I’m just daydreaming at the moment, but if there are any QH aficionados here, what breeding would you seek out for a dressage horse? Obviously the individual horse matters, along with uphill build and clean gaits etc, but to fuel the internet search daydream engine, where would you start?
I feel like the ranch/cow horses have the most athleticism but they’re also tanks.
Maybe consider some racing x barrel racing lines?
A couple decades ago when barrel racers realized that some basic dressage could help their horses handle their bodies better, dressage instructors were commenting some of those horses would have made very nice dressage horses.
Rugged Lark and Allocate Your Assets are two sires I would keep an eye out for, though RL passed 20 years ago and won’t have direct offspring. Al has more recently passed, but still has some semen (and offspring) available.
I assumed RL would be super diluted by now but good call. I’m actually on the fans of RL Facebook page.
I think there are some Indian Artifacts that have had some success in dressage. I know he’s passed, but there are sure to be some grands of his around.
Oh interesting, I’ll check that out. I only know the crazy lower level barrel horses.
Not all the cow horses are tanks. Short, sure, but some of them are more catty and agile than tankish. I had a cutting bred gelding a million years ago (like…30+ years ago) who got too tall to be ideal for cutting (he was only 15.2, but that’s “tall” when your job is to get down in the dirt chasing a cow). He was a lovely horse, looked almost like a small TB (and solid black). He was a lovely little dressage horse.
However, if I were in the market now, I’d find some footage of a few of the AQHA World classes (WORKING hunter under saddle…not the traditional class, the over fences classes, maybe working Western, and possible huntseat equitation) and I’d pay attention to the sire and dam names on the horses as they are introduced when they enter the pen. They usually come trotting down the middle of the arena as they are being introduced, so you get to see them move and you might start noticing that you really like a certain type that have similar bloodlines.
I’ve been out of the AQHA scene for so long now that I don’t even know who the popular sires are these days.
Kinda makes me want to go watch some World Show classes though. Hmmm…
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