Favorite Draft breeds for Sport horse potential.

[dr_j]

Hello all,

Would love to hear experiences with draft crosses and what they add ( or not) to sport horse crosses.

I am particularly interested in what has been produced ( and competed well) from the traditional draft breeds we see in the US ( think work horses not RID - they are in a different category in my mind nor Friesians, CBs or any of the lighter harness breeds)… so Clyde, Belgian, Percheron, Shire etc.

I have quite a bit of interest in our Connemara stallion from draft horse breeders. Would like to see what’s “out there”.

Thanks!

[ewells]

I think the Percheron is probable the best bet for Sport horse potential.

but Id like to see this breed survive and their potential for the sport horse market could be interesting
The American Cream Draft
http://www.acdha.org/

[Dressagelvr]

It is impossible to know what a draft will produce.

These horses are not built for sport and their use in an effort to produce sport horses baffles me. And before someone comes along with the argument that warmbloods are glorified draft crosses, they aren’t.

Hundreds of years have gone into refining warmblood breeding. There were different bloodlines used for work/farm horses and riding horses in Europe going back to the 1700s.

The draft crosses I have know have generally been large, of mixed athleticism, and nearly always of difficult temperament when the work gets real. Many difficult all along the way. And you can’t really blame them. The work is so much harder for them.

[crosscreeksh]

We bred TB/Clyde (“coachie” type with “pretty heads”) for years with great success. They have an ez to live with disposition, and the athletic body and ability. Switched to ISH’s for the PR associated with the Irish horses, but still admire a good draft cross!! Perch crosses are good, but sometimes have more attitude. Belgians are the “bulldozers” of the draft breeds. First cross with a TB is still too heavy, clunky for my taste. Shire makes a good cross with a TB. You have to judge each individual on his own merit…not all come out 50/50 from each parent!!

[85union]

My daughter has a Belgian/Saddlebred cross who is very talented and athletic as well as kind and honest as they come that she rides dressage with. The mare has all the fanciness from her Saddlebred dam and the power and magnificence of her Belgian sire. We would not hesitate to look at another of this cross. There is a registry for the Saddlebred/draft crosses, Georgian Grande. They are very nice sport horses.

[LesleyW]

This is my Belgian/running Quarter Horse cross. I foxhunted and did x-country trials for years with him – he could jump a prelim course. He was heavy, but had one hell of a lot of character, talent and speed.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4707516307&l=beba0ab73d

[MidnightWriter]

Irish Draught. They have a good history of crossing well with TBs to make a classic hunter/sport horse type.

Some people add Connemara to the mix.

That is a lovely horse, LesleyW!

[goodpony]

Definitely agree on the shire crosses being better suited than most other Draft breeds to sport–I have seen some nice ones out eventing at the lower levels. Many of the heavier horses lack the stamina for upper level stuff. PSSM is also prevalent among draft breeds and derivatives.

[Roxyllsk]

I have a belgian / ??? cross … she has a great temperament, tries very hard every time I ride her, and is very sensible with new experiences. When I bought her I knew my days of the big jumps were behind me. I was not looking for an amazing athlete. I was looking for something that was quiet enough to take care of me on a bad knee day, yet athletic enough to jump around a 2’6" course safely.

I had her DNA tested and the ??? is too muddled at this point to say what exactly she is, but her predominant breed is belgian.

[TrueColours]

The draft crosses I have know have generally been large, of mixed athleticism, and nearly always of difficult temperament when the work gets real. Many difficult all along the way. And you can’t really blame them. The work is so much harder for them.

I guess it all depends on what you grew up with and what your experience has been with them …

WAY back when, in the “Old Days”, there were TB’s off the track and Draft crosses to ride. Period. Warmbloods were unheard of and no one had started importing them or breeding them yet (that started in the 80’s. A local fellow - Lou Mikucki - brought in the first WB’s from Europe and we all thought he was insane! )

Because we had to “make do” that’s exactly what we did and we ended up with Draft crosses going all the way up to GP level show jumping and actually being competitive as well, mid to upper levels in dressage and lower levels in the hunter and event disciplines

As Jackie mentioned above, the 1/2 Drafts weren’t as athletic as you wanted for the most part but the 3/4, 7/8 and 15/16th’s bred’s sure were. They could power out over impossibly tight spots and were quick over the ground as well and they were perfect for the “weekend warriors” looking for something safe, fun and competitive that didn’t need to be schooled and ridden throughout the week

I grew up mostly on Clyde crosses of some description and I loved them. I still have such a soft spot for them and a lot of admiration for what they can bring to the table as both as pleasure and show partner

[SPRINGBORO]

I was just at our state fair in Indianapolis and part of the draft horse show was the National Belgian, Haflinger, and Draft Pony shows.

There were these amazing draft ponies by Friesian stallions out of Hackney pony mares - they were like a team of reindeer just ready to take flight.

[LesleyW]

[QUOTE=MidnightWriter;8286929]
I

That is a lovely horse, LesleyW![/QUOTE]

Thank you so much! I absolutely adored this horse. He tragically broke his pelvis slipping on the ice a few years ago. Such a brave boy with a great sense of humour.

[beowulf]

If you want something for sport, buy something BRED for sport. Period. You wouldn’t buy a papered papillon to use it for retrieving, would you?? It baffles me too, especially because draft horses were never bred to jump, or be agile – and they are not without a host of draft-unique issues that can and do show up in their offspring.

If you are evaluating a horse already on the ground, I’d lean towards percheron. IIRC they are one of the draft breeds that were developed by mixing trotters. Lots of PMU horses are perchx and do pretty well at the LL.

[Fred]

I am not a fan of the F1 crosses, generally, because there is often too much unreliablity in the results, but here in Ontario back in the day, the Clyde/Hackney (Commercial) x TB was a fixture in the show ring.
The 3/4. 7/8. of 15/16 TB horses were/are often horses of great quality.
I have a 2 yr old filly right now who I love in every way, she is 7/8 TB, 1/8 Clyde and she is beautiful, elegant, powerful. athletic and smart.

[SPRINGBORO]

True Colours had the most spectacular Clyde/Hackney/TB cross I have ever seen! Gorgeous, tall, and what a mover.

[CatchMeIfUCan]

I know of two Clyde crosses that are very successful in eventing.

Covert Rights is ridden by Colleen Rutledge and was second after dressage at Rolex this year. He is heading to Burghley in a couple of weeks. He is 1/4 Clyde.

My friend competes Busy Bea at Preliminary, and they are going Intermediate this weekend. The mare has so much scope and sets herself up to the fences which makes her fast despite her shorter stride. She is half Clyde, 1/4 Hanoverian and 1/4 TB.

My own horse is 1/2 American Creme Draft, 1/2 Hanoverian. I had never heard of them before him. He is 15.1-15.2 at 5 years old and has potential for upper level dressage. He isn’t athletic enough for upper levels in eventing, but we think he should be able to handle Preliminary. He is the smartest horse we have ever had, and he just gets it. You don’t have to tell him anything twice, and he takes care of me even though he isn’t experienced at all. I have no idea if he is a fluke, but when I google American Creme Draft, he does exhibit some of their traits, mainly in the rear.

[TrueColours]

Thanks Springboro. The Marrakesh mare is a really cool mare in every possible way!

Here are some pictures of her …

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1059921064037820.1073741896.272521362777798&type=3

and

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1013167038713223.1073741889.272521362777798&type=3

She is going to make her new owner very happy indeed! She is sitting at 17-17.1hh now and should finish off in the 17.2-17.3hh range. She is totally elegant and light on her feet and really a very powerful mover. Once she has finished growing and is ready to start some serious work, I think she will be very competitive in the show ring

FWIW - when I put her ad up for sale, the reach in 1 WEEK on Facebook was just over 42,000 ! It was mind boggling! People shared her everywhere, I got well over 1000 enquiries on her in 1 week alone. People were ready to sell a kidney to buy her :lol:

Then you take some other horses I had / have for sale that are VERY nice horses as well, with completely credible bloodlines - Balou du Rouet, Voltaire, related to Hickstead, related to Big Ben, etc and they got about 1/20th - 1/50th the interest. Go figure …

The colour and size of the Marrakesh mare, her movement, her “Phantom of the Opera” face markings, everything about her - people adored her. I could have sold her twenty times over if not more and she was absolutely priced “up there” and it didn’t matter. Everyone wanted to buy her

The Draft crosses absolutely do have value in the marketplace …

[Texarkana]

Personal experience- a smart and well-researched breeder can consistently produce useful draft crosses when they are familiar with what the parents pass on. If I were wanting a breed a draft cross, I would not necessarily be looking for a certain breed of draft horse, but rather one from a family with a history of producing successful crosses. Same goes for the non-draft parent.

Well-bred draft crosses have a lot to offer for the amateur rider. The majority of the ones I have known were incredibly reliable mounts. They may not be going to the Olympics, but they could safely and competently pack riders of differing ability around 2’6"-3’ fences or through a lower level dressage test. Some of the best fox hunting mounts I’ve ever known have been draft crosses. I’ve never seen the same of reliability in temperament in any other traditional sport horse breed (WBs, TBs, etc).

[Nootka]

Back in the day there was Fernleigh Foundation in Staunton, VA. They were making a very pretty penny selling what they called Throdales. Mainly F1 and very much a puppy mill for horses.

This was 20 yrs ago but me and my mother went 2x to look at them. I wanted just a horse to run me lower level and foxhunt. These were perfect for what we were looking for. I don’t know how many good for bad they had but that one stallion they chose (I only really liked the get of 1 stallion they stood) had some consistently nice foals.

I do agree that they are a bit of a gamble but if you find a good niche you can do well.

[FatCatFarm]

I ADORE my draft crosses, particularly my Saddlebred x Percheron brothers. I also own a half brother who is Saddlebred x Clyde/Hackney/TB. The oldest is a rock star! We just started eventing at Novice this year and he won his first schooling show at Poplar Place. He is smooth bodied and athletic; a very careful jumper, he LOVES cross country. At 16.3 hands, he looks like a big buckskin Lusitano but with the sweet disposition of a Labrador Retriever. His full little brother at 4 is just as nice but I haven’t put him under saddle yet. The middle half brother, is very talented, but as a 3/4 hot blood, is somewhat more sensitive and opinionated under saddle. If had the time, I would have repeated the Saddlebred x Percheron cross and raised nice baby, after nice baby. I think it’s incredibly underrated and over looked with more people going for the Friesian x Saddlebred cross. For photos you can click on the link in my signature line and then go to photos and then albums.

The TB x Percheron crosses are very popular with fox hunters in my area but the temperament on them seems to vary from very sweet to very precocious and pushy. Also how heavy they turn out seems to vary widely too, with some looking like sport horses to others being quite drafty.

I bred my TB mare to a RID (Crystal Crest) and got a fabulous colt with a very sweet and calm disposition much like my Saddlebred x Percheron crosses. As an adult amateur who has owned many different breeds, including Trakehner, Hanoverian and Dutch, I much prefer my draft crosses. Bred right, they are big, dependable, sweet and talented.