I’m new to the world of Morgans and have seen Morabs and Moriesans but haven’t been able to find anything on Morgan/Warmblood Xs.
Does it not seem like a good idea to X these two together? Why or why not?
I have been scheming for years to someday try breeding a morgan mare to a Warmblood stallion for a custom foal for myself - but I have not seen many examples either. To me the cross seems like a no-brainer for an amateur friendly dressage horse. Maybe the idea of the cross is better than the reality? 
I am a Morgan person through and through but I work with WB’s on a daily basis. To me this combo just doesn’t really seem to mesh and in reality I’ve seen very few Morgan crosses that I thought were an improvement on the original.
DWB x Morgan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TekL3C_fGQ4
DWB x Morgan, by Iroko
http://www.equinenow.com/horse-ad-684056
Hol x Morgan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abpuxQl7Xno
There are a few out there, but the problem seems to be the sporthorse type of Morgan is in decline, thanks to the rise of the “saddleseat” type, so it’s not likely there are a great deal out there 
I have to say, the Morgan seems to be IT in producing reliably functional horses out of a huge variety of crosses, from light to draft. Even the Morgan x Friesian crosses I’ve seen have been pretty nice. Something about how ingrained their type is must have a lot to do with it. They’re all functional, reasonably well to very well conformed, good temperaments, athletic, etc.
I think like any cross, it all depends on the individuals.
I have a friend who had a morgan/Holsteiner cross registered AWR. The mare was not much to look at, but she was one of the most athletic jumpers I have ever met in my life. My friend evented the mare through prelim until a tendon injury as a 7 or 8 y/o sidelined her permanently from top level competition. That was a real loss.
I think Olivier’s folks have some experience with this. They had a very cute mare there when I visited. Being in VT, there are just a lot more Morgans around.
I rode a wonderful Morgan/Trakehner cross. In fact, I bet a lot of people on this forum have ridden her, too, and would speak to what an athletic creature she is.
I have this mare at my farm and I’ve long wanted to cross her on either a large WB, or a smaller welsh (she’s 15hands).
Will it ever happen…probably not. But she’s surprisingly athletic (despite being built so so) and has the absolute best mind. That was her first show in over 10 years, after spending that time in a field (came to my place in November) and the kids first time showing and had just started jumping. I had instructed her to trot the first two jumps because that bending line rode quite tricky and horses were having blow by issues. (warning slowest lower level jumper round you will ever see…lol).
They actually do quite nicely at our more recent lower level jumpers despite the lack of speed…mare is quite handy and can turn on a dime, so despite practically trotting they usually do quite nicely…not so much the above posted course 
but the last show had 8 in the novice and despite a few trot breaks this mare took 2nd and 3rd
[QUOTE=Ysabel;7559369]
To me the cross seems like a no-brainer for an amateur friendly dressage horse. [/QUOTE]
My thoughts exactly. I rode other people’s WBs for years but when it was time to buy my own horse, I bought a Morgan, because I needed something amateur friendly; I can put a 6 year old kid on her, dogs can walk all around her, she doesn’t require shoes, or a fancy boarding set-up, no blanket in the winter, she’s not argumentative like many high-strung WBs and her purchase price was a fraction of what I would have paid for a WB.
However, Morgans are not very tall so if you cross one with a WB, maybe you could gain more height therefore attracting a wider audience of riders. Also, their barrel shape makes it hard to find a well fitting saddle, so adding some WB blood, could streamline their physique.
Just some thoughts from a Morgan loving, WB riding amateur 
Unlike the stock horse/WB cross proposed on another thread, I don’t think this is a terrible idea. I would still question marketability, but the resulting horse would have as decent a shot at being nice as an Arab/WB cross.
Another Morgan person here… I think the right cross with a WB could yield a very, very nice sport horse with a medium build. Morgans and TBs can cross pretty well (I’ve seen a few) and Morgans and Arabs do, too… So you might want to go for a lighter WB with a lot of “blood” for one parent.
If I was contemplating a cross like this, on the Morgan side I would look for a high-percentage “Foundation” horse, possibly a ranch-bred one, that had a good canter and a good mind.
I did get asked a couple of times about breeding my Morgan mare (who is a lighter type with a very athletic outlook but a somewhat quirky personality) to a WB stallion… I never did it on account of her leg conformation (something to really watch out for in Morgans – also watch out for club feet as they are very common in some lines) and simply not wanting to have her out of commission as a riding horse.
BTW it’s not really that the saddleseat type has risen, rather that it hasn’t fallen as quickly as the sport type Morgan; to some degree this is because the Amish are finally “getting” that registering their Morgan foals is worth it – and they breed a lot. Breed registrations are WAY down; I have read about 800 foals were registered last year, compared to over 3000 per year in the early 2000s. A lot of breeders of all types of Morgans are older, and there isn’t much of a generation of younger breeders coming up. The AMHA is even contemplating a campaign to encourage “hobbyist” non-breeding owners of Morgan mares, like me, to breed them. (Not planning to, though I might change my mind if my new filly turns out to be as good as I think she will.)
An eventing trainer I know has said that she has never met a Morgan who didn’t enjoy jumping, though many weren’t that talented at it (Mine might be considered an exception. That’s COTH forum member HawksNest riding her.)
It would certainly eliminate the need for a fake tail 
Although your braider might hate you…I know I pull my girls weekly and still its an unruly mess. she just has SO much hair!
There’s a local trainer with a Morgan/QH that I would take home in a heartbeat. She has an ADORABLE jump, shown over 3’6", and is athletic as heck. Easy easy ride too!
[QUOTE=Jumper_girl221;7559919]
There’s a local trainer with a Morgan/QH that I would take home in a heartbeat. She has an ADORABLE jump, shown over 3’6", and is athletic as heck. Easy easy ride too![/QUOTE]
Aw, love your photo of your hairy Morgan. Growing hair is one of their many talents My mare isn’t hairy at all, but the filly will be… The breeder was using the large dog size Furminator to shed out her Morgans when I visited, and she usually has to braid their manes in 2 French braids for showing.
Some of them certainly can do the jumping. The mare did quite well (with HawksNest riding her, not me, because she gets hotter than hell over fences!) up to about 3’3" or so. Jumping is out because of her soundness issues, and mine, but every once in a while she surprises me on the trail by choosing to take a flying leap over something rather than stepping through it.
Back in the late 70s, one of my riding instructor’s best horses was a QH/Morgan cross mare. She was a lovely horse, had more than a little dressage training, was handy over jumps, foxhunted, and was safe for almost anyone to ride.
You want jumping Morgans I’ve got a whole load of them, all competed barefoot.
My VERY first pony, 14 hands (grade, but parents were registered). They dragged me off kicking and screaming when I was 19 and 5’10" (bastards). She competed at 3’6" with our trainer and has never worn shoes.
at 18 with my sister in a clinic
At 19 over 3’ being ridden like a complete redneck (jumper course that gives LL jumpers a bad name…we had a “discussion” when she came out of the ring).
http://youtu.be/9LxJ-jHt5GI
My mom’s stallion schooling 4’3" at home. He unfortunately never made it over 3’ at shows…but that was the fault of his riders and college. best brain you’ll ever see…he’s trail ridden by beginner friends in the off season. He’s JUST under 14.2
My “hairy Morgan” from a few posts ago in a Greg Best clinic as a 4 year old with an 8 year old kid
Needless to say I"m a BIT biased about the breed…even if the majority of the horses I own now are bay TB’s
ETA oh look what I found! Non redneck video of my pony with my sister in a Greg best clinic http://youtu.be/qBjOKQL2BJQ now I want her back pouts
1\2 TB 1\4 Morgan 1\4 Percheron http://s297.photobucket.com/user/MattsonTraining/media/229359_212090862146285_5039449_n_zps8f1bef25.jpg.html?sort=3&o=13
http://s297.photobucket.com/user/MattsonTraining/media/Alidahunters7_zpsffe5aa4b.jpg.html?sort=3&o=23
http://s297.photobucket.com/user/MattsonTraining/media/561962_665746920115796_509894639_n_zps84a44b0a.jpg.html?sort=3&o=14
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xdb5jNXJVM
I have a few friends who were Morgan breeders - they are really great, athletic, willing horses. I always thought of them as the Original American Warmblood. Several people do event them - they have great jump and great heart, and they tend to be handy and hardy and SOUND. A few breeders out here have been crossing w/ Tbred to get more speed and more height - for nice Ammie friendly eventing horses. I’d LOVE to see a Morgan/WB cross - I owned a Morgan/Friesian cross and he was just awesome. Very talented horse with a great brain and VERY good looking.
Morgans have done well in sport - eventing, combined driving, and dressage, they’ve hit the higher levels in all these sports.
Dragonfire Farm has had some lovely WB/Morgan crosses.
I had one!
Morgan/Warmblood, he was a jumper. Although we stopped at 1.20, he did the 1.40’s in Florida.
He was build more like a warmblood (solid 16.3-17hh).
This was him as a 5 year old in the 1.10’s: http://i60.tinypic.com/2q20b9g.jpg
If I knew then what I knew now, he would have been a dressage horse. He had the most incredible movement.
My Morgan mare produced WB-cross babies. Two geldings, both by Oldenburg sires (whose pedigrees I am completely unfamiliar with, unfortunately).
My mare’s pedigree is dominated by government Morgan lines, and she’s a pretty well-conformed little sport horse and an outrageously fun dressage mount. She’s been mistaken for a small warmblood on more than one occasion and holds her own in a barn full of dressage-bred WBs. Her babies got an extra hand of size from their daddies, but have their momma’s movement and her awesome personality.
I’ve met her babies. They’ve found good homes with a pony clubber and an adult ammie dressage rider, respectively, and I know that if either of them were listed for sale they’d be snatched up by others in those communities.
I daydream about breeding her again to produce another WB cross for myself. I’d love to have an ever-so-slightly bigger horse with conformation, movement, and most of all personality similar to hers. If I had any intention of ever selling a baby of hers there’s no question I’d be looking for a Morgan stallion. But for myself things like size and movement matter more than breed registration, and she’s proven she can make some fine looking WB cross offspring.
I own the most fantastic medium pony sized Morgan gelding. His movement is quite nice and he is without a doubt the boldest jumper I’ve ever sat on. If his ears lock onto something we are going over - spooky jumps, loud noises, rider error - nothing will distract him from his mission!
I’ve seen some lovely TBxMorgan horses and I’d love to own one someday. That would be ideal for me as a foxhunter/eventer, I think. Ideally the cross would maintain the morgan toughness and gain a bit more length of stride. At least for the Morgans I’ve met, stamina has not been a problem, but my little guy is often taking several strides to the TBs one stride out hunting.
