Eventing with an Arabian x Mustang cross?

[ThreeTerriers]

Hello! I’ve recently started riding an Arabian x Mustang cross and have always wanted to do eventing. I’ve finally discussed it with my trainer and it’s now a goal for me, though I’ll admit, it’s probably pretty far in the future (maybe a year or two).

Now, my horse has easily jumped up to 3’3” without a rider and enjoys jumping. I’m not sure how high he’s jumped with a rider but I think above or around 2’8”? His owner mainly does dressage with him but has occasionally jumped. I would jump him much more consistently in the future and eventually higher.

Anyways, Intro would of course be simple and I imagine BN would be manageable as well. I’d love to get him to Novice though. I’m wondering, though, do you think Novice would be a bit of a struggle? I of course want to advance farther but right now my goal with him is to just see how he takes it in intro and go up to BN. Though Novice is the goal, I don’t want to rush it. I think by the time we’re considering moving up to novice/have moved up to novice, though, we’ll know how good he is at eventing.

So, here is a brief summary of his background:
Ӣmainly a dressage horse, has been shown successfully in dressage
Ӣcan and likes to jump, has pretty nice form over jumps
Ӣhas been out on cross country course and has jumped some intro/BN jumps
Ӣhas never competed in an event

The reason I’ve mentioned his breed is that I know neither Arabians or Mustangs are too common in events (maybe Mustangs are, though you know what I mean- breeds like Thoroughbreds, Trakehners, any type of sport horse or pony, are more common). Opinions? I know that there are a lot more details and that you really can’t know without meeting us, but any opinion would be greatly appreciated.

[WNT]

The way I see it, if a horse can walk, trot, canter, and jump safely in and out of the ring, it’s perfectly capable of eventing. It sounds like the pieces are there, you both just need to get comfortable doing it to the point you’re confident enough to compete. You won’t really know for sure that Novice is an attainable goal until you’ve gotten to schooling comfortably at that level, and maybe a hair above at home.

Your plan is sound, working up the levels and I wish you much luck! Check out Elisa Wallace if you want to see some eventing mustangs, too.

[Highflyer]

Almost any horse can physically do Intro and BN and most can do Novice. Just take it one step at a time and have fun.

[2DogsFarm]

Any breed or cross with the aptitude can Event.
DH evented a TWH (registered Racking) with not much gait, but incredibly brave cross-country.
Showed BNR, but schooled to Training.

You mention “owner”, so I assume you are leasing or shareboarding this horse.
Nevermind what your trainer thinks, better make sure the owner is onboard with your plan to Event the horse.

[FlamingoRider]

I knew an Arab x Mustang that evented Novice and schooled Training. He was everything you’d want in a first horse for a kid that wanted to event. And my almost 14h purebred Arab was very successful at Training and made a couple starts at prelim as my body was falling apart. He then took a 12 yr old from BN to T. So neither breed nor size will stop him from going novice or more. As others have noted, the real question is what his owner will let you do.

[ake987]

These sound like logical and attainable goals, the horse sounds capable. The biggest question will be: does he do water, ditches, and banks? If yes, pft, you got this! Good luck.

[headbrickwall]

OAm I right in thinking in US Novice is 90cm?
This should be obtainable by any horse that exceeds the minimum height limit and shows a vague aptitude for jumping.

Go to any 90cm British Eventing or Riding Club equivalent and you will find a huge variation in horse types, from ponies, coloured cobs, carthorses to more sporty types.

[findeight]

The issue here might be what the owner wants the horse to do, If s/he enjoys riding Dressage, will the horse remain safe and steady in that arena and suit their skill set when you add the need to gallop around CC and avoid time faults in SJ once you get past the speed bump levels?

Breed is really meaningless, either they have the physical and metal ability to do it or they don’t.

But its it’s really hard to hitch your dreams to somebody else’s horse and assume you can chase those dreams on their horse for long enough to attain them. Even harder if owner will still be riding the horse, BTDT and so have others who post here, Can be frustrating or even heartbreaking, be careful not to waste your time on something owner will end up not supporting.

Great to be ambitious, just not with a non owned horse owner also rides. Horse won’t care but you sure might,

[ThreeTerriers]

Thank you all for the input, I’ve discussed it with his owner who’s given me the thumbs up (and is even encouraging me :lol:) to go ahead and get started. Your input was much appreciated!

[Manahmanah]

Welcome to the dark side and have fun!