I know absolutely nothing about Friesian horses or their general dispositions/rideability. I have someone who wants to trade a Friesian/App mare (1/2 reg??) toward one of my ISH horses. Seems like an odd cross to me, but mare is quiet, 16.2+, built like a tank, pleasant headed, and a “non-gaudy” splotchie bay roan color. Would this cross be similar to a draft cross for practical purposes?? I am neither an App. nor mare fan, but if the horse is big and quiet I can move it along as a foxhunter prospect or even a trail horse if the temperament is good. Thanks.
All horses are individuals, of course, but in general, the Friesian is a very sweet, people oriented breed, and generally level headed. There are a few specific lines that are hotter, but we are talking generalities.
Most knowledgeable breeders who cross breed are doing it for a specific reason - for example, I like the quiet, level headed, people oriented personality of the Friesian, and want a horse with more bone and foot then the modern Warmblood. But I want a more athletic horse then a purebred Friesian, with more stamina.
Generally, Friesians are not considered draft horses - they were originally bred for war; then in more recent history, as fancy driving horses; and even more recently, some are bred for dressage. So unlike the draft that is bred to pull heavy loads, this breed was not meant as a horse to pull plows in the fields. They are probably a bit “zippier” then a draft type, but less zippy then a Warmblood. They tend to have higher set necks (unlike a draft horse) and quite a bit of knee and hock action (hence the fancy driving type).
I haven’t bred an Appy cross, but a few crosses I’ve bred are doing eventing, and I know a few doing combined driving (again, not Appy crosses), and several are doing dressage, so the crosses seem to have a much better stamina then the purebreds.
Not sure if that helps?
One thing I hear over and over is the inability of some Friesian crosses to get fit enough to do “real” work. It’s a problem in the breed in general, though obviously not every individual holds to that.
I’d want to know what the mare has been doing, what level of work, in addition to just judging what you see before you in terms of temperament.
I’ve only seen two Friesian/App crosses. One was a horse at a breed show (I don’t think he was undersaddle yet), the other, an adorable colt. They seemed peppier than the purebreds. I could definitely see this cross being a foxhunter. Friesians have a really high inbreeding rate due to the limited amount of individuals at one time in history so you will see more genetic problems crop up in the purebred individuals. But crossbreeding can help diversify the gene pool. Depending on this mare’s conformation, and breeding, she may be marketed as a broodmare also. It’s not something I would immediately say no to.
It’s looked down on to cross Freisians with stock horses, including Friesian/App. Her breeding would lower her appeal to educated buyers (especially Friesian Sporthorse people) you’d probably have to sell her entirely on her own merits and not her breeding. She wouldn’t appeal as a broodmare for the same reason. The BYB types might be ok with Friesian/App but BYBs as a whole aren’t known for being big spenders on their breeding horses. You could keep all this in mind to determine how much she’s worth as a trade.
Backyard Friesian crosses are pretty cheap right now, more priced like draft crosses or American Warmbloods than like Warmbloods or Friesian Sporthorses.
Both true and good reasons for crossbreeding, but crossbreeding should still be responsible and mostly limited to certain breeds especially for a sports horse type of result.
Thanks to everyone for their answers. I know almost nothing about Friesians, but there is a pretty popular one in western Ark. and many WB wannabees breed their western/stock mares to him. I don’t know the pedigree details or even the age on this mare, yet, but am glad to know that they are more quiet than I had thought. I wouldn’t have a lot of many in the mare and I would be marketing her at “using” value…not because/inspite of her breeding. I know she was off work for two years - daughter lost interest in horses…and she rode off quietly. Guess I better just look!! Thanks again.
