weāre hoping his lengthening/extension gets a bit better.
Heās a joy to work with because he tries so hard and has NO quit in him. Heāll canter for days if you asked, even in the dead of summer at a show. Easiest horse to sit Iāve ever had. I donāt break a sweat. He did well (mid- to -high 60s) at training and first but not incredibly well - the bigger moving warmbloods definitely outscored him. But I have a feeling that as he moves up, heāll be quite competitive because of his ability to sit and carry (collection will be easy!) and his desire to be 100% correct 100% of the time. Heās the ultimate āIām a good boy!ā
Kind of wrote a novel there, but I love these horses!
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Ah, the eternal question. Do you want the sport or do you want the breed?
As an example of what can happen when ātypeā is disregarded, consider the Shetland Pony and the American Shetland Pony. The only thing they have in common is the word āShetlandā. Both have their place.
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I can relate to your post so much. Youāre horse sounds very much like my last PRE!
Itās fastinating because even my 2 year old picks up things incredibly fast and once he has it, itās in there for good. Not sure what exactly he will be like under saddle though! Thatās a ways off.
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Iām not saying that I see a particular problem, though IF people are breeding primarily for size, and not some other traits, that the breed will change over time. Also, I happen to be of shorter stature (and olderā¦)and do not want a horse over 16 hands. Try to find a warmblood that size; they are few and far between, thus limiting those breeds for my size rider. We are not all Debbie McDonald, lol.
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I find people tend to say they are āso easy,ā and they are in many ways (safe, not leaving, no quit, always appear āroundā - āabove the bitā is not a comment heās EVER gotten), but harder in other ways compared to warmbloods (can be tight, not through, middle not mobile). I donāt bounce as well as I used to, so I just went with the safe route. Even if mine spooks, and he hasnāt in a long while but itās not like itās never happened, his legs move a lot but he doesnāt go anywhere or drop out from under me. My warmbloods would be outta there, LOL.
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Exactly! When mine spook their legs move but they donāt actually go anywhere. They do the āSpanish Shuffleā
Sometimes the 2 year old spooks, but he just does the Spanish Shuffle and his eyes get big. He doesnāt tank off or anything. His young horse antics are pretty tame.
I think the biggest āstruggleā with the PRE is the mental component. You have to ride their brain. Itās very mental with them. Having really good body control is necessary too, theyāre quite sensitive, which is nice because your dressage work can look and be so effortless.
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Paraphrasing a line in this trailer: they are so generous that they will try to give you what they donāt even have to give.
Different horses for different courses, but I go for the Carthusian types.
greys
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