I agree that straight TBs may not move well enough for upper levels but can do well for a rider just breaking into dressage and wanting to learn and move up. Maybe give thought to warmblood/TB crosses who can do very well in the upper levels.
My financial backer (hubby) says that my next horse must be a Thoroughbred. He and I are both keen on the re-homing of former racing animals.
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I tend to lean towards TBs myself. Other than my first horse, who was a Morgan/Welsh cross, all have been OTTBs until my most recent, but he is a Holsteiner/TB cross; Dam was, make that is, an OTTB.
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My friend just earned her gold medal on a thoroughbredā¦ a one-eyed one, at that. I think COTH is doing a print article on her in August if youāre interested in an against-the-odds success story.
I have a thoroughbred right now who is delightful to work with on the flat. Heās laid back, takes direction well, and is just a super trainable guy. The downside is that he trots with all the elasticity and brilliance of a moose. And I may have offended a moose by saying that. But the thing is, when it comes to dressage on a thoroughbred, I value that trainable, easy-going attitude above almost anything else.
If I wanted to do straight dressage all the time then a thoroughbred wouldnāt be my first choice. That said if you can find one with the right brain and you care more about the journey than the destination then go for it!
Until recently, my horses were 1/2 and 3/4 TB. My GP registered āwarmbloodā mare I bred was 3/4 TB. I just judged a show last weekend that had some of the nicest (apparently recently OTTBās) Iāve seen that I would have taken as an upper level dressage horse in a second. They didnāt have the big flowy WB movement, but just as correct very upright, balanced movement that I think will make them even better as upper level horses. There are some VERY nice TBās out there.
And TB versus warmblood, I find they are much easier to put tempi changes and lateral work on, and much quicker. The harder thing with TBās is the steadiness and rhythm.
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My Standardbred has the heaviest, ground destroying, thumping canter that I have ever seen and thatās when heās being silly in his paddock (field?). I have never seen anything like it before. Have been assured that the paddocks heās been in will recover but I still feel bad about it. My Thoroughbred didnāt have an extravagant canter but he was light on his feet and a joy to ride. Suspect that the Standardbred is going to feel a bit like an elephant in comparison.
Well this may have nothing to do with dressage, but I think my OTTB is the most lovable animal on the planet. Of course I am biased.
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Itās not all smooth sailing with a WB either. Iāve seen good quality WBs get career ending chronic strain injuries schooling Level One dressage, or turn out to be too much horse for their rider. And Iāve seen moderate quality or backyard bred WBs that arenāt ever going to be upper level horses.
So while an excellent WB might go further than most TBs, not all WB are going to outshine an excellent TB.
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I love Thoroughbreds for dressage but sadly it seems theyāre harder and harder to find, at least in the US. I have one now that I adore who is a freakishly good mover, but in the last seven years of frequently perusing the TB market here in the western US I have only seen one other comparable individual (tried to buy him but the owners were too smart to part with him). Finding a TB who is suited to dressage feels like looking for a needle in a haystack, I hope you have better luck in Australia. Would love to see the horse you eventually purchase!
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Iām in South Africa and have only ever had Thoroughbreds. Previous one got to around third level, but had to be retired very early due to severe kissing spine.
Iāve now got a 4yo OTTB by Black Minnaloushe and out of a Mr Greeley mare, and he has probably the best canter Iāve seen in a TB lately. Excellent walk too, and a real ability to sit behind. Heās a bit of a hothead, which I hear is quite common in those lines. I picked him up at a racing auction for peanuts and am very excited about his future
I also know of a TB competing successfully at Inter 1 in the UK, who is by Galileo. The ownerās sister had her TB competing at a similar level before he was put down, so they can do it 
Unfortunately, they are not purpose-bred for it so you will have to search a whole lot harder than you would for a warmblood, and probably work a fair bit harder too.
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I used to know someone who had a TB doing Prix St George.
āIāve now got a 4yo OTTB by Black Minnaloushe and out of a Mr Greeley mare, and he has probably the best canter Iāve seen in a TB lately. Excellent walk too, and a real ability to sit behind. Heās a bit of a hothead, which I hear is quite common in those lines. I picked him up at a racing auction for peanuts and am very excited about his futureā
^Jealously over here, he sounds fabulous!
I have a wonderful, now retired, British bred Thoroughbred who competed successfully through 3rd level, winning several high points at CA shows (Del Mar national, pebble beach, etc). He would have gone 4th but as he got older started to have some other issues with his immune system, but I digress.
I have seen a lot of really nice Australian and New Zealand bred Thoroughbreds- one I wish I would have been able to buy in hindsight. I like them a little chunkier- but Iāve found the British, Australian, and NZ bred horses to naturally be bigger boned than many of the Thoroughbreds we see here in the US.
My opinion is that most Thoroughbreds arenāt on a level playing field with warmbloods because a lot of the people arenāt investing the same quality of training in them. This is obviously not true across the board but Iāll tell you that the reason mine did so well was because I literally took him to the best trainers I could find to help me with him.
He was interesting because conformationally he was slightly downhill BUT he moved very uphill. My saddle fitter constantly remarked that you had to really study the way he went because he didnāt even look like the same horse youād see standing in the crossties.
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I currently have two OOTB from the southern hemisphere and they are very different in phenotype, but both contain kind, tractable minds. Both came to me via turf-racing in Hong Kong and, in a fun twist of fate, both flew to the states on the same plane, but I purchased them separately over a year apart.
The NZ bred is by Zabeel, out of Danasia. Danehill/Danzig up close in dam line, Sir Tristram in sire line. Fabulous mover, great size, very uphill. He has some suspension and a massive engine, I am just now tapping into it. Loves to jump as well and has much more scope than I will ever use.
Pedigree
The AUS bred is by Not A Single Doubt, out of Brave Deed. Has some Danehill/Danzig in the sire line and Fappiano on the dam side, back a ways. Built very chunky, slightly downhill, lower head carriage. Hackneyed knee movement, can compress but not lengthen. Would not go above second level, I donāt think.
Pedigree
My sample size is only 2 and both horses are āstakesā horses who came out of Hong Kong. As a result, they are better bred on paper than a lot of American claimers, so my opinion is biased. But man, both are nice horses with super brains. Very amateur friendly. The NZ bred could do something very interesting in dressage if I had the talent. He was snatched up off the plane to be a pure dressage horse by someone who said he āmoved like a warmblood.ā He didnāt work out through no fault of his own, so I lucked into the ride.
Thereās some quality horses down under for sure. I canāt wait to see what you find.
