Thinking about using a Lusitano stallion for my Dutch mare this year…
Any pros/cons/thoughts ?
Has anyone made this cross and were you happy with the result?
And which stallions would you suggest?
What are your breeding goals? Discipline?
What would you like to improve? More about your mare?
I have some stallions in mind, but would love to see if they fit your expectations 
Also, do you want stallions standing in the US? Or frozen semen is good for you?
This cross was done in Portugal, where the stallion Totilas was used with Lusitano mares to produce quality Dressage horses. Some examples:
http://www.thepictaram.club/share/BfglJhSnu08
http://coudelariaortigaocosta.com/stallions/horse/116
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKlZqOXLs04&feature=youtu.be
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Casa Lusitana and Sons of the Wind have had some lusitano/WB sale horses over the last few years. You may be able to find the videos online to check out some results.
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Thanks for the replies!
I would like to improve ability to collect, as well as get some of the Iberian mindset. I have ridden some Andalusians and Lusitanos, absolutely love them. Not sure how to describe it but they are so different from warmbloods.
Discipline is dressage. Hoping to breed a foal for myself to compete on. Something a little easier to sit.
Mare is KWPN provisional star mare by UB40, very good mover. She is also very sensitive and hot. She has a very nice topline and a lot of suspension.
Wow! Sounds like a really nice mare! There are some really nice Lusitano stallions for dressage that could give her that extra ability to collect. For that I would check some of the approved stallions from the Portuguese association that have been recognized for their dressage ability.
The best dressage Lusitano stallion out there is Rubí AR who did the London Olympics and is now retired at 20 years old. Amazing collection and the best piaffe I have ever seen. He is the first “non-warmblood” stallion to enter the top 50 ranking of dressage stallions of the WBFSH.
I think the frozen can be shipped worldwide and it is really worth it. There is an impressive amount of Rubi sons competing at high levels. Check out his sons Coroado AR or Fénix do Tineo.
http://www.teamrubi.com/horses/rubi-ar/
http://www.teamrubi.com/news/happy-20th-birthday-to-rubi/
Another good dressage option is Bariloche JGR, he is a 4 stars recommended dressage stallion who combines the bloodlines of Hostil (in the top 100 stallion ranking of the WBFSH) and Xaquiro (dam sire of Dragao das Figueiras, recently approved by Oldenburg).
http://www.teamrubi.com/horses/bariloche-jgr
Also the line of the stallion Spartacus is really successful for the sport and brings a lot of the qualities of the Lusitano. Spartacus is an amazing horse, but he is a bit old and I don’t really know about his fertility but there is an amazing son of his named Escorial with excellent results as a breeding stallion. He is a four stars recommended stallion.
https://youtu.be/t0GXkwUlfSc
One of my big favourites is the stallion Embuçado SS. I know this stallion in person as he now stands in Monterrey, Mexico. The quality of his offspring is impressive and he is also a four stars recommended stallion with the Portuguese association. He has been champion of the breed in Portugal and now in Mexico and he is really stamping his progeny. The owner now is La Fortaleza and they are really top people (I own an approved Lusitano stallion breed by them)! The video is of a really young Embuçado, he is now on his road to Grand Prix.
https://youtu.be/gSl6FZkxZKw
If you really need a stallion that stands in the US I would look for a stallion named Verso do Retiro, I think he is very nice. If not your other option would be to contact Haras dos Cavaleiros.
http://www.harasdoscavaleiros.com/stallions.html
http://srequestrian.com/versodoretiro.htm
Hope this helps!!!
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Wow, thank you so much! Will have to sit down and take my time to check out all those links
Of these stallions, which ones do you think have the nicest canters?
I tried finding a stallion roster but IALHA does not have anything on their site, so this is really helpful!
I don’t mind frozen semen as long as it is available to the US. Mare is currently in foal from fresh and that only took 1 try. She is still young
The owners of Rubí AR are right in Luxembourg…so 40 minutes away from me. You have no idea how many times I’ve been tempted to shop for a suitable mare… He is a fine horse. I also have one particular gelding that I really wish were a mare :winkgrin:
Those are some nice Lusitano stallions! After entering the world of Iberian horses years ago (mostly PRE’s) I wonder why I wasted so much time with my warmbloods! They are/were fine horses, but the PRE and Lusitano (even with their differences) just suit my riding and personality perfectly.
Best of luck on your breeding endeavors OP. Let us know how it goes!
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Yes I was fortunate enough to get to ride and train some very top quality iberians and I fell in love…
But until now, never had the mare or facility to really breed something like this. Now I have the chance and I am really excited to breed my next riding horse!
I looked at some videos and i love Rubi AR! Looked it up… frozen semen seems to be about $1600 a dose. Anyone know how well his semen freezes/fertilizes?
I have a friend who has some mares in foal to Rubi with the frozen and had no problem with it. Foals will be born this year! If you can get him, I would definitively go for it. The quality he is producing is amazing.
My second option would be Embuçado! He is only 9 years old but is an amazing stallion. I have seen a lot of quality from him and he left a great impact in Portugal before coming to Mexico. Plus he is standing in Monterrey which is very near to the US.
Another video of Rubi AR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtMHnT-XoeY
I have not heard anything about is semen quality (good or bad) nor have I heard anything crazy about his temperament. Typically, negative word travels fast :winkgrin: But mostly it’s been that he passes on good movement and demeanor. If you are used to sensitive, you should have no problem with an Iberian cross.
Also, a link to an older thread. Some PRE and Lusitano information/contacts that are still relevant:
Thanks for your posts. I really enjoyed reading this one. Escorial looks incredible. Do you know more about him?
Thank you, so interesting to learn a bit more about these stallions!
Are any of these stallions’ get that are doing well, at approvals and otherwise, out of Warmblood mares?
I love my Han/TB X Lusitano filly!! She is going to be a great size (15.3) has a great mind, one of the best young horses I have ever raised (been raising WBs since 1989), so sensible and just gorgeous. Really hard to fault her conformationally, could have a bit more bone but she is a filly and it suits her. Gorgeous strong top line and a strong loin and long hip. Pretty too! Movement wise she is very much a cross, more knee action than her dam and more reach than the Lusitano. Her sire is Saphiro, he is here in the states and known for putting nice minded babies on the ground.
Another nice stallion is Equador MVL! He is now included in the stallion catalogue of Gestüt Peterhof in Germany and Grand Ducal, together with Dragaõ das Figueiras. He is preparing for his Grand Prix debut and is also a recommended dressage stallion with four stars.
http://www.eurodressage.com/2018/03/…ud-equador-mvl
https://youtu.be/0LdU6i0DjVg
http://dressage-grand-ducal.com/en/hengste/
At approvals I am not sure, as those are only for pure Lusitanos. This crosses have been done in very recent years really, when the focus of the Lusitano breeders changed more towards sport and less towards bullfighting (the talent was always there!). My best example right now are the Totilas x Lusitanos breed by Ortigaõ Costa.
Breeding is always a bit of a gamble and with cross breeds it can be more difficult, so the right ingredients are a must! That is the reason I suggested only stallions that have been proven in international sport, with a recommended status and that got really high marks for movements in their approvals, as well as having really top conformation and type. All of this are real sport Lusitanos!
Totilas X Lusitano mares, bred by a breeder that is financially able to invest in what appears to be a long term program (with many mares), doesn’t seem to me to be relevant to the OP’s question about putting a Lusitano stallion to a Warmblood mare.
What is the breeding and phenotype of the mare? What has she produced?
If this foal is very important to the OP then it should take much consideration, and the realization that the resulting foal may not even come close to resembling the foal that is desired.
Only when extensive research is done, and the risk (financial and emotional that the foal will not necessarily exhibit the best qualities of the sire and dam) is accepted, should the OP decide to cross breed.
One mare to cross breed is taking much more of a chance than what Costa is doing. He is putting one Warmblood stallion over many carefully chosen Lusitano mares. I have no idea what foals or mares he has culled from his program. Does anyone, here?
The OP is considering one breeding of the reverse (Lusitano X Warmblood). I don’t think it is a good comparison.
I think OP you have gotten some excellent stallion suggestions above and I agree that Rubi AR is an excellent choice based on your wants. I am extremely impressed with the multiple offspring that Rubi has produced that are going so well and coming into the GP ring the last couple of years!! They are really WOW individuals. I have a Girl friend that essentially did a similar cross a couple of years ago she bred her OLD mare to an impressive PRE stallion the colt that she got is really a looker. He is very handsome got a great head neck and the best temperament much better than the purebred produced by the mare in previous breeding’s this one has so much confidence while being gentle and smart. She’s really pleased with the cross and he’s a very big boy he will be over 16hh he is a 2yr old this summer and so still not under saddle yet.
Just to give you more to think about I am really impressed with the quality and movement of Ebano BRH (he’s a PRE)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REPNR407rNU
I’m not super impressed with Ebano BRH. He’s a nice horse and schooling some decent movements, but doesn’t wow me. If he has an excellent temperament, then that will definitely work in his favor. Maybe I’m a bit sour because that music used in the video really killed it for me :winkgrin:
I have seen other videos of that horse and he moves a bit more extravagantly than in the one posted. I’d also like a good a good conformation shot of him, because I am curious about his hind end. He scored modestly (60’s mainly) up through 4th. What is a “meh” stallion to me is a fabulous one to others. I suppose it depends on goals and taste.
Just curious, how is it different other than the gender?
Does athleticism only come from a WB stallion? Is the ‘dressage gene’ only assigned on the Y chromosome?
There are people that have done this cross chiming in, that have said it worked for them… so curious on why you think that it is not a good comparison.
It obviously must not be an untenable idea for certain registries, which have now allowed WB mares to be bred with certain approved Iberian stallions… Which is exactly what OP is doing…
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