Dressage horse to hunters

[NC001]

He has jumped in CTs and HTs a decent amount. I wouldn’t say he super experienced in jumping but he isn’t green. He is beginner novice level right now mostly because they focus on dressage and don’t jump often. He’s a pretty quiet guy and we have an now 12 yr old who’s rides him once a week and does well with him. He’s a safe ride. He is smaller though which I know is not great for hunters- 15.3

Rider is definitely not expecting to light up the hunter world but would like to have an idea if it’s a ridiculous idea to switch before talking with equestrian teams.

I was talking with some hunter moms and mentioned it and they looked at me like I was nuts but who knows if it was about a dressage horse doing hunters or not caring if they do all that well or not!

[Equibrit]

Who cares what "hunter Moms’ think ? It is not a ridiculous idea, and her horse will probably surprise her.
I had a horse who used to compete in dressage in the summer, and go hunting (fieldmaster) in winter. Show “Hunter” people kept trying to buy her, but she would have hated that. Best horse I ever had.

[Rumorhasit93]

@NC001

He is smaller though which I know is not great for hunters- 15.3

I love a small hunter! Here is a pretty famous one (among several that Archie ironically had)!

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[JB]

@NC001

He is smaller though which I know is not great for hunters- 15.3

Height is far less important than the size of the stride. And length of stride is both genetic, and learned, and when it’s also learned, it has a great deal to do with impulsion, which is (or should be!) a very basic tenet of Dressage work. Well, ALL disciplines, but some place a lot more emphasis on it it than others, for good reason

@NC001

I was talking with some hunter moms and mentioned it and they looked at me like I was nuts but who knows if it was about a dressage horse doing hunters or not caring if they do all that well or not!

It’s amazing how many “hunter snobs” think no horse who has done anything else can possible be good at Hunters. Ignore them, no matter their reasoning.

[Scribbler]

@JB

@NC001

He is smaller though which I know is not great for hunters- 15.3

Height is far less important than the size of the stride. And length of stride is both genetic, and learned, and when it’s also learned, it has a great deal to do with impulsion, which is (or should be!) a very basic tenet of Dressage work. Well, ALL disciplines, but some place a lot more emphasis on it it than others, for good reason

@NC001

I was talking with some hunter moms and mentioned it and they looked at me like I was nuts but who knows if it was about a dressage horse doing hunters or not caring if they do all that well or not!

It’s amazing how many “hunter snobs” think no horse who has done anything else can possible be good at Hunters. Ignore them, no matter their reasoning.

Hunter moms, if you mean the parents of junior riders, are going to be about the worst for real.horse advice. They’ve likely bought into a program of buying expensive made horses that need constant tuning up by the trainer and very likely aren’t riders themselves, or only rode as children.

Their world view would explode at the idea you could take any random horse and make it into a hunter more or less on your own

The person to ask is a good, but not overpriced, hunter trainer. Take horse for an evaluation lesson. You just need to find one who isn’t going to be super negative and then try to lease you something for $50,000 a year. Maybe you can find a coach locally with experience in the IEA.

[Janet]

@Ponyplusaninch

Have you tried to pop the horse over a fence or two yet to see what his opinion is on the matter?

She is doing low level eventing.

[Pokerface]

Assuming she wants to have fun, is ok with sticking with low-level jumping at local type shows, I see no reason why a reasonably athletic and well schooled dressage horse couldn’t be a perfectly suitable mount. Most college teams are equitation based anyway, the rider is being judged, not the horse. As long as the horse is suited to the job, he should do well. Relaxation and rhythm are the baseline for both hunters and dressage horses. If he is relaxed, has good rhythm, and has a lead change, he will do well enough for her to enjoy herself.

[NoSuchPerson]

So I guess I’m a little confused. By “club equestrian team,” OP, are you talking about an IHSA team? Because if that’s the case, then the horse is kind of irrelevant as long as it can do the basic job. At shows, the competitors ride horses provided by the host program and are judged on equitation. Yes, the horses provided are expected to be safe rides and have the training and ability to get around a course of jumps, but it makes no difference if the horse is smaller and not a rated show hunter-type.

[mroades]

FWIW, Lake Erie College has an IHSA Dressage team. They also have Hunt Seat. So just know that she is not limited to Hunt Seat in college

[dmveventer]

At my school even the girls who had their own horses were expected to lesson on the program’s horses for exactly this reason.

There’s really no reason the horse would have to switch disciplines for the rider to try her hand at club equestrian in college, the two wouldn’t be connected. And I agree that college riding really isn’t that comparable to typical hunter showing so the horse’s way of going doesn’t matter. As long as he’s a safe jumper that isn’t a total speed demon he’d be perfectly suitable for an IHSA program.

[NC001]

It’s hard to capture what the club teams at different schools mean - the clubs can change a lot year to year based on the members. Some are IHSA and some go to hunter shows together.

One school the rider is applying to has an IDA team, a couple others have had them in the past, and 1 has an eventing team. They are all club level sports at the schools. She really wants to take her horse to college with her (which is an entirely different subject of discussion!) and she likes the idea of being on a team with other students. So it would be nice if a switch to hunters is realistic since almost all the schools have hunter ‘teams’.

I appreciate the feedback!

[wanderlust]

Best hunter/equitation horse I ever rode washed out of upper level dressage because beyond PSG/I-1 the collection was too hard for him and he wasn’t happy. Because he was beautifully broke on the flat and very quiet, it was very easy for him to learn to canter quietly on a big step and loose rein with self-carriage, because he already knew how to do it. He was a flat-kneed mover with a lot of sweep from the shoulder, and took to jumping immediately. He was also smaller, maybe 16h.

Some of the best 3’-3’6 hunters these days are dressage-bred imports with that big sweepy movement and less knee action. Including mine, who is related to Quaterback on top and Donnerhall on the bottom. My semi-retired jr/ao hunter has Sandro (the original one) up close on both sides. Quaterback is descended from some top jumping stock. Sandro was a top jumper and had top jumper offspring, but is seemingly more well known now for his influence on dressage breeding. Both are beautiful hack-winning movers and good jumpers.

[MHM]

@NC001

she likes the idea of being on a team with other students.

I think that’s the very best thing about kids doing IEA or IHSA when they get the chance. It’s very rare to have the opportunity to participate in many horse sports as part of a team, so it’s a great experience for the kids.

[victoriakent]

For what its worth I rode on our school’s hunt seat team and brought my horse to college with me. My horse was in no way shape or form sane enough for anyone else to ride other than me For IHSA she won’t be riding her own horse anyway. For us riding was a physical education credit as well, in addition to our team practices, and you could take that on your horse or a school horse. In general the schools are thrilled to have anyone who has a sane quiet horse they can safely throw into an IHSA show, and we used a lot of dressage horses for our team shows on the flat.

At the end of the day student and horse will learn something new in any discipline they try in a school setting. I really wouldn’t worry about the suitability of the horse based on what you have said about the horse - he sounds lovely.