Yes, sometimes these crosses result in something that looks like a yak. It is a crapshoot. Yes, I agree that selectively using certain bloodlines will increase your chances of getting a nice foal for the purposes you want to use it for (dressage, jumping, etc.). Maybe it doesn't bother me because I am not a breeder (well, not anymore. Not counting the Morgans ... but that is a different topic for a different day). When I see a nice horse, I see a nice horse. Not the brand it has on its butt. Not its pedigree. Maybe when I start to breed my own horses, I will change my tune. But for now, a nice horse is a nice horse. Who cares if it's part Percheron? I can't really register Hampton with any association except Performance Horse Registry and possibly as an American Warmblood. It does not bother me one bit. He is a gelding. For for many breeders, it does matter. I get it. I just don't get the elitist attitude.
Anyway, read the thread and see what you think.
I'm with ya...if it is a nice looking horse, who the heck cares what its breed/bloodline is!
ReplyDeleteI think a nice crossbred is still a nice horse, and sometimes a draft cross is exactly what you need (if you're a police officer or a heavier trail rider, for example.)
ReplyDeleteI'd guess that the snobbery toward crossbreds comes from the absurd amount of backyard breeders who think they're doing something amazing by mixing two completely incompatible horses to get "the best of both worlds" and then ending up with future hamburgers. There are lots of nice crossbreds out there, but there are way more conformationally deficient ones. Contrast that with the carefully-managed studbooks of European Warmbloods and you can see why the sport horse elite look down their noses at unregistered horses. Not that it's right, but I think that's where it comes from.
Today someone emailed the office to let us in on a big news item: someone's starting a registry for Arab/Percheron crosses. Yeah...we'll get right on that story. I bet they'll be the next big thing. Ugh.
I've seen some pretty ugly draft crosses that were called warmbloods, and my favorite mare ever was a PMU percheron/TB who is gorgeous. It all depends on the breeding. I still don't like it when someone calls a first generation cold/hot blood cross a warmblood just because there's more of a connotation with warmblood than just that. Not that I don't love them to pieces, just makes things confusing, especially when marketing a horse.
ReplyDeleteI see a lot of breed bias in the standardbreds, but if you register them as American Warmbloods, that seems to go away. That makes me SO MAD.
ReplyDelete/random comment (I found you through another blog and have been scrolling)