My Mustang is very flexible and agile. The moves she can make on a cool morning when she feels hyper…well, I’m just glad I’m not trying to stay on her! She makes weird little twists and jumps that kind of freak out the other horses, lol. Do you think that comes from the Spanish ancestry? Those bull fighting horses have to be agile. That could also be natural selection at work (which I suspect is more likely). Crazy mountain lion/rattlesnake/coyote dodging dance moves.
2 Likes
My big Paint is super handy running loose, but she gets attended turnout time now with a half Lusitano half TB project horse mare. The Lusi x has those dodging dance moves. I do think of it as an Iberian thing, I’ve seen it in others too. Way beyond any other breed.
2 Likes
Oh that is so cool. My sweet little mutt got the dancing gene!
1 Like
This is from not long ago. I’ve had primarily Lusitanos but my Andalusian was a sensitive and reactive boy. They can be tight and hot hot hot. They are a totally different ride from a warmblood or a TB in my opinion, and the Iberians are not for everyone. Ride before you buy for sure!
2 Likes
Apparently there are shades of grey with how hot and sensitive they can be. Since getting castrated back in April my two year old has improved TREMENDOUSLY. He is much, much calmer and less sensitive. He occasionally has a reactive moment but is very smart and definitely cues off of me. If I am calm, he remains calm. He is wicked smart. I can now lead him to and from the pasture with just a lead rope around his neck. He can be having a melt down at the gate to come in as he is VERY food motivated, but if I just walk out there and wrap a lead rope around his neck and tell him to walk, he will calmly walk into the barn with me and doesn’t try to drag me there.
I’ve been able to stand him in the barn aisle, again with just a lead rope around his neck; groom him and pick up all four feet; and then fly spray him without problem. He continues to improve with the farrier too which was a big deal to begin with. Now, for some reason it’s the last and final hoof that he seems to want to snatch away, but I think he is just getting tired of standing still. He is just two after all and I have had other youngsters that were similarly antsy.
So to go from positively feral to really pretty good in 6 mos, I am pleased. So I am willing to wait and see. I will send him out to be started however.
4 Likes
He sounds similar to my guy. Not thrilled with the farrier and the occasional meltdown. I know part of it was his personality but I am also not convinced that there wasn’t something small and physical going on and being so sensitive he had a tendency to react much more strongly than other horses maybe would have. I would have another one but I will not have another one with the same level of reactivity. Can I deal with it, yes, do I want to, no.
3 Likes
When this guy first arrived, he was very tight and reactive. I even reached out to the breeder to inquire if that was normal as my attempts to get him to stretch were not panning out and she said she gets a fair amount of body work done.
Again, post castration and getting testosterone poisoning out of the way, this guy does great stretches for me all the way around to each hip; down and to the side of each foreleg; and then between his forelegs.
I recently put him in the round pen and pushed him around a bit to see if he would just fly around and act silly or not, and it was decidedly not. He’s more emotional really than hot or sensitive. I had to chase him a bit to get him to trot and canter. If not pushed, he was happy to just walk around checking things out. So again, a wait and see. He certainly can be a big emotional dufus but I am hoping with training, he will learn to control that impulse. He is very much a two year old.
2 Likes
There are plenty between 15-16 hands.
I have a 4 year old PRE. He’s the super-sized version, lol. He’s the easiest baby to work with. Super trainable. Never says no. He is plenty forward, and he’s had a few genuine spooks where something came out of nowhere and scared him, but I can hack him around on the buckle. Nothing really phases him. He is about on par with the other PREs I’ve ridden, maybe even more level headed. I swear his brain is that of a border collie or working dog - he is always studying and paying attention and trying to figure things out.
He has the more upright Spanish trot, but it’s mostly leg action. He’s very easy to sit. He can move like a cat if need be.
Spanish horses tend to be people oriented and generous in character. They forgive almost everything. I love them as a breed. And the personality carries over into the crosses.
6 Likes
My PRE is not brave, he is spooky, he over thinks, and can be an absolute drama queen…but he’s the best horse I’ve ever had 
He’s like a dog in that he enjoys being a pet. He will follow you around, walk through the forest with you for hours (DH and I have “hiked” with him), likes other animals, enjoys trick training and other ground work, and really likes his one person. Very easy on the ground. Ground ties, and does some liberty work.
He’s good on the trails, but he’s not a brave horse. He definitely needs confidence from his rider, and he has sent himself into quite a tizzy a few times.
At the same time, he’s really cool about some things most horses would have a problem with.
He can be such a dude, but he can also be a very mental ride. However, he will respond to correct and fair riding. Teaching him something new/difficult for him can cause him stress. He so badly wants to do the right thing, often before you tell him what that thing is, so he will get stressed if he’s not sure what you want or he hasn’t mastered something yet. It’s a fine line as to when to back off, and when to give him confidence and push him through it. He’s a horse that requires a rider with feeling, and one that can reflect and change an approach.
He’s got hooves that are rock hard and does not need shoes. He’s not a super easy keeper, but out of work he might be. Since the breed is prone to being easy keepers and laminitis, I am careful with his grass intake (slow introduction) and his diet is very very low sugar and starch.
He’s the easiest, coolest, spooky, chill, hot, solid horse makes sense if you know him.
He will jump and has good form, but it’s not his passion. I’ve met some that do jump or event though. All of the ones I’ve met over the years have had good character and been pretty level headed, but sensitive. Their intelligence can either be great (easy to train) or work against you, so you’ve got to be a bit smart too 
Of course there are outliers in every breed. I really have no interest in owning anything other than an Iberian though.
5 Likes
This describes my Andalusian x. He wants to do the right thing and he can be a sensitive guy. But no buck or bolt or rear or anything like that. Solid citizen for sure. If a beginner rider gets on him he doesnt understand and kind of tries to guess what they want- will run through his bag of tricks trying to figure it out.
Not super brave, but very willing. His willingness is the number one comment he gets in shows and clinics. He needs some confidence from his rider. He is also a big goofball.
He’s a good all arounder. Hunter pace, go for a swim, dressage show, xc. He’s a decent low level jumper and I’m sure he could do low level hunters. I knew nothing about andalusians before getting him but he is such a good fit for what I wanted.
3 Likes
Yes, I’ve been told by a number of clinicians that mine is very willing and will do everything. No buck, rear, or taking off, but sensitive. His primary job is 3rd/4th level dressage, but he’ll pop a small fence, and ride bitless (easier to stop for snacks 
) on the trails. We’ve had our frustrations, but he’s very suitable for me and me for him.
2 Likes
Aids are taught.
1 Like
I have a 3-year old PRE, who’s most significant achievement thus far is having a very unplanned foal. When I bought her last February, circa 2.5 years old, she was mostly unhandled as her breeder didn’t believe in halter breaking babies or training them to pick up their feet or anything. She took to halter breaking beautifully, feet less so, but we were working on it until sh1t met fan.
Her breeder, who has a very good reputation, was letting the uncut colts run with the fillies last summer. Whoops. I have it on good authority that she used to separate the colts, like any reputable breeder, but plainly 2020 got to her, and she let everyone hang out in one big happy family. My filly and her half-brother certainly had a good time. Like teenagers in Ibiza.
And as with many a pregnant teen, no one knew she was pregnant until a week before she dropped the foal. So that was pretty crazy.
After foaling, my filly lost. Her. Mind. Most ridiculously drama queen foal proud thing you’ve ever seen. Forgot 5000 years of domestication ever happened. Fixing it may have involved a mustang race. But once she rewired her brain and accepted reality (you’re on a livery yard in Scotland, not the desert in CO National Monument), she resumed normal service.
Now, she comes to call, leads like an old hat, picks up her feet. Haven’t asked for a lot more because she’s still busy being a teen mom until we wean the foal in the next couple months. She is brave. She thinks about what she’s going to do. That’s why the mustang race wasn’t as nuts an idea as it looked because she will think before doing stupid things in a blind panic. You show her a scary thing once, and she’s over it. Her natural movement has a lot of freedom in the shoulder, so once she’s broken in, it will just be a matter of not messing that up.
3 Likes
I had an Azteca that developed up to FEI dressage. He found passage difficult but had the rest of GP. Dressage wasn’t his 1st choice of occupations so I did A LOT of cross training to keep him happy… solid, brave trail horse, liked playing with cattle and he could certainly jump. Tight, even knees and stretched well over fences up to 3’6" or so which is all I ever tried.
As Feathered_Feet says, if jumping is important to you, there are better choices. Some QH lines might lend themselves to jumping but my gelding was out of a plain ranch mare so who knows?
2 Likes
When I was horse shopping, I rode an Azteca - he was QH/Lusi. Really cool horse. But definitely felt different under me. Lots of leg movement without the forward striding you get on say, a TB.
A trainer of mine took a Lusi stallion to GP and got her gold medal with him. His owner took him trail riding in the mountains. That one was a saint. His babies tended to have good personalities.
I have heard something about their hooves… an odd shape? I can’t recall, maybe someone else knows? That requires an Iberian knowledgeable farrier.
Honestly, a horse is a horse is a horse. Ride/train the one you have, and don’t over think it because it’s “this breed”.
2 Likes
Their feet can be more upright than other horses.
1 Like
It would be nice if this were true (I guess), but it’s absolutely not true. The darling little ranch-type QH mare in the stall next to my 4th level schoolmaster could not be more different from him. Sure, four legs, two ears, a mane and a tail, but other than that, no similarity. He couldn’t do her job, and she can’t do his.
4 Likes
Absolutely not true. Do you think “a human is a human”? I doubt it. Same exact thing.
An andalusian I once owned had a hard time learning changes. His first owners had used some techniques that left him with real anxiety about it. My trainer (at the time) brought him to a very well known clinician for help. Clinician suggested the warmblood thing - get him very forward, and ask. Trainer told clinician that wouldnt work, we had tried it and it made him crazy. “You are paying me, do it my way” was the general response.
Took about three weeks before we could canter a plain old 20 M circle after that.
SO no. Just like humans, horses have different emotional states and individual life histories, as well as genetically-based differences in how they move, balance, and react to stimuli.
8 Likes
My point is people get so caught up in the horse being “this breed” that they forget the animal is still just a horse! Work with the animal you have, don’t make “excuses” or stereotype based on breed.
That is ALL I meant.
5 Likes
That’s fine. However, different breeds DO react to stimuli and training differently. It’s genetics. (and just caveat - remember the different warmbloods are not breeds - they are registries (except, I believe, Trakhaners. Closed stud book?) If you KNOW your type of horse is likely to react in a negative way to a certain methodology, why not start somewhere else - rather than jsut starting at the place “all horses” accept.
2 Likes
