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Horse Breed? Anonymous
Can /an/ recommend any nice horse breeds? I want to buy a foal to train for pleasure riding, and maybe for showing as well. We have some Shetland ponies already, along with a donkey and some goats, and would like a horse that would get along with them and is as easy to care for.

I'm a moderately experienced rider, but my boyfriend is the one with all the horse training experience. He's suggested looking for a Quarter horse, Arabian, or Mustang, but I really have no idea? Advice?
>> Anonymous
I'm quite partial to Arabians since I've ridden a lot of them. I also liked my thoroughbred, but he was a lazy horse lol... quite the opposite of the stereotypical racehorse. He incredibly sweet though. I guess it really depends on what you want to do with the horse after you've raised him. I do endurance races so thus, Arabians and Thoroughbreds for me. You say you're a moderately experienced rider, so what kind of riding have you been doing? Where would you be riding the horse? How big do you want it to grow up to be? These are all things to consider before picking out a horse. There isn't really a one-breed-fits-all horse out there.
>> Anonymous
I'm no pro equestrian, just an outdoorsy type in Texas, but I've always had excellent experiences with quarter horses, so I can say good things about their temperament. Very pretty too.
>> Anon
Personally, I'd go grade.
From my experience, registered horses are bred for lineage and not rideability or brains.
My favorite horses were Arab crosses, my least favorite registered Quarter-types (appaloosa/paints/etc). Arab crosses were easy to train, really connected with you as a trainer/rider, and always had a presence about them.
Mustangs, well they always retain a very independent streak about them, no matter how young. Hell, a friend had a mare foal at her house. The foal has the mustang attitude even afterall all these years. Another thing you have to worry about is their single rider mentality. My friend Karen rescues and trains them, every one she's rehomed has made its way back to her. They seem to go feral again after they leave. Considering her non-mustang rescues end up in forever homes...
I owned one of the stangs..he went from an everybody grandpa horse at her place to something we shipped out asap
>> Anonymous
cat
>> Anonymous
OP here

I guess I should have been a bit more specific, eh? I used to take lessons, and can take a horse through it's basic paces, but don't have any sort of showing or race experience.

I'd like to have a horse that can be trained for both western and english riding. If I get a horse I would probably look into further training, and I'd like a horse that is agile and learns easily. Size doesn't really matter, as long as it would get along with my boyfriend's Shetland ponies and donkey!
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
Quarter Horse. That's what you're looking for.
>> Anonymous
horse
>> Anonymous
yeah, go for either a quarter horse or a quarab, which is a cross between arabian and quarter. bothe breeds are easy keepers, so you could keep them at pasture all summer and bring them in during bad weather.
>> Anonymous
>>241972
An arabian is a trapper horse.
>> Anonymous
I have quite a lot of experience with horses and different breeds, and my whole family does as well, and over my experience my favorite horses have been the appaloosas that we have bred and raised, and my quarter horse/Belgian X mare. I would highly recommend an appaloosa because unlike arabs which tend to be overly energetic, and mustangs in which it is common to find a mean streak appy's are smart eager to please horses that usually have excellent, smooth gaits and from my experience again, are generally amazing animals to be around.
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and they are pretty.
>> Maybelle !Xe0eUYi8yM
>>241986
Just out of curiosity, what is a trapper horse?
>> Anonymous
Ooo. Arabians are fail for anyone with less than 10 years of horse experience. Unless it's really old. And crippled. This is a basic rule of thumb designed to keep equestrians out of the hospital.QHs are excellent, but also no one's said anything about Paints! They're the flashiest things and worth every penny. And if you go breed shows there's less competition than with Quarters. Go bold. Go color.
>> Anonymous
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A good shire horse will accomodate most fatties and can carry large quantities of loot or multiple slaves home from your conquests.
>> Anonymous
>>242574

I was gonna mention them and pintos! Smartest breed out there, and eager to work well with both their rider and other animals.
>> BitterAnon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>242580
I'm pretty sure that isn't a shire, that is a Boulonnais. The "White Marble Colossus".
>> Anonymous
>>242631
Actually, that's a Belgian. Brooklyn Supreme.

>>242580
probably thought it was Sampson, another record holder who was a Shire.
>> Anonymous
>>242580
I kind of want to believe the guy standing next to the horse was a midget.
>> BitterAnon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>242648
Colour me corrected, then. I can't quite explain it, but I haven't seen that shape on other big horses, except on boulonnais. Most of the draft horses that I have seen seem to be just beefy scaled up QHs, while boulonnais have.. well they look like greco-roman statues.