Thank you to everyone for words of wisdom, and nice stories to read. I don’t want this to turn into an argument about one’s opinion of a picture. Its a great shot of a great horse, but possibly to “educate”, Kilobright found it necessary to point out the back cinch. I find it too loose myself. But lets not allow it to deter from an amazing little horse looking happy in a new job, or my original reason for posting this. 
I like you, runwayz…
[QUOTE=wildlifer;7959665]
I like you, runwayz… :)[/QUOTE]
Ditto that, classy last post.
Thank you Wildlifer and Bluey…
I don’t have an OTTB, but the only reason why we think my horse is an Appendix QH is because of his jog, otherwise he is very Thoroughbred with his looks.
There was a rumor that the Western judge for one of the shows I did last year didn’t like Thoroughbreds, and whether it is true or not, I couldn’t tell you. Therefore, I’m not sure if it effected placing at all.
I found he’s okay in Gymkhana (barrels, poles, ect.) but not as good as the other horses, but that’s more because of his height in comparison to most of the other horses in my area that run. (he’s 16.2ish and most horses in my area that run are 15.2ish) But the main worry was if I decided to go a gymkhana route instead of the Western Pleasure classes or English, was that he would break down because that’s not what he was built for.
I’ve noticed that my horse “prefers” Gymkhana and jumping, as opposed to western pleasure (but his jog is too good to waste).
You could also looking into Western Jumping. I think it’s just 18in jumps at most, with a pole or barrel you have to turn around, but I’m not too well versed in it, so I’m not sure about the pattern or the jumps or the rules.
Well, I think any horse can do anything. My appy was just the BEST little jumper and my TB is the greatest trail horse.
I’d say with a TB, you’re looking at managing their body more than anything else. I think barrels are hard on any horse, and to take it easy with those tight turns/ shoulder to the ground stuff. A TB doesn’t have that big, round bum that QH are known for.
I think cow work would be great, and your horse could enjoy it if you introduced him correctly. I have always wanted to see how my horse would react as well. My appy was horrified of cows, more than anything else, for NO reason. He didn’t spook at any jump/ditch/liverpool, but cows were absolutely out of the question.
Every horse has it’s likes and dislikes, just the same as we do! Find what your horse likes. And if he’s a normal TB with a short back, make sure you find a saddle that doesn’t cover his loin/croup. I never could find a western saddle that was short enough for my horse to comfortably collect in.
Apparently my guy does have a QH bum, which is why everyone thinks he is QH. If it wasn’t for his tattoo and JC papers, I would swear he was at least appendix. I will try to post a link to a picture.
I have an OTTB and I ride English the majority of the time. However, my mare has done several parades in western tack- her first parade was a night time Christmas parade and there was a band right behind us. She was also on a drill team (again western tack). She also likes to chase cows- we’ve only done team sorting but she really likes it- I do my team sorting in English gear because I prefer it. She is also a great trail horse both out on the trails as well as in trail classes (she got 2nd overall for the season in a schooling show series competing mostly against Quarter type horses). Most TBs are very smart and have an excellent work ethic. Oh and another thing- we took her to Antelope Island on the salt lake and she participated in the buffalo round up- including being one of a minority of horses that ran across the trailing end of the herd- in which case her speed was a major asset because when a buffalo decides to chase you, you want that speed.
