Well I am another one that has produced, owned, trained some well put together pony x horse crosses using Welsh x TB, Welsh x Morgan and Welsh x warmblood. As for how hot one was versus another, it wasn’t the breed that dictated the temperament, it was the individuals parents. I don’t mind hot and have had sane, safe and sensitive/hot all in the same package…those are the ones that usually have gone on to be some of my best mounts. That being said my/my daughter’s welsh stallion puts some of the most level headed babies on the ground. Even knowing that I wouldn’t ever breed him to a mare that is known to have a poor attitude or poor disposition. Why take the gamble? I breed with the intent to maximize the desired outcome. All this concern about ‘hot’ (which is valid even if you know what you’re doing) suggests strongly that one would be better off buying something already on the ground.
I agree too - as I mentioned in prior post, I know someone who did these crosses for years - they were generally lovely horses, just not pony sized!
I would say untrue, but you always have “hot” lines. Depends on the other half of the cross I’d say.
I was fortunate to train and compete a young Connemara stallion. His owner ran a lesson/family type barn as well as being heavily into Pony Club. I started 3 of his offspring (one of which is my current mount, a Connemara/Appendix) and they have been the easiest I have ever started. Currently, two of his offspring (both Connemara crosses) have been essentially trained from green broke by their Pony Club owners through “B” Pony Club level.
I love my “hony”. He is not the fanciest creature in terms of gaits, and I am primarily a dressage rider. However, the gaits are correct and is willing to try for any reasonable request.
Pony/horse cross breeding is done pretty commonly, often by breeders looking to produce large pony hunters (the eventer Theodore O’Connor was a product of such a program; TB stallion on a Shetland/Arab/TB mare). Any breeding of any horse is a gamble, though, and a gamble that takes an awfully long time to tell if it’s going to pay off or not. I think most people who have specific needs are going to get what they want a lot faster and a lot easier by keeping an open mind and scouring the market for a horse that already fits the bill. Those of us looking for small sport horses are, I think, at a bit of an ADVANTAGE, really. We can look at the products of the large pony hunter breeding programs that just filled out a bit too much, and crossed over that magic 14.2 mark. We can look at the products of the big warmblood programs that, for whatever reason, got the literal short end of the stick on the genetic cards they were dealt. We can look at breeds like the larger native ponies, Morgans, Andalusians, and their crosses. We can look at the breeds that have huge numbers and much wider variation in type and temperament than a lot of people think, TB’s, QHs, Arabs and their crosses. Not all TB’s are tall and hot, and there are an awful lot of QH’s that are not “bulldogs” in the slightest (I knew one that I actually thought was a Saddlebred cross when I first met him!). And, like the ponies that grow a bit too large, the outlier non-typey sorts of the very common breeds are often priced quite reasonably. We can even look at BLM mustangs (as I did)—a Stallion named Padre won the in-hand “suitability for dressage” class at Devon in 2010, and “Cobra” has been quite successful under saddle. Others (like “Hwin” and “Frosty” in eventing and “Mr. Popper” in the hunter ring) are also doing quite respectably in the sport horse arena. I certainly don’t have any illusions of getting very far competitively with my boy, but I’m honest enough with myself to know that I’m not terribly likely to get anywhere competitively if I were riding Valegro. Tobler pleases me to look at, and (most importantly) has a wonderful personality and temperament that I’ve seen matched by very, very few domestic horses I have ever known. I got him at the Extreme Mustang Makeover, and there were several other horses in the competition that I think would have been great sport horse prospects.
I breed Connemaras and top of my list is temperament. My main stallion now is athletic enough to show the jumpers and do VERY well, but is also quiet enough to pack my out-of-shape butt around in my dressage lessons 
I breed SPECIFICALLY for those of us that wish to have an athletic yet SANE partner.
There are hot lines in every breed…
I have an 8 yo, 16.1hh Irish Sport Horse x Connemara. On the ground very sweet and affectionate, excellent manners, not spooky; a teddy bear. When ridden, can be extremely opinionated, hot/sensitive, and strong. Great jumper, though!
get a Lippitt Morgan, pretty laid back at least three we have had were …one mare was 14.1 and some but not a horse yet sure appeared to be much larger than she was … nearly always challenged if entered in an open show in a pony class
even the buckskin Morgan my daughter has which does have an attitude … but if a small child was on him he was just like the cartoon buckskin Spirit …sidestepping to keep his charge in the saddle
Well as you all know, I am a Morgan fan. I think they have a reputation for hotness which is somewhat deserved, but some of the older lines (Lippitt, some Foundation lines etc.) are a little quieter. In general, however, they are alert or looky horses, which does make some people nervous. And need “stuff to do” or they will make up their own!
Buy a German Riding Pony.
I am joining late to the discussion and am not a breeder but have ridden plenty of welsh x horse (warmblood, thoroughbred, quarter horse) mixes and can’t say any of them have been a combination of spare parts. When you do those crosses it is just a matter of finding complementary conformation for the cross just like if you were crossing two horses or two ponies.
As for temperament, as a few have mentioned it is a matter of knowing the lines. I know some welsh lines with a reputation for being hot and have met a number from those lines that furthered that reputation, but know other lines that were known for producing child friendly temperaments. There are also of course ones that go against those stereotypes; one of the quietest stallions I know is from a known hot line yet he was safe enough to trust with novice kids under supervision.
If you choose to breed to a pony just do your research, see if you can find out what their offspring have done, and see what you can find out about stereotypical temperament knowing that each is an individual and there is no guarantee what you will get.
Both breeds produce athletic, yet level headed, rideable horses.
I also breed Connemaras and Crosses and one of our Half Breds is owned by a disabled rider. Of all the pony breeds and crosses i have dealt with personally the Connemaras are likely among the most sensible and kind. However, I want to mention that it might be better to buy just exactly what you need rather that try to breed it which for the most part is far less predictable than something on the ground already.
If I breed a 15.2H Hanoverian mare to a 13.2H Welsh B stallion, what size range could I expect?
What is the size of your mare’s sire and dam?
Ponies are individuals. IMO ponies have a large streak of self preservation and will think for themselves so a rider needs to work with them and to build up a respectful partnership rather than being bossy and domineering. Ponies in general I find to be ‘spirited’ rather than ‘hot’ and I love the way they will try to work with you. Most of the pony ‘attitude’ develops with poor handling, lack of work and over feeding. It is an intelligent creature’s response to often less than ideal circumstances.
Sire was 16.2H, dam was 15H and tended to produce small
I have two young ponies.
One is 14.1 1/2 at 3. He is out of a 13.3 mare and a 14.2 stallion. His full brother is 13.2. He looks to go over and will probably finish 14.2 or 14.3.
My filly’s full brother is 15.1, full sister 14.2. She’s 14.1 at 3. He dam was 15.2 and her sire 12.2.
If you want a particular height or temperament, better to just buy it. Breeding is always a gamble.
If it were me, I would be worried the foal would go over 14.2 HH. But I guess it depends on whether you were shooting for a large pony or not.
