Ok aside from the OTTB thread…
What breeds do you think give QH any run on their money for cowyness… going after cow?
Appys… with no QH or not much?
just other breeds entirely…
What about old Spanish breeds which really were the foundation for a lot of QH blood besides TB… Mustangs?
A Morgan of Western Working breeding could probably fit the bill… Morgans were also used in the foundation of the QH.
You know, that question is hard to understand.
What would you say if someone asks, what is the best horse other than a TB to run credibly?
Well, there are quarter horses, arabians, paints, appys and pony races.
Now, do you want to train the best of them to run Triple Crown races?
You can have any one other breed than quarter horses bred for cow do cow work and get along fine, some even be very good at it.
Then, when you really want to look for a cow horse, your chances of having the best of that is a cow bred quarter horse.
No, morgans, TBs and arabians may be in the quarter horse breed way back there, but you will not consistently find in them the kind of cow horses the right quarter horses will be.
Each breed is best at what it was bred for, which can be many things, but they are rarely many of one breed very good at what they were not really bred for that other type horses were bred for, like for the ability to work cattle a certain way, by instinct, cow horses have been bred for.
I have used several TBs and arabians to work cattle, but the best of them just are not the kind of cowhorse a horse bred for generations to do that are.
You ask about feral horses?
Those are descendants of ranch horses, many of those were bred for cow horse.
One of our best cow horses was a feral horse, but again, I expect that came from whatever ancestor he got that cow horse trait, not from being a feral horse.
Get the right tool for the job, the right horse for the task at hand.
Now, if you have any one horse and want to work cattle with it, that is great!
To have real cow, well, your chances are best with a cow bred cowhorse.
None, that I can think of.
However, I have a friend that shows big time on the Arabian circuits. She’s primarily a reining and working cowhorse trainer with a little cutting thrown in for good measure. All of her top horses are 1/2 Arabian…crossed on a QH.
I have ridden some pretty cowy Arabians, and half Arabians.
The Criollo or Crioulo seems like it would match your criteria 
Fair distance to travel though … and you’d likely need to spend some time learning how the horse is cued.
Welsh Cob Section D or an Andulusian or Lusitano.
You can herd with any dog that has the right kind of herding instincts, many do.
Our friend we trained border collies with helped people with other breeds to get their dogs started herding.
His wife’s yorkie was maybe all of 5 lbs, but when the goats got out, he was the handiest at getting around them and bringing them back, just like his border collies would have, that were sitting out there in the kennels.
You know, when it came time to training seriously and go compete, he used border collies, because those have been bred thru generations to be the best at that task, herding in the manner that herding instinct makes them the best at it and more of those will do best at that kind of herding than any other breed.
With horses, you have the same situation.
Many horses can cow, some better than others, some very good.
If what you want is to work cattle in the way horses bred for it excel, you really will have best luck with those horses.
Any other, other quarter horse lines or other breeds, will rarely be tops at that kind of cow work.
Yes, andalusians work cattle in their own way and they are great at that.
That is not what we are talking about here, I think.
Here, it is about working in the manner that cutting horses do, the dance of getting down and dirty with a cow and controlling it and/or a whole herd from a position of dominance.
When you ride many horses working cattle, you realize that is so and you make do with whatever you are riding.
When you have a horse that is an ace at that kind of work, ohhh, that makes your life better and puts a real large smile in your face.
Not that the others may not be good at it, but that talent does shine thru.
If what you want is to work cattle that certain way, there is no substitute for the real thing.
If we wanted to motor around a ring on a gaited horse, we would not hunt thru all quarter horses to find that one rare one that may be able to imitate that has some talent at that we can bring out with considerably effort on our part training for it, would we, just because we wanted to ride a quarter horse?
Yes, you can find and train many horses of many breeds to work cattle adequately, more of those in some breeds than others.
If you happen to have that rare really good cow horse in another breed and that is what you like, enjoy that.
Are you looking for a real cow horse, get a quarter horse bred for that.
In some more generations, someone breeding arabians or other breeds for cow horses may eventually have some lines that work as the real cow horses do.
Today, not there yet.
Want to just have fun working cattle?
Any breed will do that, some individuals better than others.
Teaching them to do it correctly goes a long way in that.
Don’t let your horse move up to the cattle, he loses his advantage then, cattle may then run by it.
Teach it to stay in the position of power to handle cattle, the right distance and body position to be able to cut that critter before it moves, to think before the cow does, to be in the right place at the right time, that is what good cowhorses do on their own, what you can train others to do well.
I had one good reining quarter horse that didn’t have hardly any cow, but was so well trained he worked cattle like he did.
Except when he had a tough cow, then the rider just could not help him enough and it was obvious he was getting help all along.
That was ok in working cowhorse, but you can’t fake that too well cutting.
He still did well there because of the dry and fence work, would lose points cutting if he got the wrong cow, or for not getting a cow that really was showing what he could do, something you didn’t want to, because then it was obvious he was not that good at it.
Once someone really learns what a cow horse is, they realize that there is no substitute for the real thing.
Minis! :lol:
They can get “down and dirty,” as another poster described, like nobody’s business, though it is little difficult to pull them out from work. Personal experience.
What a pity, they are so tiny.
Other than that, there are Morgan breeders in the West, who develop “cowy” Morgans. They can go very nicely, though I would say, they operate little differently than QHs.
Morgans and Arabs are what I see around here.
I have worked cows on Arabs and they did great. Cowy and wanted to go, lots of stamina. I worked cows on my FjordieX, he loved it. BUT that being said and what Bluey said, I was cuing them for most of it. They were really interested and had fun, but only one Arab out of the bunch, would probably work more on his own. Mostly because he was a more aggressive horse.
I have had a couple of quarter horses that weren’t very cowy, but one was aggressive towards dogs and cats, a real bully but scared of cows. I didn’t have him long. Another old guy loved to follow the cows, but wouldn’t hold the gate. Didn’t have much cow in him, he was a grade qh/closet appy (guessing).
Now, the little AQHA mare I have now is registered appendix, is straight foundation on top, appendix on the bottom, but figures out to 75% foundation, so the tb is several generations back. Talk about a fun ride. Quiet in the herd, show her the one you want and hang on! Great little horse, I think my all time favorite I have had. Sensitive and sometimes opinionated, but brave on the trail and a dragon on cows.
I had an Arab mare a while back that totally loved chasing cows. If that cow wasn’t moving fast enough she’d reach down, ears back, and threaten a chomp.
Not surprising to me as she was Varian bred (a couple of generations back) and the Varian horses were known to be good with cows.
Sheila Varian and Ronteza “win the world.”
Well - my sample size is only two - but I have had two appies that had a lot of “cow”. In fact, they liked to “move” just about any animal you let them. Herd the geese? Fun! Move other horses - you bet. Chase some coyotes - just drop the reins and watch them go.
As soon as my current app figured out cows will MOVE from her - she became “power drunk” any time she sees a cow (a couple times a week, I ride through cow pastures) she tries to make a bee line for them. I have assisted in moving the cattle, and she feels like a fish in water.
This particular horse is 50% TB and 50% foundation appaloosa (that side is 85% appy blood, a little saddlebred and QH thrown in).
My other appy that enjoyed, and seemed to have a knack for working cattle was also foundation bred, well over 80% appaloosa blood with a little TB and saddlebred thrown in way back.
Look at this cute appy cutting on his own! (no rider) - mostly App, QH’s in the 3th generation)
I had an appy that was world champion reiner and did have lots of cow, the right kind.
He also was a grandson of Doc Olena, that is probably where his talent on cattle came from.
I think that is what the OP’s question was, breeds with cow OTHER than …
Thanks for all the posts… Bluey, I value your input… and I know that the question is a bit vague and probably really goes back to what breeds made up a cowy QH in the beginning. I guess my question is what other breeds than QH are people riding that are particularly fond of getting cows?
Sure they may not win a futurity class in cutting but you can sure have fun!
My Selle Francais Gelding… all 17.2 , 1600 lbs was pretty fast going after vultures… he hated them, pinned his ears as much a my fancy Cutting Mare does… it was funny… we had the birds around a lot in our arena in Peru sunning themselves… wings spread like a Phoenix. Elf would go after them teeth bared… and fast! I always wondered if he would go after a cow. Never tried it.
What about any draft crosses?
[QUOTE=Bluey;7643383]
I think that is what the OP’s question was, breeds with cow OTHER than …[/QUOTE]
Correct… other than QH anything… in the papers
[QUOTE=craz4crtrs;7643109]
Now, the little AQHA mare I have now is registered appendix, is straight foundation on top, appendix on the bottom, but figures out to 75% foundation, so the tb is several generations back. Talk about a fun ride. Quiet in the herd, show her the one you want and hang on! Great little horse, I think my all time favorite I have had. Sensitive and sometimes opinionated, but brave on the trail and a dragon on cows.[/QUOTE]
Sounds like my Poco Tivio Mare… she lost an eye last winter and still goes down on them in her old age… so fun.
I get that the QH are bred for this job… but it sure wouid be fun to find some other random horse… whatever breed that just loved it…
My Trakehner gelding was terrified of cows, deer, any other animal besides horses… even though he was big bully with other horse and hated ponies. He was a special needs horse I think LOL
I have a barn full of Oldenburgs who are also half Arabs. They will chase anything that will move away from them. Haven’t put them on cows, but might one day as we have a lot of team penning in the neighborhood.
This thread makes me think of a funny story…
On of my homebred WB mares was, let’s say, difficult when it came time to get her started under saddle. She was extremely lazy, opinionated and forward was not her favorite thing.
I sent her to a local rope horse trainer that I knew well to slap her around a bit. (These trainers do wear BIG spurs!) He fixed her problems rather quickly, but what was funny, the trainer actually did try and rope on her. She would take forever to get going out of the chute, even though she was trying…just too much body on long legs. But boy, if they could get the calf roped, she could drag it anywhere.
While she’s been a very successful show hunter for me, chasing cows out of the chute seemed to be the only thing that has floated her boat. :lol:
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