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How to find highly energetic quarter horses?

Off Course
#1

Hello,

![]('m new to the forum.

I recently moved from the city to a farm because I want horses. I owned a quarter horse who was a former roping champion before I got him. He died a few years ago of old age health complications. He had AQHA papers. His name was Van.

I kept him at a relative’s farm and he was my kind of horse: very highly energetic and incredible acceleration; Peaceful if you weren’t on his back, but once up there, he just wanted to fly. Part of my love for him was training him to to mellow and calm somewhat, containing that energy until I asked it of him. It was a labor of love and he and I developed an incredible partnership.

I’m trying to figure out how to find another quarter horse like him, except I want a mare (or two), for possible future breeding. And I want young mares, so I can mould them the way I want.

I suppose I need to find certain bloodlines that have those characteristic I seek, but I don’t know how. I know training makes a huge difference, but still, I would think the temperament of the sire and dam is also likely to be very telling.

I moved from Tennessee to North Carolina, and I don’t have many contacts here. The breeder of Van has passed away.

Thank you![IMG]https://www.horseforum.com/images/smilies/runninghorse2.gif)

#2

I am not an expert on QH. But in general if you want a horse to do a job, buy a horse that is already doing the job or comes from bloodlines doing that job if it’s young stock.

If you are going to breed horses you want to breed horses that can do a job so that you can sell them to good homes.

What discipline do you ride or compete in? If you have no clear picture of the range of disciplines it’s too early to think about breeding because you will not know your market. Pick a discipline and a trainer and learn a bit first.

In general the speed performance disciplines require a horse with zip, while the Western Pleasure and halter classes want a very mellow horse.

There are significant differences between roping, barrel racing, team penning, cutting, and reining. But all these disciplines make good use of the explosive power of QH on short distances and their catty agility. If you want a zippy handy little sportscar of a horse I would look to horses from those kinds of bloodlines. Good ones are not cheap.

11 Likes
#3

Thank you Scribbler. “A zippy handy little sportscar of a horse”. Yes, young, explosive quarter horses are what I’m after. Breeding is only a future possibility. How do I find those bloodlines? I contacted the American Quarter horse registry by phone asking for guidance, but have not heard back from them.

“Good ones are not cheap” Yes. I’m just beginning this process, so doing the cost/performance tradeoff analysis awaits me. Finding the bloodlines is my first step, and I need to be able to ask the right questions.

#4

First I would suggest going online looking at videos and getting an overall “lay of the land” in regards to what the different speed performance jobs for QH look like.

At a minimum look at cutting, reining, team penning, roping, barrel racing. The horses specialize but I am not sure how much the bloodlines specialize.

Once you know what the different jobs look like, you can start figuring out who the breeders and trainers are. I think the pedigree website is open access.

QH like TB have very clunky registered names that gesture towards the blood lines so after a while you will recognize that some names keep popping up in the horses you like. They are called things like “Miss Zippy Boon Blue Moneymaker” or similar with the blood lines signalled in the name ( no idea if that’s a possible bloodline or if I’m mixing up incompatible bloodlines here!).

I’d also suggest finding a QH breed show in your area once showing opens up again and just going to watch and see what the horses look like. And see if you can find a Western performance trainer in your area that will give lessons.

For instance my area has a barn that brings in cattle for team penning. They do team penning drop in nights and also will do lessons on their horses. I took my own Paint there last summer. She doesn’t have the super fast reining installed that it needs, so I let it lapse. But the better horses there were *exactly" what you want, and the folks were super welcoming. If I’d wanted to upgrade to talented cow horse that was absolutely the right road in. If you can find similar in your area that would be a big help.

There is apparently money in team penning, these folks went to the finals at the Calgary Stampede, they were contenders in their discipline. And they were super friendly and into growing their sport and teaching.

Even if you want primarily a fun all around riding horse, if you want a quality horse the way to find that is generally through folks that do competition in a specific discipline. If you want a good riding horse with spark you might find a horse that can’t quite make it at the top of the discipline but still has loads of talent compared to the average horse.

1 Like
#5

The registry isn’t in a position to recommend certain bloodlines-- they’re an impartial organization that represents all breeders. As others have suggested, you can start by watching competitions in these speed events (reining, cutting, barrels, etc), see what horses catch your eye, and research their breeding. (Recognizing, of course, that breeding is only a fraction of what makes those horses as good as they are).

To look up pedigrees, you can join the AQHA which has pedigree research tools, or you can find a lot of horses on this free site: https://www.allbreedpedigree.com/aqha-pedigree

Consider subscribing to Quarter Horse News or similar magazines-- you’ll see a ton of horse / breeder profiles and breeder advertisements:
https://qhn.pcdfusion.com/pcd/Order?iKey=I0DBAN

And this stallion registry may be helpful too: https://shop.quarterhorsenews.com/collections/stallion-register/products/2020-qhn-stallion-register

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#6

Great advice all around. Just what I need. I will watch videos for the disciplines you mentioned. And I will look for area QH breed shows too.

“If you want a good riding horse with spark you might find a horse that can’t quite make it at the top of the discipline but still has loads of talent compared to the average horse.”

Right. That’s what I’m looking for. I will follow your advice about 1) starting with disciplines, 2) then looking at breeders, trainers, sires and dams proven performance in those disciplines, 3) then looking at cost.

It is a good framework for me to follow.

By the way, even though I want high energy and performance, it’s still all about being gentle as you can be, but firm as you need to be (within limits), to be their trusted friend and partner/leader. That is how I developed my incredible relationship with Van, who got Lord knows what kind of treatment before I got him, as a performance horse.

1 Like
#7

You just described my mare. :slight_smile: Deadhead on the ground, very forward under saddle and very responsive to the rider. I’ve had her for two years now. She’s a safe horse for someone who knows how to ride but definitely not for a beginner.

Here’s a copy of her papers. She goes back to King Ranch if that helps.

https://www.allbreedpedigree.com/liberty+pretty+smoke

#8

Ha, I have just the horse you’re looking for in my backyard. She’s 4yo, gentle to handle, stands quietly, easy to sit and ride, but will get after it if you ask her. She is Peppy San and Doc Tari bred and came off a ranch.

Keep in mind you get what you pay for, but I’d start by looking to cow/cutting/ranch horse bloodlines…the King Ranch lines (Peppy San, Peppy San Badger), Reminic, Playgun, Grays Starlight, Watch Joe Jack, Woody Be Tuff, Tanquery Gin would all be a place to start.

And racehorses (extending to speed event ie barrel racing horses) too, you can find the individuals that can turn their energy on and off, lines like FDD Dynasty, PYC Paint Your Wagon, Foose, Winners Version, Bodacious Dash, Frenchmans Guy might be a place to start.

If you’re in North Carolina, there is a East Coast Stock Horse Association based in Virginia, and that might be a great place to start to ask for the type of horse you’re looking for.

Good luck in your search!

6 Likes
#9

IMO, you’ve missed another possible skill set… the Appendix with racing lines. :slight_smile:

6 Likes
#10

Okay then, fantastic and I will start making a list of bloodlines, starting with these! And the East Coast Stock Horse Assoc is a great lead. Thank you.

#11

Thank you. Appendix, 10-4.

3 Likes
#12

I’ll 2nd appendix. My SO has a nicely bred dash for cash and Seattle Slew. She came from a local breeder. I think ask around, find a reputable breeder/trainer etc. Reining/barrel/fancier bred cow horses will be on the hotter side.

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#13

You just described my mare. :slight_smile: Deadhead on the ground, very forward and responsive under saddle.

Here are her papers if that helps any. She goes back to King Ranch. She was bred to work on a cattle ranch, not to be a show horse.

https://www.allbreedpedigree.com/liberty+pretty+smoke

#14

My mare also fits the OP’s description. Deadhead on the ground, very forward and responsive under saddle.

It’s interesting that like yours, she goes back to King Ranch (Old Sorrel) and comes from a cattle ranch.

Here are her papers. Maybe they will help the OP.

https://www.allbreedpedigree.com/liberty+pretty+smoke

#15

Thank you streamline. Like you said, I need to ask around and get to know breeders and trainers in the area. Will do. “Reining/barrel/fancier bred cow horses will be on the hotter side.” That’s what I’m looking for. It may come down to costs. “…nicely bred dash for cash and Seattle Slew.” Translation?

#16

An appendix is a QH crossed with a TB. They are registered in an “appendix” to the main QH registry and their descendents can become full QH registry.

Seattle Slew is a famous TB racehorse who went on to be a big race horse sire. Dash for Cash is a prolific QH sire. You can Google both.

In horse breeding people will talk about “lines” meaning the famous horse is somewhere back in the pedigree. A horse can also be “line bred” meaning that his ancestors include a lot of descendants of that famous sire so that the total genetic impact of that sire is magnified even if he is now many generations back. Like European royalty :).

Prolific studs can make a huge impact on a breed. In the case of the Morgan breed, one prolific stud founded the breed. In TB everything goes back to 3 or 4 horses in the 1600s, but more recently you will find that huge numbers of horses have studs like Man O War in their pedigree. So it’s no bragging rights really to say your sweet little flunked track training lesson horse OTTB “goes back to Man O War!!” because most of them do and it doesn’t make them all world beaters.

Prolific studs can make a huge effect on a breed because they can sire thousands of foals over 10 to 20 years whereas a brood mare rarely has more than 5 to 10 foals in her lifetime. Also when a stud wins races or competition, everyone wants to breed to him and his stud fees soar. A big name stud is a big asset to a breeding farm.
”‹”‹”‹

A nice Appendix is a very nice all around horse, but probably a bit taller and a bit less handy than a cow horse QH. There are however some pretty ugly backyard bred Appendix. Bad QH and bad TB does not make a nice horse. Also an Appendix can have TB personality which trends more spooky reactive run till you drop than QH. They are an excellent choice for English riding as the TB gives them height and a more English build for jumping.

I’m going to guess that getting access to excellent TB genetics is actually rather difficult for most small time breeders. OTTB off track thoroughbreds are everywhere, but the good mares are kept for race breeding and the good stallions do only live cover within the race industry. So probably sourcing Appendix from a race environment would get you a better quality horse than one someone bred from an also-ran OTTB mare and someone’s ungelded QH colt down the road.

You might want to find a good book that’s a primer on breeding and terminology.

2 Likes
#17

Translation… racing lines (Dash For Cash fairly well known racing QH, Slew… very well known racing TB).

You will get, IMO, a different kind of ‘hot’ with Appendix (racing) QH than you will a reiner/barrel/cutter.

3 Likes
#18

Dash for Cash is a racing Quarter Horse, Seattle Slew is the triple-crown-winning Thoroughbred. So they crossed a thoroughbred with a quarter horse. [should say was, they both are long gone]. My guess is QH stallion/TB mare, but could be the other way around.

One thing you can do is search sales sites for particular bloodlines, or disciplines.

#19

Like European royalty :). Ha! By the way, The Tudors on Netflix is pretty good.

I know who Seattle Slew was, and now I remember vaguely Dash for Cash, but since the ladder was uncapitalized by Streamline, I thought it was a trait rather than an ancestor. So her Sorell has both in her bloodlines. But, like you said, it depends on who the other ancestors are. And I knew about Appendix, as Thoroughbreds (and Arabians?) are welcome to reinvigorate the QH registry. But what I don’t know is my path forward. That’s okay. That’s why I’m asking these questions. Based on this conversation and others, I am now thinking that breeding mares on my small farm is unrealistic and likely to result in more disappointment than satisfaction. (I have loved spending time with mares and their foals, but oh, well).

So, I’ve got a revised path forward. What if I just get a single stallion for my small farm? Goats as companions. I need to spend time and ride him first, to make sure he has the “hotness” I want. Whether he’s a QH, Arabian, or a TB is up for discussion. And I could breed him. I’m looking at a $25,000 budget. A stallion would more likely have the hotness I want, for my enjoyment riding and training him, (no guarantee on his offspring). That’s the main thing I want. For riding and training. That’s what I want. And, thanks to advice, I’ve given up on the idea of finding a young, untrained horse who will have the temperament and personality I want. I need to spend time with and ride the horse!

#20

Aaaannnd, here’s where the thread goes south.
You do not have the skill set to own a stallion, nor any need since you’re not running a breeding operation. This is the equivalent of a 17-yr old who’s driven his dad’s car a few times declaring that they’re going to buy a 700-HP McLaren race car. Nothing good or safe will come from it.
Thinking that testicles makes the horse a hot ride is Exhibit A in the list of evidence.

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