Thanks!
I had a registered Trakhener mare that was out of an Arabian mare (Kemosabi daughter). One of the best horses I ever owned, although she was more of a dressage horse, with a hunter type jump. She was a fabulous trail horse who noticed everything and spooked at almost nothing. She could be used to give up/down lessons, where she would do her “donkey trot”, or move out with a more experienced rider. Love the breed!
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Oh, man, he’s beautiful!
fluffy amateur here. I have a 3rd level trak schoolmaster and he is the best horse I’ve ever owned. He is kind and forgiving. I was a little worried about buying him as I had heard they were spooky and difficult. Completely false. He has an endearing, sometimes goofy personality. He gives me everything I ask, over and over. Soft mouth and I ride him in a duo. When I first got him-he was my first wb- I couldn’t sit his trot. He patiently put up w my efforts and has taught me so much. He is sensitive and I can ride him off my seat now and he’s v light in the bridle. You know the dog Nana in Peter Pan? He’s the horse version.
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The temperment and rideability of the Abglanz (and thus Absatz) line cannot be emphasized enough. I was fortunate to handle three stallions by Kassio (Abglanz). I think the SO had 6 at one time. One boy was able to do such a tiny rocking horse canter that he was the one used for the updowns to get their first canter on the lunge. He was tall (16.3 and change) but was approved in Germany nonetheless because of his quality. The only downside was that these horses were so prolific at passing on their gentle, in your pocket dispositions that many really nasty mares were brought to them for improvement. Not too many of them around any more. Rainbow Equus Meadows stood the late Pablito but otherwise I don’t know if any Absatz studs are out there these days.
If I am not mistaken I believe the great Ruxton was by Absatz. One of a handful of WBs in the US at the time and one of THE WBs who changed hunters to this day. When Ruxton was not showing with Charlie Weaver his owner Ellie was foxhunting him at Sweet Briar.
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He is gorgeous, and so nicely bred. Lots of older lines known for performance. Drool!
Fun fact: I met his ancestor Pomona Ahmen when I was 6 or 7 years old, and he was 26 or 27.
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Thanks. He’s a kind and generous horse. He earned a 10 for character at the 70 day SPT. I started with WBs and then discovered these “old fashioned” Arabians. I thought it was a shame that the lines were dwindling away. Their performance ability and wonderful temperaments are what drew me to them.
Cool that you met Pomona Ahmen. 
Regarding Trakehners, I live less than an hour from Tylord Farm so we have had some high quality Trakehners in the area.
(IIRC you are in the Boston area? I was just back there for a conference last weekend. 
)
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Yes, 20-25 miles north of Boston, and my mare is about 40 miles northwest of Boston.
I have always loved Arabians; they were the first breed I was really into as a child.
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Do any Trakehner aficionados here know much about the stallion Banditentraum? He’s my young Hanoverian’s dam’s damsire. It sounds like he wasn’t used a ton but did have some good offspring? https://www.eurodressage.com/2005/11/07/banditentraum-passed-away
I would say my guy is a bit on the spicy side, though also very sweet. He has Laurie’s Crusador on top too and I personally like a bit of blood. The Trakehner stereotypes I’ve heard have been mostly negative (hot, crazy, dumb) but I don’t really buy into breed stereotypes in general, especially with WBs that are all so intermixed now.
Anyone who calls Trakheners dumb probably are less intelligent than the animal they are denigrating.
I’ve always found the traks I’ve handled/dealt with to be highly intelligent, although I’ve never owned a pure-bred (have always wanted one- to event with!). I have owned a cross, and she was smart. She was a bit too hot to be an event horse because she couldn’t remain calm in the dressage phase, but she was definitely smart.
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When we (my mom, my sister and I) started breeding WBs, we fell in love with Trakehners. They were elegant, lovely movers and very inquisitive. I’m going to date myself, but some of the stallions we bred to were Enrico Caruso, Laiken, Abdullah and Memphis. My good friend had a pretty gray mare by Leonidas that I showed for her. (That mare could be… challenging… but never evil or nasty).
Compared to some of the other popular WB breeds, Trakehners, in general, are less forgiving. They don’t appreciate being lied to by the rider and will let you know it. I think (again, in general) they need a rider with “feel.” You need to be able to sense when you’ve asked enough, done enough, schooled enough. Otherwise you’ll end up with an annoyed, confused, wound up and anxious horse that Is Not Happy Anymore.
I’d compare the typical Trakehner to riding an athletic, sensitive OTTB. I grew up riding a lot of hot, forward horses so riding Trakehners was an easy transition for me. But I will admit that a lot of trainers were prejudiced against the breed and called them “the Arabs of the warmbloods.” Of course I just laughed at that because I had ridden and shown a lot of really nice Arabians, so I never quite understood why that comparison was a dig at Trakehners. 
As for hunters, unfortunately I never found them to be the best over fences, style-wise. Gorgeous movers on the flat. I usually won all my HUS classes on my mom’s horses. But (in general) Trakehners don’t often roll their shoulder up when they jump. Sure, their knees are square and their legs tight, but they just don’t use their front end in a classic manner. I’m guessing it’s a conformational trait that leads to that particular style of jumping.
What we found productive was to cross our Trakehner and Trakehner/TB mares to Dutch or Hanoverian jumping stallions. That cross was quite reliable for producing the movement of the Trakehner with the jumping style and “cooler” temperament of the Dutch or Hanoverian.
And thus ends my dissertation on my personal view of Trakehners. 
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My trainer once commented, “you wanted quiet and you got a trakehner?!” She defied the stereotype and actually is fairly quiet on the trails and when I ride her. She’s a thinking horse and is careful, but has a forward ride. I love her!
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LOVED that stallion!!! Back in the day I was hoping to get one of his offspring but alas, funds and life circumstances didn’t work out that way.
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Probably not relevant today, but half a century ago, continental European Trakehners we rode were as you say, similar to athletic, sensitive TBs, but with an added steely strength to them, physically and mentally.
You could talk a TB into anything and they happy cooperate with you.
You had to compromise and be consistent on what you wanted with Trakehners.
They were tough but wonderful horses, for the one with sufficient skills to handle them, rarely for beginners.
Don’t know where the breed went since those long ago days.
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You are going to make me feel old.
For about 5 years I leased and rode a Trak x AngloArab, and he was by Mikado (stood in the US from '68 to '83). Even though his sire was over 16 h, and his dam was 15h3", he ended up 14h 3". He was very talented, and a whole lot of fun but he could be a bit tense. I wouldn’t call him “relaxed”. We evented at Training level. His name was Mogul III, but he was called Moo.
After I got a horse of my own he went back to his owner, and was a school horse for many years, teaching beginners to jump. Many years later, another COTHER, I forget who, sent me a picture of herself riding Moo as a school horse.
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Ruxton was by Abundance who was one of the first warmblood stallions to be imported. He was imported by Al Steiert. Abundance was by Absatz who was used in Hanoverian breeding. Abundance sired a number of successful hunters. Mo Swanson’s stallion, Gold Luck was by Grundstein out of an Abundance mare. Ruxton was a bit of an anomaly because most of Abundance’s get were chestnut with a lot of white. They were usually quite stylish jumpers and good movers when bred to TB mares.
Trakehner stallions were often imported (Judy Yancey for one) because back in the day people preferred the TB look and way of going.
There was a period of time when the breeding direction tended towards dressage and some of the front ends were not quite as good in our eyes. When Abdullah was at his peak there were a number of his get competing in the hunters. They could be a little lookie but generally had good characters and would go through fire for their riders.
The desire for the push ride is relatively recent and, in my opinion, has its roots in the rush to show without learning to ride with quiet aids.
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Thank you for that great info! I always wondered about Ruxton’s pedigree (and as you suggest, wondered why he was bay).
Love what you posted, especially about how the desire for the “push ride” evolved, particularly as it relates to hunters. Also, mentioning Judy Yancey brings back many memories of past Trakehners and Trakehner breeders.
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In my limited sample set of 2 mares, they are athletic and sensitive with a lot in the tank. They don’t suffer fools, but were absolutely pocket ponies to their human with tons of heart.
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