Alright I know I can trust you guys to be brutally honest so here goes…
What do you think of the idea of breeding a QH to a WB? Is it even done? Would I get laughed at even inquiring? I have a lovely QH mare, she has good conformation, nice movement and nice manners and was very easy to train. She is however, short, stocky and built downhill. I am looking to keep the foal for myself to do low level eventing at some point. I am not tall and 16hh is fine with me! Opinions?
I am a big fan of register-able horses for a variety of reasons, and because that particular cross will never make it into one of the registries I use, I wouldn’t consider it. The other thing to consider is, what if you get all the dam’s features from this cross? You than have a short, downhill, stocky horse. If it can’t perform, then what? I have seen a few of these crosses from time to time, and always wonder, “why?”. Don’t get me wrong, I love quarter horses, but a QH/WB is a total outcross, and to me, a venture that has more downside possibilities than upside.
I did the cross the other way. I had a lovely, and very correct Trakehner mare and crossed her to a great minded, good boned QH, and I got a fabulous cross. The colt was so easy to work with, a pleasure to ride and super athletic. I didn’t really want to but ended up selling him. He has been a therapeutic horse, off & on when needed, and an excellent amateur horse.
I also have another colt out of the same mare, with a son of the above stallion, and he is fabulous too. He is NOT for sale.
Good luck.
The QH to TB cross is popular, common, and successful; the foal is also completely registerable. What about a nice TB stallion like A Fine Romance? He’s successfully sired many eventers and he’s even AQHA incentive fund nominated.
Short, stocky, and downhill = no to WB breeding IMHO. The last thing you want is a large, downhill, stocky “dumblood” (and I say that LOVINGLY!! :)).
Depending on just how downhill she is, I probably wouldn’t be breeding her at all.
I have two very WB-type foundation QH mares, as well as my Holsteiners, and I wouldn’t – personally – consider crossing them. If you want to cross for the WB athleticism and bone, you might consider any number of the WB-approved improvement stallion stock like Lauries Crusador, A Fine Romance, etc. You could also very easily go with an Anglo-Arab improvement sire, or even an AQHA sport horse sire 
Total outcrosses can occasionally work, but you’d also have to be prepared for the outcross to bring out the worst traits of sire and dam. Plus, there’s resale value to be considered. Even if you breed with no intent to sell, you can’t bank that a change in circumstance might force you to sell in the future.
Wasn’t it Oscar Wilde who’s wife said how wonderful it would be if their child had his brains and her looks, and he replied, “Yes, dear, but what if it had my looks and your brains?”
Don’t know why I had to post that - sorry!
The consensus is most likely going to be no, for the reasons already stated. I asked a similar question a few months ago about an APHA x WB when I was considering stallions for my WB mare. In the end, I chose a TB stallion.
That said, a friend of mine bred her unregistered mutt horse (most likely some sort of QH or a mix) to a fancy WB stallion, for a personal horse. Baby is due in April.
thanks guys…a definite NO…which is what I thought. Thanks so much for your not too harsh replies!!
It depends on the QH. We breed Paint/WB crosses which is the same with spots. But we use Paints that are high % TB. With the small downhill stock type you descibe…no…I would not do it. When breeding you don’t generally get the average of the parents…you get bits and pieces if each. A 15 h and a 17 h horse crossed do not = 16h kid. You have a 50% chance the foal will come out well…and a 50% chance you will get some really disparate parts thrown together like a WB body with short legs and downhill build. If you do pursue this …choose a WB with a high % TB and not a huge older style WB. TBs are known to cross well with QHs… OTOH the TB is less likely to bring your downhill horse uphill. AND discipline…more likely to end up with a hunter than a dressage horse. With a full Tb you can register the foal regular registry.
The answer is probably “no” for a lot of reasons.
But I need to say that the best horse I ever owned was some sort of Trakehner/Tb/QH cross. Great gelding. Not insurable (i.e., no market value) but temperament, conformation, movement . . . got 9’s on his walk at rated dressage shows & easily scored in the 60s, despite his nervous rider. Carried amateurs & juniors to good ribbons in dressage & hunter equitation. Earned money in open jumpers with an 18 year old trying to turn Pro & later, helped us start babies under saddle (he was their confidence-builder) & later in life, did beginner lessons for awkward humans.
The day my beloved niece wanted to ride, I looked at the 10+ horses out in pasture & asked myself . . . "Which one among the ‘not ridden in months’ won’t kill her?]
The answer: The biggest (16.2) QH/Trak/T guy in the group.
And yet I’ve often said that I don’t know who would have thought breeding THAT mare to THAT stallion was a good idea.
So while I understand why you are getting the answers you are getting, and while I agree in theory, I have to say that in practice, my once-in-a-lifetime horse was exactly the breeding you described.
[And yet many moons ago, when I had a full-blown-in-season Trakehner mare of the same TK bloodines, in the barn with my husband’s foundation-bred QH stallion (and our vet in attendance), I wouldn’t breed them . . . because I wasn’t sure the cross would work twice.]
That probably isn’t helpful, just my own experience . . .
So my opinion: Could maybe work, but won’t be marketable.
Good luck whatever you decide.
I agree it could work, but given the odds that it won’t, and given how many really nice horses go through just Camelot in a given day, where you know for the most part what you’re getting, and given how many nice horses there are for cheap these days, it’s not a risk I think anyone should take.
I think the answers would be different if it was a sporthorse type QH who was more than 50% TB or so, not downhill, not a stock type (height is irrelevant). But a stocky, downhill QH, the epitome of “stock type”, shouldn’t, IMVHO, be breeding outside its type
I own a TB/QH x WB. Built a lot like a TB, she has the best brain on her! I can do anything and I know she will do it, no spook but she is still sensitive. Way easier to work with then almost all the WB’s I know and have worked with!
Well, I think it REALLY depends on the individual mare, AND your goals. There are QH, Appaloosa and Paint mares out there who are a lot better quality than many of the TB mares being used in WB breeding.
If you are breeding to sell the foal, then no, probably not a good idea. If you are breeding for a level headed horse with gaits most can ride AND you are not planning to sell until the horse is under saddle, if at all, you just might be very happy with what you get.
Sorry, double post.
Only if the mare and stallion compliment eachother
I did see a derby hunter qh/trak priced at 60k that was likely to get that with the show recored.
Big difference from a good Appendix http://www.gatewayfarm.com/4sale/coco_sm.jpg
to WP http://teamtraining4u.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/westernpleasure-spencerkristy__2__otck.jpg
I think QH should start a sport horse registry for the appendix or even (gasp) WB crosses because if you ask some of the top WB stallion owners they will tell you they have had one or two and eventually there will be more IMO.
I agree with above about the TB mares. I see LOTS of TB mares being used that shouldnt be but a nice QH would get turned down just based on the idea of it.
At the same time it now isnt unusual to see 17h qh’s wandering around the fairground and some of them with lovely movement. 
You could be the beginning of the new breed of American jumping horses. I’ve said for years that there are QH qualities (proved in the past before the WB invasion) that could well make good additions to open jumpers. They are catty, can sit, stop and turn on a dime and have huge engines with lots of explosive short twitch muscles. They often have forgiving minds. So my personal belief is that such a cross, given compatibility between stallion and mare, and if the goal is jumpers, not hunters or dressage, is not unreasonable and could be a lifetime project for a dedicated and knowledgeable breeder.
For batting around on a pleasure horse, if you love the mare and would keep the foal for yourself and find a compatible stallion, there a lot to be said for making your own.
The best horse I ever owned was a WB/QH cross with a dash of TB. Conformationally correct, an absolute saint who loved his job, and was very successful on the A circuit, with ribbons at WIHS. I think if you have the right WB mare that is light, refined and has TB in her, and you don’t go for the stockiest of QH stallions you might be pleased. QH are known for being reliable, sane and sound. add the grace of a WB with some TB and you might have it made.
So many people are talking about QH as if it’s a fairly homogenous breed. They aren’t.
Stocky and downhill is not where you start for a foundation of a “QH Sporthorse”.
There are some REALLY nice Reining and Cutting bred QH’s who are “little WBs”, powerhouses who are bred to sit and push and who are not downhill. There are a few HUS QH’s who, had they not been trained from the start for the HUS movement, could have been nice USEQ Hunters or even some lower level Dressage horses. Those are the horses you start with if you wanted to think about a QH Sporthorse “breed”.
I agree with the others that a TB would be my 1st choice and there are several threads with nice eventing TB - AFR, Sea Accounts, Sea Lion, Rather Well
I have seen a couple of nice Irish x QH so that may also be an option for a low level event prospect. It would also give you registration as an IDSH. Bridon Beale Street has been used with a couple, so they might be able advise you about how he would work with your mare.
