Thanks 
Yep. My friend used to steward their shows and eventually stopped as it was a work out getting people to follow the rules.
Itâs not my preference for training or my preference to have a lot of snort n blow but itâs just another Tuesday in those disciplines.
You really do become more accustomed to the sparkle that the saddle seat world wants with time. I was a die hard hunter before I got my saddlebreds and it took me awhile to adjust to the fact that they were not in fact, going to kill me with all that leaping about, snorting and leg flinging but instead they were just demonstrating their joy in life.
They learn to do that without being rude about it, which is super interesting. My saddlebreds will be boinging around silly, but never pull on me or threaten me in any way.
As far as the breeder in questionâs horses go though, they arenât even good examples of harness horses. While I want an upright neck, I do not want a ewe neck. No big bulge on the underside please, that will make it hard for the horse to come onto the bit properly. I want the horse to lift the base of the neck in the same manner as a dressage horse, and lower the haunch to be able to really power through a good trot. True, we donât care as much about relaxation (nor submission) but that isnât the point. Many of the well bred harness horses could do good dressage if retrained - itâs just hard to see when you see them presented in the manner that they are. Sure probably not World Cup, but definitely not throwaway plugs.
Yes, there are some differences that make more vs less action possible in the legs, but largely a well conformed horse is a well conformed horse.
I have two saddlebreds right now. One who is bred out the eye teeth. He has WGC and CH on both sides the whole way back and his bloodline literally reads like a whoâs who in saddlebred land. Even a non-saddlebred person would recognize some of the names. He has an amazing road trot, does dressage, drives, jumps - anything I ask him to do he steps right up and does because he can. Heâs built well and has a great temperament, if a bit spicier than the typical hunter.
The second one? Someoneâs homebred with relatively unknown horses. He is a conformational nightmare. Sweet horse, no idea what he will be suitable for long term.
Iâm not a breeder and donât even play one on tv, but Iâll go for conformation over flash any time, as I can add pizzazz to a horse that doesnât have it. I canât fix crooked legs or an upside-down neck. Some saddlebred people care less about these faults but they make it really hard to work correctly IMO - and who needs that?
So I guess my point is - while I believe the DHH to be a valuable horse and would buy one for any discipline if the individual was correct and suitable, I do not believe this particular breeder is breeding ethically nor even particularly well. In this way, she harms the reputation of the DHH. I wasnât a fan of them when I first encountered them as I had encountered only early Amish-bred horses. Theyâve gotten better, as the breed has become more popular in the states.
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What people donât realize is the show horses are pretty much bomb proof. You know exactly how they are going to react when they see something that makes them jazzed and then they can come right back down from the âhighâ. It makes them extremely brave and builds their confidence.
Mine spooks away from me where my QH tries to jump in my lap.
Definitely a different world but it just speaks to how good their minds really are.
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Truth! I often say that if my QH puts his head in the air and snorts like the saddlebred you are about to DIE. My saddlebred? Heâs just having a good time looking at something.
They are brave too despite not seeming like it. My main man is the first to come investigate something while all the other horses are running away. Sure, neck arched and snorting, but heading toward the excitement, not away from it.
Yes, all of them are individuals but they were bred for that bravery - I believe one of my old books said âdo not bother with a chicken horse, they will only break your heartâ
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I went the other wayâŠdecades of Saddleseat with Arabians and Saddlebreds then switched to this âjump stuffâ twenty years ago. Pictured are the last saddlebred I bred, raised and started under saddle, CH Guevarra, and my first event horse,the Saddlebred mare, Kings Lady In Black. The mare was a saddlebred WP horse I owned a nd when I got interested in eventing, I looked in my âhorse closetâ and Saddlebreds were all I had to wear ! she was a successful eventer winning her and my first ever event at beginning novice and placed in the top three in ten of fouteen horse trials she entered through training level
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This thread has made is clear that when youâre a skilled person and you start with quality horses and realistic expectations, you can produce something really really nice. I have seen several examples posted now of a breed I wouldnât normally be interested in doing something I donât do and thought âwow, thatâs a lovely horse anyone would be proud to own.â Kudos to those who have produced such nice horses!
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One more DHH spam, then gotta run, seven to ride today. Retired so donât have one of those annoying, whatta ya call âem, âjobs, careersâ, I think, to interfere with my riding. :-)!
My wife fox hunting a DHH/Standardbred cross we bought at an Amish auction
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Youâd probably like my 3yo whoâs sire is Night of Roses then.
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Absolutely 
!!
Itâs been disappointing to see people who have no experience with some breeds bashing them as worthless due to one person.
I think most people who take an unconventional breed into a different sport understand and accept the limitations. They just have a breed preference and also a sport preference and want to enjoy both.
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NSH?
I was just reading a book from 1943, that went through the proper conformation for a saddle horse, which was exactly that of a thoroughbred (including a short back) and proclaimed that it was unfortunate that the thoroughbreds were so often ruined as saddle horses by their rushed training and hard gallops on the track.
In fact, according to these books, it used to be that people thought the saddlebred was not good in harness 
Much has changed. Now the saddlebred has a reputation for not cantering (which is weird, they all canter and many have very nice canters) and conformation only suited to harness. I donât get it except that people perhaps have always been a bit breed biased.
Of course those same people turn around and buy friesians for dressage and those boogers usually are every bit as upright as the saddlebred or DHH and I find that odd. And the ones that Iâve experienced have all been a bit intractable to boot (although I know little of friesian breeding and it may be that Iâve just encountered poor examples). Iâm not a fan because I donât want all that hair, but they donât seem to get the same hate as the ASB, Arabians, and DHH do. Itâs interesting.
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I hope yâall are trash talking Hubert, not Atleet. Thatâs my retired mareâs farrier, William Duffy, driving Atleet at his retirement ceremony. He also owns Macho, who is a very, very good DHH; I believe heâs still in the Netherlands.
Bill and his father started in Morgans â he guessed, when he met Feronia, that she had some park horses in her pedigree, in spite of her sporty conformation and movement. Heâd probably drool over Lola, my young Morgan, who is heavily Waseeka bred, and has the sparky attitude and excellent brain one would expect.
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I saw that and found it bizarre and I think that If someone didnât know Saddlebreds were SADDLE horses then Iâd question how much they pretend to know about other things as well.
Good point about Fresians. Theyâre just as much carriage horses as DHH yet people buy them all the time for dressage. Same issues. Yet nobody has called them worthless.
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I love the sweet expression on the horseâs face, and the fact that heâs hunting in a plain old eggbutt snaffle.
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Well said and I agree. The horses who are the subject of this thread are not quality animals and not good representatives of that type of âbreedingââ
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I always thought people bought them for the hair.
(ducking and running)
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Honestly, I think a lot of people do.
Every time I see Friesians or Gypsy Cobs my clipper fingers get itchy. Itâs the feathers that I canât stand, but this idea that hair defines your horse is just weird. And I say that as an owner of horses that people want long tails with. I find the hair to be a royal PITA. One of my geldings has a really nice mane, and the other one has such a thick double mane that it is itchy constantly. I work really hard to get him to not rub it all out, and even then sometimes Iâm unsuccessful. Itâs hot, and irritating to him. I try braiding it and he rubs those right out. However, he hates having it pulled, and I like having an oh crap handle, so I wonât roach it. I do roach his forelock though, itâs completely a fro.
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ThanksâŠshould have clarified with her name, Maleficent, a mare. when she came across the auction block I decided she was coming home with me no matter what. Fortunately, she was a tad spooky which kept some of he Amish bidders away. She went to a member of the Smithtown Hunt on long Island
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And temperament. Temperament will take you a long, long way. I rode a half halter bred APHA gelding as a first flight foxhunter. Actually a really great jumper and got my dressage brain out of some tricky jumping situations. Because he had good training and musculature, people always thought he was a WB cross. Nope. Just a solid little paint horse who would walk through fire for me.
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