Are there difference between training a Thoroughbred and training a warmblood? If so, what are the differences?
OP, do you mean retraining a TB, like from off the track? or starting from scratch with either?
Starting from scratch.
I have a Thoroughbred stallion in training for eventing. He is in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands there is not much of an eventing culture and Thoroughbreds are very thin on the ground. A challenge, putting it mildly…
I have an OTTB- smart as a whip, loves to jump, game for anything. Flat work is hard with him as he gets tight in back, but he is such a tryer. Often, if I add too much leg, he will let me know by ears back, or by kicking out behind. I do lots of long and low stretchy work and it’s to loosen up his tight back.
I have a 13 yr old Oldenburg, also very smart, good jumper, pretty mover. He rarely bucks. He likes to get to the base of the jump and every so often slams on brakes at the base of the jump.I have not figured out how to get the clean jump every time with him.
They are both smart in their own way. Both have good ground manners, the TB is less spooky on trails than the warmblood. (Probably from all the exposure at the track.)
The answer to the question will depend on how much tb blood your WB has 
From my observations, tb have different conformation and way of going than WB so you would need to work on different gymnastics. Tb can be more reactive, sensitive, and more likely to get panicky if you mistreat them while WB are more likely to get mad and then give in.
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The different conformation is what people are struggling with. And good riders are hard to find anyway. Plus people are used to doing most of the work in an arena. My boy is very sweet and not hot or difficult.
Good question. Ride the horse you have under you. Some people are TB people and others like the WB’s…I am a TB person all my life. We had a TB stallion in our Hunt - he went along just like any other horse or pony…no making of excuses for him.
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But in my country there is hardly anyone with the experience of riding a Thoroughbred. People are only used to warmbloods. And we are very much a dressage and showjumping country and not really much more.
What advice are you asking for?
Are you riding the horse?
Are you looking for a kind, competent trainer?
The British ride tb traditionally, and the French like their Anglo Arabs, so riders from those 2 countries might have more experience of hot, high headed, sensitive horses.
Short cuts that work on WB like rolkur don’t work so well on tb.
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TBs if starting a racing life will be started under saddle as a late yearling early two year old. Some will get 45-60 days training and then be turned back out for a few months before starting in earnest for racing. WBs are rarely started before they are three.
The short rein riding has certainly been causing problems.
He started being worked a few days after his third birthday.
Someone else is riding my horse and this looks like a nice rider but someone who has no experience with Thoroughbreds and I would like to help out with the (possible) challenges. My horse has had other riders and that did not work out. And I certainly want things to work out this time. I do not want to change rider again.
I do not know much about eventing training myself.
For photos/videos:
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​​​​​​What does riding traditionally mean?
The present rider used to be a showjumping rider and the highest eventing level he has ridden at is 1*. The problems seem to mostly have been with regard to biomechanics. Different riders have been saying different things about my horse. Like he is careful/he is not careful while jumping.
How much of this is a problem with the trainers not knowing tb, how much is it a problem of having poor quality trainers, and do you feel competent to evaluate the quality of the training?
Unfortunately those of us who need professional trainers the most often lack the skills to evaluate and choose a good trainer.
I am certainly lacking in the ability to find the right trainer. It is a very difficult task.
How about training for fitness?
Have you considered sending him across the channel to Britain for training? There are a whole slew of trainers there with experience of training TBs for sport. Harwich to Hook of Holland is relatively short ferry ride. I would assume that they would take a horse trailer.
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I think very, very generally, TBs have to be ridden more forward, in a more open canter, and not packaged/managed each stride the way a WB can be, and that they need more impulsion where WBs can rely more on power. Obviously this is nowhere near universally true.
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Some thoughts on this on the most fundamental level (I’m primarily a dressage rider, though I boarded at and trained in an event barn for years)…
One of the other things that helped me (riding a thoroughbred) to envision was that my horse naturally wanted to get long in their frame, and his lengthenings/mediums/extensions had a natural desire to go “down and out”. The shoulder, weight on the front end, etc. Comparatively, a friend doing the same movement on their warmblood, the horse had a more natural “up and out” way of going in front. Not even the super extravagant front end that some of the dressage bred warmbloods may have, but just looking at the angles of the shoulder and the articulation and reach in the front limbs.
That said, the basics for both types of horses can be very, very similar. Good footwork. Good riding. Working on sitting in the hind end and carrying, driving. Minimizing tension in the bridle as that might indicate tightness in the neck, shoulder - both areas can be problematic in any horse and will work against any horse.
As far as reactivity or sensitivity… YMMV, but I’ve found it equally likely that a warmblood or a thoroughbred will be high-headed, reactive, spooky (or quiet, easygoing, steady).
In regards to fitness, I always found that thoroughbreds could be conditioned quite easily (but could also lose it quickly - poor feed, stress, anxiety). The shoulder and underside of the neck is a place that many of them seem to want to over-develop due to tension (resistance in the bridle primarily), so I always found a focus on the topline and developing the hind end to be helpful (long and low work and uberstreichen both relevant, focusing on an active hind end in both).
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Thank you very much for your help, it is very useful
Riders in the UK are much more expensive I think. And it sounds like his present rider is doing a good job, he is riding with a more open angle.
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