These responses have been fantastic… THANK YOU! 
Please keep them coming! What a beautiful bunch of horses you all have.
Both my sons event 1/2 drafts currently - we have some 1/4 drafts and 1/8 drafts on the way for future event horses.
My 16 yr old son was Reserve Challenge Series Young Rider Pretraining champion for the Ontario Horse Trials Association this year - first year pre-training on a 1/2 draft.
Lots of pics here of both my sons and my self eventing draft crosses:
Both of them are going training next year.
Our draft cross is a good solid BN horse but much happier as a field hunter/trail horse. And it takes a lot to get her fit - even for BN.
We don’t know her breeding - she came out of a kill pen in upstate NY. My guess is Belgian/quarter horse. She does not have a good natural canter - we had to work and work and work on canter.
I think it is better to have some TB “hot blood” in these draft crosses.
[QUOTE=hereafatty;4525988]
I’ve heard whispers here and there that drafts are usually considered unsuitable for eventing (size, weight). I’m sure in a lot of ways it’s as individual as everything else, but in general, how do you feel about drafts in eventing? [/QUOTE] If they’re typical of a first cross of horses that are true to type then they sometimes do o.k. at the lower levels.
I have met this charming guy and LOVE him. 
He is the poster child for how great these crosses CAN be.
That being said, they aren’t my choice, but can be quite nice. I’ve seen asterix guy around (cutie pie), and have ridden and loved a few myself that have been great in their own right. We have one with us now who is VERY big and VERY drafty (I believe he is a Shire/TB/Cleveland Bay cross). My first reaction when I first saw him was “Oh, dear Lord.” However, he is a bundle of surprises! He is a rather nice mover (that was TOTALLY unexpected) and is a dandy little jumper. His owner’s ultimate goal is training level, which is totally in his range…if we can get him fit and lean enough (he came to us a good bit overweight). Every now and then in a jump school he even looks like prelim material. But, the challenge is going to be getting him fit and keeping him lean. His mass is going to be his biggest hurdle to overcome. He has a great mind and a willing heart and seems to love his job. He wouldn’t have been my choice at all but he’s his mom’s love and if she puts the work in, he’ll be everything she wants. :yes:
Aw Amanda you’re too sweet. Dually misses you guys!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=10169&id=1197026548
Quarter Perch, Quarter App, Half Arab
yeah, the fitness thing is huge; if they are crosses (mine is allegedly 1/2 tb) it is totally doable but you must give it time and don’t feed them too much :lol::lol:
My trainer (who is uber-conservative) blithely said something today about prelim next year. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor bc we just did our first Training (and she knows how much of a chicken I am – took me over 2 years at T with my other horse to move to P), and I do think she’s being a bit rosy on the timeline…but it’s already clear he’s got the athleticism.
Speed, maybe not, but again, the crosses develop this with time if you do your homework. Within reason, of course.
Most of our horses, as much as we love them, top out somewhere, for some reason. We just need to make sure our expectations or ambitions are the right size for our partner’s abilities…
LOL…so much for being the husband horse! Glad he is going so well!
I would not expect any full draft to really be able to do more than Training, maybe with enough luck and fitness, Preliminary. It is not the jump that is the problem, so much as the fitness issue and the fact that 1500 pounds going over a jump is much more wear and tear than 900 pounds.
Draft crosses all depends on the individual. Is your horse a Belgian/Thoroughbred that looks like a Belgian, warmblood or thoroughbred?
Asterix’s horses remind me of warmbloods - more bone than the thoroughbred, but still showing athleticism.
Take Blue, here http://www.saltforkstables.com/blank.html , as an example. Really, if he is a draft cross, how much do you see him making it over even a 2foot jump and how much work to keep him fit enough to do a Beginner Novice course? What about any form of collection, balance and movement for dressage?
As stated before, take Asterix’s horses into account. They do not like as sleek and ready for action as a full thoroughbred, but they do look like they can do the job.
It was harder finding one that really looked like the thoroughbred side, but Elegance, here http://www.flyingwfarms.com/H%20REF/references/H_Reference_Page_02.html , was pretty close. The main difference between Elegance and Asterix’s horses would probably be the ease in getting the fitness level needed, ability to keep it and ability to get the speed needed for the level.
The heavier the horse, the more you have to be careful about jumping, also, due to issues mentioned earlier.
Drafts and draft crosses can be great and often have a more forgiving and calm attitude than the ‘sensitive’ thoroughbred. For the amateur looking to enjoy their horse, who is not in a hurry to move up, they are great. For the pro or highly ambitious amateur, you have to be much more careful how you pick them.
[QUOTE=Ajierene;4527445]
Take Blue, here http://www.saltforkstables.com/blank.html , as an example. .[/QUOTE]
I think Blue there might be a draft cross… with another draft!
that or one of those genetically altered beef cows.
[QUOTE=Meredith Clark;4527467]
I think Blue there might be a draft cross… with another draft!
that or one of those genetically altered beef cows.[/QUOTE]
he he he. Yeah, I was going with what the website claims!
And those supercows are SCARY!
[QUOTE=asterix;4526149]
That being said, i adore my guy – he is obviously snappy with his knees, has a great curious forward thinking mind, loves cross country, and can cart my husband around on a chaotic group canter-hack the day before scoring a 27 in dressage.
Can’t beat that with a stick![/QUOTE]
Asterix - I adore your guy too… can I have him when you’re done?
Hey, I’ve seen you guys at the shows. Blue is cute! 
We’ve bred four out of the same draft/TB cross mare. The first two were by an Anglo-Arab stallion called Quartermaster who evented through the CCI** (and had the same TB sire as Touch of Class). The last two, who I still have, are by Denny’s Reputed Testamony.
You can see the mare, and her various babies here.
Scroll down to see Calypso.
You can see the babies here.
Cruiser and Seeker listed under sold horses are by the Anglo. Phoenix SParrow and Phoenix Torchwood listed under currently available are the Rep babies.
I’d reiterate what most here have said, lack of jump is rarely the problem as much as lack of stamina as you move up the levels. All of mine jumped 3’9 like it was nothing, but I don’t know that they would have it to do a two star. But I know some draft crosses have gone through the CCI*** level, so it just depends on the individual attributes.
That being said, every draft cross is different. I have two sets of full siblings, and there are pairs of each of the half siblings more similar than the full siblings. IOW, I think her first and third foals are more similar to each other, and her second and fourth are more similar, rather than the actual pairs of full siblings.
Fitness is key, and we start early–they are ponying on the hills here as two year olds.
My breeding goal was to take the wonderful reliable temperament and work ethic of the dam, and tart it up with more sportiness, drive, and athleticism. I’m quite happy with the results!
Begin trot sets early in their lives - and never stop - no matter what the discipline. I have one that went intermediate. He is fairly leggy for a draft cross - great gallop stride. It took me 2 years to build his fitness base - but never been hard to keep fit since then. He had colic surgery @ one point and came back very quickly. I would jump sparingly though. The heavy horse tend towards the suspensory and collateral ligmanet injuries on the front end if you pund them over fences. He is a fabulous mover. We do straight dressage now. High 60’s @ 3rd level. I still do trot and gallop sets as a part of his program - He is fitter than any of the horses I ride with.
enjoy.
so, just for the record, my “big man” in the profile is a proper German WB (he is a dressage refugee – I certainly didn’t import him!!!), and although he is taller and bigger (bigger girth, bigger shoes) than the baby/husband horse (you are right bornfree, he has graduated. hubby still rides him but, damn, I like competing him!), the husband horse is a draft cross and certainly looks it – shorter neck, thicker body, and those telltale feathers (which Linda Zhang once told me to shave off, “that way no one will ever know…”).
That being said, people constantly think he is related to my coach’s retired **** horse, a Canadian sport horse (“people” here including Jimmy Wofford and the local sport horse vet), so I do think I got the more fortuitous piece of the draft cross blend…
But I agree with everyone else; they often have the jump, and sometimes the movement, and they have a GREAT amateur brain…but you cannot take their fitness too seriously, and too carefully.
I have no ambitions for either horse beyond prelim, so their obvious limitations (neither one could ever hope to have the speed beyond that) in that respect don’t bother me. I have watched many an amateur like myself struggle with the super-talented nutball horse while I enjoy my “limited” horse, who taught himself to self-load, falls asleep at horse trials, jumps around like a champ, and can and has won the dressage if mom gets her body parts aligned :winkgrin: Rolex? Never in a 100 years. Total blast for me? Yep.
I have a very modern full Percheron mare that has responded beautifully to conditioning. We do strength, long slow distance, interval, and speed work. I have a HR monitor on her every ride and input all my data into Polar Pro Trainer 5 Equine Edition. That mare recovers faster than you would ever guess after a gallop, a couple gymnastic lines, etc…
I am a jumper rider but I bet you money my Perch could do well in the lower levels. Obviously, like others have said a full draft would be limited.
Here is a pic of us yesterday:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v631/rallycarskickass/112801.jpg
Here is another pic from last week, gives you a better idea of how she is put together:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v631/rallycarskickass/021.jpg
For the lower levels they are great, hardy and usually quite and forgiving. However they are heavier, and do not have the stamina and speed that lighter breeds have, so they will be harder on themselves when it comes to higher level competition. Thats true of any heavier horse though.
It seems full drafts do ok through Novice, most 50/50s do ok through Prelim (the ones who take more after the draft probably not, the ones who take more after the TB for sure). Above that the ones ones who seem to make it are the ones that really dont even look like draft crosses at all, either because they are 3/4 TB, or they just got super lucky and took after the TB side.
They are just not my type. I like the look of TBs and light WBs, and I like the hotter guys too. But for someone wanting to have a good time at the lower levels or mid levels without as much stress, they sure look like a good time.
Would it shock any of you to hear of an eventing trainer with a strong bias against drafts, then?
