I thought it might be fun to see what surprise crosses turned out working well for dressage. We all know it isn’t just wb’'s that do dressage, conformation and a good work ethic go far.
I recently saw a Halfinger Quarter Horse cross do really well at a local show. The horse seemed to have gotten the right qualities from both breeds to make a really nice, balanced, level mare with a good stride.
What have you seen that worked well?
I ride a truly wonderful Morgan x Friesian mare who was homebred by her owner. She’s the absolute straightest horse I’ve ever sat on, and you just can’t beat the hardiness of a Morgan - she’s so low maintenance, the best feet, never been lame one single time in the nearly ten years I’ve known her. Her owner has been asked “what kind of warmblood” she is at shows before :lol: Some judges don’t love her way of going and she just can’t always track up behind the way that some horses can, but for first and second level she’s great and super correct. Morgans are kind of underrated!!!
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My friend had a Percheron/Tennessee Walker who did well, he was a cool dude.
Morgans are awesome.
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I’ve seen some interesting Percheron crosses, including the “Spanish Norman” - Percheron x Andy. One clinician commented on Perch and crosses being naturally capable of the collected movements.
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I was high point champion one time on my Morgan/TB cross mare at our local big deal dressage festival show. It was raining like crazy and it made her pick up her feet in a much more elevated way than normal, which combined with her perfectly careful movements and fearlessness, gave us a near perfect test.
I never pushed to go past Second Level with her, but for the lower levels she was fantastic. She was the smartest, safest horse I ever rode and I still miss her. I love my horse now, but I’ve never met a warmblood as easy and trustworthy to take on adventures as my Morgan x.
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Just got my silver on my 9 year old Percheron/Hackney! The Percheron gives her big strong bones and a quiet demeanor, but the Hackney adds some really great heat and athleticism when you ask for it. If you want her to give a walk/trot lesson to a kid, she’s quiet as a mouse. When you want her to do tempis, just give her a little kick up and she sits and pushes like none other. She’s a blast!
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Lovely horse!
I’ve always been partial to draft crosses, but haven’t owned one.
I did know a Saddlebred Friesian cross that made a lovely dressage horse. A bit hard to harness his power and spirited demeanor in his younger years, but he did well with his ammy owner nonetheless. Nice mover, uphill, and rather big. Good conformation for the sport.
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Such interesting crosses, and so many Perch crosses! I really love the Perch cross myself, my mare was 1/4 Percheron.
Shoes- such a lady you have, didn’t want to get her feet mucky 
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Add me to the list of Morgan lovers! I used to lease a Morgan x QH (well, we think QH) who was phenomenally athletic.
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Many years ago I rode a Morgan x TWH cross who did well at both Advanced eventing and through third level dressage. He earned more than one person their bronze. My Clyde x TB mares were both good lower level dressage mounts. My favorite crosses for athleticism though have been Morgan x Welsh Cob and Welsh Cob x Tb.
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I guess I am most surprised at the gaited crosses doing well in dressage.
MysticOak, I should get you to help me find a horse, you have lovely horses!! Love that last picture, I would frame it, it would make me smile every day,
I have a friend who bought a Shire/TWH/QH cross to do dressage with. She is a lovely, athletic, long-legged mare who, at 7 years old is winning at 1st lvl, schooling 2nd lvl. Shire gives her “spice”, TWH gives her “go”, QH gives trainable mind I guess. Anyway, she’s a wonderful horse and her owner couldn’t be happier with how she turned out.
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I have been surprised at some of the gaited crosses too, but I know a couple of people who are showing Friesian/TWH horses and they are awesome! It is not a cross I would have ever DREAMED of doing, but apparently it can work. The owners I know don’t admit to the general public what their horses are:lol: I have very limited experience with gaited horses, so I’m not sure what they bring to the table, but they tend to lose their gait when cross bred.
Really, the Warmblood itself is nothing more then a carefully planned out cross. And we are starting to see more and more baroque crosses (Andalusian, Lusitano, and Friesian) doing really well. I think the baroque horses tend to be more people oriented, more tolerant, which makes them a good cross for a lot of riders.
One of the State colleges out here was breeding Hackney/Dutch WB crosses - OMG, some of them were amazing! But a bit too hot for the average rider.
I’d love to go horse shopping with you, hahahaha, I’m a total addict, I LOVE finding odd crosses, and have found a lot of them really do work out well.
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And the winner is…the Friesien gaited cross…never would have thought of that. Interesting that the gaited breeds lose their gait, now it makes sense to see them being crossed because any gaited horse I have met has truly been a kind trying soul. Not to mention they have the coolest colours!!
Imagine a Black Silver Friesien style dressage horse…
Wow Chisamba Saddlebred/Perch, that sounds pretty cool! I bet she was smooth. I wouldn’t have called either a standardbred or a Lippy a gaited horse?
