Warmblood quarter horse x

[colorfan]

What’s good, what’s bad about them? I have heard and read that it is a mix that doesn’t seem to work. Could someone explain why not?

I have a lovely wb mare and close to me is a very nice minded QH stud. He has a more level build than some QH’s do, he is a ‘roper’ type. I have resisted the thought of breeding but it keeps coming back to me.
What I would hope to produce is a nice minded colt with a bit more wb movement. This would be a keeper for me to retire with.
Tell me your thoughts please.

[Eclectic_Horseman]

What would you want to do with such a cross? Trail ride? Low level dressage? Low level eventing?

Such a cross may be fine for those goals. But I wouldn’t expect the horse to compete with purpose bred horses or to excel in any upper level sports.

Form follows function. Warmbloods and Quarter Horses have been artificially selected by human breeding programs to be able to do certain jobs. Think about dogs, for example. If you breed a herding dog like a Border Collie with a Mastiff, it will be impossible to tell how it will turn out, and you may end up with a hodge podge of characteristics that make it not very good at anything.

[luvmyhackney]

Couldn’t you find a nice minded warmblood or similar type horse to breed your mare too?

I’ve seem some Warmblood QH crosses that look like they were put together with missing pieces, then others that look like like nice level headed low level horses.

Just buy what you are looking for. It sounds like a Morgan would be a great fit.

[Warmblood1]

The results can be unpredictable because WBs and QHs generally vary so much in type. QHs are generally built more towards sprinting with more downhill builds than the WB. The WB has generally been bred to be uphill with an aptitude towards collection. That is why their movement can vary so drastically as well and in this case, I think the offspring would lean towards QH movement. Also, crossing the WB and the QH certainly doesn’t mean you will get the QH temperament, especially if the WB is on the damline. If you had two horses that were extremely similar in type and conformation, then I might consider it but that usually isn’t the case with QHs and WBs.

I also think you would be better of buying something on the ground or using a WB stallion that is known to produce ammy friendly temperaments.

[Scribbler]

QH x TB, QH x Arab, QH x PRE, QH x saddlebred, QH x Friesen, all can produce nice crosses that favor the non QH side. Though QH x TB can be very variable, from nice to ratty. A lot depends on the conformation of the individual as @Warmblood1 says.

But I’ve never seen a QH x WB. I expect a lot would depend on how much TB was in both dam and sire.

In general I don’t see much use in QH x draft breeds. People make them upcountry for outfitter pack horses and heavy duty trail horses for bigger men, but they come out with plow horse conformation.

I’ve seen nice crosses of WB x PRE and of course WB x TB.

[sami-joe]

I’ve seen some terrific jumping WBs crossed w/ quarter horses in horse trials and eventing, and am baffled by the “mix that doesn’t seem to work” position.

If I had to guess, I’d say that it’s partly that quarter-horse people and warmblood people don’t rub up against each other much.

Warmbloods themselves, like quarter-horses, are ultimately a Heinz-57 of ingredients. The biggest difference is that the old-school quarter horse inspection was the quarter-mile race, or, at the very least, showing real cow sense in cutting and ranch work. With no inspection other than the show ring, many quarter horses have shed much of the functionality part of the breed requirements, and that can be worrying. For instance, through a chunk of the mid-late 20th century, breeders selected for giant muscles and tiny feet. The breed is still correcting for that trend.

Conversely, warmbloods cannot get into a studbook without at least one inspection, breed, DNA, movement, behavior, etc., and cannot reproduce without that stamp of approval. (A WB expert will correct me if I’m wrong.)

When I was in my 40s, I had a spanky cutting line QH mare with the dreamiest of extended trots and a guaranteed seven in her walk every time out. If I’d had a single brain in my head, I’d have bred her to one of the gazillion dressage-y studs in New England or anywhere.

The mythos around home-breds is palpable, so I’m far from encouraging more baby horses unless you’re committed to and have the financial resources for his or her entire life plan. That said, if you have a mare with things you’d like to mitigate, maybe she’s a bit too tall, or you’d like a more level-headed model of your mare with a splash of color, or versatility, or an actually lower head, why not use this stud? If you know him and have seen his line of babies, more’s the better.

While I have seen the look of incomprehension on at least one Hanoverian’s face when asked to help move some cows and the eventual light bulb over their heads when they get it, nothing will compare with my dressage-y QH’s first encounter with cows at age 26 when she suddenly had to share a between-the-fence water trough w/ a small cow-calf herd. She chased and turned those cows so hard, I was afraid they’d never get a drink. (They did. It was fine.)

[colorfan]

@Scribbler

but they come out with plow horse conformation.

There are quite a few of this combination in my area as I am close to hunting areas, I don’t see the ‘plow horse’ look often.

[sami-joe]

@Scribbler

In general I don’t see much use in QH x draft breeds.

Do they not come out of Canada as part of the Premarin industry?

[colorfan]

Low level everything, lol. I don’t get to ride, despite best intentions, more than a couple times a week, so need a quiet mind, if I had the right horse who knows where it might lead. I have had the opportunity to follow cows to pasture, go one a wagon ride, and there are the occasional jump/dressge/working eq clinics in my area.

[libgrrl]

A friend of mine had a stallion that was warmblood/paint (non color.) I think the idea behind his breeding was to obtain a better moving horse with a good brain. It turns out that he was quite prepotent for throwing offspring that had necks that were comically short compared to the rest of their bodies.

[sami-joe]

@libgrrl

necks that were comically short compared to the rest of their bodies.

Ouch. And they kept getting breeding contracts? He must’ve had some serious brains.

[libgrrl]

Nope. He’s somewhere else now, hopefully with less equipment

[SusanO]

I have seen a few cute ones but I would never breed one. As others have noted, they are two different types bred for two different purposes and it is hard to tell how they will end up. The cute ones I have seen mostly have a more downhill canter. And also you are dealing with the QH obsession with tiny feet (maybe this is a thing from the past). If you want to sell, the Quarter Horse people will not want it because it is half WB and the WB people will not want it because it is half QH. Easier to buy what you want and select the one with the traits you desire than play the breeding lotto with two different types.

[Eclectic_Horseman]

@colorfan

Low level everything, lol. I don’t get to ride, despite best intentions, more than a couple times a week, so need a quiet mind, if I had the right horse who knows where it might lead.

Okay, but still no. You don’t want to breed and bring along a young horse. Quarter Horses have a hard stop, spin and are the most wicked buckers I have ever known. It’s not basic temperament; it’s youth. These things occur in young horses, particularly when they aren’t in steady work and not in group turnout.

Buy the horse that you want now. It might be an older QH. I hate to see another person go down the road of dreaming about something that is 90% not likely to work out.

[sami-joe]

@SusanO

Easier to buy

My experience is that people who want to breed a one in a million home-bred usually aren’t into the easy way. It’s a gambler’s heart, lightning in a bottle thing. Not remotely logical.

I’ve seen committed horse families find personal and financial success on this path. Also, two divorces.

[colorfan]

You make a lot of sense as far as breeding goes. As someone upthread compared breeding two different types of dogs, makes sense to me. If it was easy for me to buy I would have.

[McGurk]

I have a bias because my riding focus now is foxhunting and some low level eventing.

My choice would be an Irish Sport Horse. They tend to be bred more true to type than other crosses. They have the temperament you want, and if you select carefully, you’ll get the movement you want for dressage.

I have seen some really nice American Draft X TB crosses, either half or 3/4 TB, but there’s a lot more variability in how the crosses turn out. They can be very drafty with the overdeveloped front ends and underdeveloped hinds, or they can be a nice balanced type like the ISH. It’s just more of a crap shoot.

If you just really like the local QH stud, I would recommend finding a really good moving TB mare to take to him, but again - you could end up with the TB temperament and the QH body instead of the other way around. I think this cross is fabulous when it works, but you’re rolling the dice.

ETA: and yes, buy rather than breed. Breeding your own mare is not for the faint of heart, and it takes years to know what you’ve got and it’s something you want to ride.

[GraceLikeRain]

@colorfan

If it was easy for me to buy I would have

Fair but to reframe it if you bred next year in about five years you will hopefully have a nicely going green four year old that has the size, personality, movement, and health you are seeking. Five years is a long time and a lot can go wrong between now and then.

If you projected your cost (plus that safety buffer) and set that aside four four years, I think there’s a very good chance you could find your ideal horse over a year long search and likely much sooner.

Even at $300/month you have around $15k for a green cross. That’s not insignificant and your homebred QHx likely won’t be worth that if you decide to sell without a few months of pro training, which would decrease available funds for a replacement.

Just food for thought.

[Texarkana]

As with anything, it all depends on the individuals involved in the cross. Your biggest problem is none of the registries will give you full papers. Although you can get a COP to at least prove parentage.

I’ve known quite a few WB x QH crosses. My own Arab x WB is by an AWS WB stallion whose second dam was a QH:

RED CLAY TRIBUTARY Pedigree

[Phaedra1]

This is not the greatest picture, but this is my WBxQH. She’s 22 now, and we are doing 2.9ft events this year. Her mom was QH and crazy as can be, so she inherited some fire. When jumping, she is a fireball, but if you put a kid on her, she is as gentle as can be.

She’s the chestnut