I have recently accepted another horse into my life… (my wallet is super happy about it!) She has pretty much been left alone her whole life. Left out in a field for the last 10 years old her life to do nothing. She is a beautiful horse with TONS of potential. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the Percheron/thoroughbred crossing. The previous owners tell me she is 1/2 and 1/2, but I’m not sure like personality wise and working wise how she will be. I do have pictures of her as soon as i can figure out how to upload them to my computer!
I’ve ridden two at varying times in my life. They were both VERY forward, good jumpers, and somewhat spooky. They could also go, go, go all day long. The movement was a bit rougher, and the strides a little shorter than my pure TBs. Fun rides, all things considered!
The general Percheron temperament seems to be close to the general TB temperament (hotter than your average draftie), so it was like riding a heavier TB.
I’ve known several of varying types. It definitely is a matter of seeing what the horse in front of you is. I have liked them all, though, for what it’s worth. I’ve seen some who were much more drafty, and some who were fabulous movers/jumpers, and had more solid bases but otherwise were very TB-type. All had pretty willing temperaments with varying levels of energy and spookiness. I think the spookiness actually comes from the draft side, from what I can tell.
This is one of the favorite crosses for hunt horses. Many are specially bred for that purpose.
[QUOTE=MalserStables;8187287]
I have recently accepted another horse into my life… (my wallet is super happy about it!) She has pretty much been left alone her whole life. Left out in a field for the last 10 years old her life to do nothing. She is a beautiful horse with TONS of potential. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the Percheron/thoroughbred crossing. The previous owners tell me she is 1/2 and 1/2, but I’m not sure like personality wise and working wise how she will be. I do have pictures of her as soon as i can figure out how to upload them to my computer![/QUOTE]
While I would never BREED one, I can say that a perchxTB is my favorite “cross” as far as sport potential if you breed a draft to a TB… I have not met an unathletic one yet (but have met several unathletic belgianxtbs, etc). IME they are forward but have sensible brains - almost always are noble looking with good bone. Not all of them are easy. Almost all of them have some sort of conformational ‘flaw’ (usually too short a neck or too heavy a forehand) but are sound sound sound… They almost always retain the percheron-esque body (compact, uphill) and sometimes the percheron brain which is sensible but not dead (IME percherons are the least quiet of the drafts) with the TB boldness and intelligence.
We had a PerchxTBx(maybe someQH?) PMU we got as a 4mo… first horse I ever broke - never bucked, or took off, or anything. Great brain. Made me look like a superstar trainer, which is not the case! Looked like he was made of 2 different horses (as most do) but never had a lame step… sold him a few years later for almost 10x what we paid for him. He was a great horse, and actually intelligence wise was the smartest horse I ever met, no bias. He would literally WATCH and learn… not many horses do that.
While I wouldn’t breed one as I said, they make excellent lower level prospects. The one drawback, I think, is usually their trot is not that great in terms of dressage - it is either good or not good, and I haven’t met many in the middle… Percherons have a lot of knee action, so some of them do look like saddleseat horses with the high stepping knee action.
One of my friends had a stunning TBxPerch. 17.2, grey and moved like a carousel horse. She could be a little dead-sided (but we attributed most of that to her former owner) and she was a bit on the stubborn side. Didn’t like to “commit” to things until she had had a good think about it. Attitude-wise was more Percheron than TB. I wish I could have grabbed her up, but alas no $$$$. Generally I think it’s a nice cross.
I have one in the barn now, young mare with not the best start US, big holes in her training. But she is a really nice mover, gorgeous canter on her, very uphill, fab neck and little straight behind and just really too big for her now owner. Not sound right now, TB flat feet on big body=quite a few issues and expensive heart bar shoes. Much better now but been here since Dec and been lame since Jan, may have IRAP in her future because of her age (6). I would not have bought her, she is here for boarding/training when she is sound. Can be a spook, not brave but a kind mare for most part.
I do not know to much about her yet. Previous owners have lied about almost everything about her. Starting from the ground up with her. I am hoping she will be a good trail/local show mount. She seems to have a very floaty trot, very forward. She is about 200+ over weight. Her feet are horrible because she has an a very inconsistent diet for many years with very consistent maintenance of her feet as well.
Her head, legs, and movement seem to be very thoroughbred. The rest of her body is very much a Percheron. Once she looses the weight i think she will be a very nice looking horse.
This winter once she settles in and i get to know her a little better we are going to have her tested for lyme because im currently pulling 5-10 ticks off of her a day!
She comes home soon. I cannot wait to get her home and get her taken care of with a proper diet and care! I am sure she is not going to love the whole “earn your keep” idea as she has been just sitting for all of her life, but I am hoping she will enjoy the “games” i put in front of her!
I agree, Perchies can be a bit more hot. Apparently they have a lot of Andalusian in them. As a result, they are often a very athletic cross. I’ve seen a few - and they were all nice horses, but on the hot side.
I rode one for a while - you would have never guessed she was a Perchx - she had a petite, little face. Mostly she looked and moved like a WB, although she did have a neck on the short side like some Perch and a more sloping croup like some TBs. She was a very forward ride, especially over jumps, but completely unflappable and down to business in the ring. Awesome little horse.
Good luck with yours - please share some updates and pictures when you can.
My friend has a nearly 4 year old Perch/TBx gelding. For a BIG baby (right around 17 hands), he is exceptionally sane and has the personality of a puppy dog. He hasn’t grown into his huge Perch head and long legs but he has great bone and good feet. He has a wonderful temperament - despite being a little gangly, he tries hard and never says no. Like a prior poster’s horse, he is totally unflappable. I think he’ll be an awesome hunt horse in 2 years.
[QUOTE=chestnutmarebeware;8187580]
I’ve ridden two at varying times in my life. They were both VERY forward, good jumpers, and somewhat spooky. They could also go, go, go all day long. The movement was a bit rougher, and the strides a little shorter than my pure TBs. Fun rides, all things considered!
The general Percheron temperament seems to be close to the general TB temperament (hotter than your average draftie), so it was like riding a heavier TB.[/QUOTE]
This pretty well covers it. Mine had a thick neck and throat latch so had difficulty with bending… Loved to jump, not so fond of/ good at flatwork/ dressage
There is a Perch/TB cross at the barn. She is BIG (close to 18h, I think), with a REALLY long neck, REALLY long back, huge feet. We believe she was used as a low level jumper back in her youth, but she has been in a dressage program for the past ten years or so. I can’t imagine her jumping - she isn’t terribly athletic, and that is a lot of body to work with. Her owner is 6’ tall, so she is okay with the horse’s height, but the long back/weak loin made it very, very difficult to get her connected and working off her hind end. She is now retired except for walking trail rides - she had been plagued by various issues the past several years (ringbone, stifle/hock pain, heaves etc.), and is now very unsound at anything other than walk. She did (and still does) have a bit of a spook in her, but she mostly just startles a bit - doesn’t really bolt anymore.
In the 70’s, I rode for a woman who bred “Thorcherons” in Kalamazoo, MI. I thought she was crazy at the time – what use was there for a hot/cold blood cross!? Hahaha. She even trademarked the breed name. The application required a label (sign), a picture of the label on the product (sign hung around horse’s neck) and a picture of the product, in its packaging with the label on the package (horse in trailer with sign on trailer).
Anyway, I loved those horses. They were so kind and willing. None of the spookiness mentioned above. They did have a rough,springy ride that took a bit to get used to and they tended to hang over fences. However, they were all half siblings, so it might not have been the cross as much as the particular stallion (Petey) who was her “foundation sire”. I believe the breed still exists.
Age and lack of work concern me more than breed, though these crosses can be stubborn and spooky and their size makes it an even greater problem.
A 10 year old horse who has never worked will be much, much harder than a young horse whose minds and bodies are supple. And you can’t assume that they are sound with their “low miles”. Many injuries occur in the paddock and often go unrecognized because they are just past due pets.
I would have low expectations of her earning her keep. And I’m not entirely sure it is fair to ask her.
I think it is very hard to just say
TB x Perch = ??
we have a 17yo PerchTB - I call him my circus pony he is so round
BUT his TB molecules come out at times
he learned to do a trot with a beautiful bounce - he knows it is easier on him so he goes right into that
the gallop is most decidedly TB
He has a Tellington-Jones “quirk bump” on his nose and that shows true in his personality -“if we would only do it MY way”
he is a great horse to work with and has a definite work personality
but when we were looking for another horse (also perchX) a few years later - all that was out there was very anxious horses who were spooky or very opinionated
with ALL drafts and draftX (IMO) their training needed to start early so they never learn that they are stronger that people
- so they accept the training they need
and so they develop a good work ethic
once they get BIG they are sooooooo much harder to get and keep under pleasant control
our second horse is a Perch-QH - looks much more QH and has a more athletic look about him even though both horses are probably equally athletic
so if you try for this horse - give her plenty of time to accept training and even if it looks like she “got it” do it many more times before you believe it
they can be so amenable that holes easily develop in their training
Best of luck
[QUOTE=Snowdenfarm;8188384]
In the 70’s, I rode for a woman who bred “Thorcherons” in Kalamazoo, MI. I thought she was crazy at the time – what use was there for a hot/cold blood cross!? Hahaha. She even trademarked the breed name. The application required a label (sign), a picture of the label on the product (sign hung around horse’s neck) and a picture of the product, in its packaging with the label on the package (horse in trailer with sign on trailer).
Anyway, I loved those horses. They were so kind and willing. None of the spookiness mentioned above. They did have a rough,springy ride that took a bit to get used to and they tended to hang over fences. However, they were all half siblings, so it might not have been the cross as much as the particular stallion (Petey) who was her “foundation sire”. I believe the breed still exists.[/QUOTE]
We knew those horses too, they were quite a topic of conversation for the folks wanting horses who jumped. We saw a lot of them from her, but I personally didn’t think so much of them beyond being kind. Hard to keep sound and 3 out of 4 were “throw-aways” in their problems. Now and then she would produce a nice looking one, with even proportions, coordinated. The others were more “committee assembled” with fine legs, small TB feet under huge bodies, big draft feet and legs with the small TB body above and no coordination. They usually did not stay sound with any age on them. She sold them young, when they looked their best, Their new owner was QUITE surprised as horse kept growing and lost the cuteness of youth, to end up coarse and often unusable.
Have to say they sure put me off of the draft x tb crosses for years!
I’ve known quite a few of these as they were popular as Canadian Hunters or early Canadian Sporthorses before WB/TB breeding became the stronger choice. They all had big personalities, but ranged in looks from “TB-ish but with more bone” to very drafty. All have bigger personalities, and can be hot, but mostly good souls.
It also I think really depends which TB and Perch lines were used… a friend has a 3/4 TB, 1/4 perch. Both TB sire and TB maternal grandsire were GP jumpers… the Perch granddam was a show horse, not a working horse. Friend’s mare is a bit of a pro ride. Can be drafty quiet and a bit pokey until she’s moving, but quite peppery once she’s moving, and is super athletic to boot.
I agree with most of the above. I know some draft crosses, but my real experience is with one only.
I have a TB Percheron. He is the light of my life.
His challenges are that he has a very thick neck and he is extremely difficult to get "round. "
It doesn’t come easy but it does get there and is beautiful when he is.
This has a lot to do with the fact that he was allowed to run around with his head up as a jumper and they used a Martingale.
He is beautiful, with a petite, very striking face. He does get very hot, and he does get spooky at times. He does not have a problem keeping on weight. He’s only 16 hands, but he looks much bigger than that because of his build. he is extremely muscular, but right now he is fat and we are remedying that. He looks like a butterball, and it is not attractive. But when he is not overweight, he looks like a very sturdy TB. In fact, he is built very much like Northern Dancer, and pictures of them side-by-side are quite remarkable. And he is fat, like now, he looks more drafting.
I think he is beautiful, but I am pretty partial.
He has been called everything from a Dutch warmblood to an Andalusian when he gets hot and tight through the back, as he prances around. He naturally collects and has a difficult time with lengthenings.
I am not going to say anything about soundness, because he is 16 and I do not have any wood to knock on close by.
He would not get along at all with someone who was overly demanding and treated him like a machine. The quote used by the woman who backed him is, "you are not the boss of me. "
Of course, he did learn that she was the boss of him. But she didn’t do it in a nasty way.
He has a personality larger than life, as I have seen with many of these crosses, and it would be a shame to not capitalize on that. As was said above, he is a very good soul. He takes care of his people, and he knows who his people are. He is a bit of a tourist, and when you make them work, he does, but you have to keep him entertained or he will entertain himself. He has The herd stallion mentality, and he would rather have one or two close friends than to be friends with an entire herd. He will climb a stall wall to fight with another horse if that horse challenges him. But he will not pick a fight with a stallion or a horse that he thinks is higher in the pecking order. These are usually upper level dressage horses. Anyone else can kiss his a$$, he thinks.
Entirely willing to do anything. If you’re nice to him, he will jump the moon for you. Adorable jump, exquisite canter, very uphill,overall incredible horse. Very trainable, learns tricks easily, impeccable ground manners. Very sweet and loves attention but isn’t obnoxious. Is very happy in a program.
I haven’t heard of a lot of people who are unhappy with their draft crosses.
I’ve never dealt with a draft cross, so have watched this thread with interest. I’m very surprised that know one has stated whether the dam was the draft or the TB. Makes a huge difference in warmblood breeding; I would strongly assume the same in this matter. I’ve always prefered blood on top.
