Saddlebred

[cody]

Do people every use saddlebreds for trials or hunting?

[GUNSMOKE]

yes to answer your question. I've seen Saddlebreds that were gaited and used for trialing.

[myerstenn]

Dont waist your time

[lvrgsp]

Dont waist your time

....Ha ha Sorry that just struck me kind of funny, been sitting here laughing for awhile...

seen a few used.

Chip

[cody]

What's the downside to them? Compared to a TWH

[Jmackk]

Technically, COULD(thats a big could) use any horse for anything. If you want to put in the work any horse can be made to do any thing(No a 300 pound man cant ride a 150 pound miniature horse ) Its just a matter of what horse is better suited for the work that needs to be dont. But for hunting and trail I would use a horse with a calmer attitude, just remember, "form to function". You dont want a Tbred strait from the track as a trail horse, thats asking for trouble.

[cody]

I will admit I am completly new to the gaited horse world. I customer of mine is trying to sale me a 1/2 QH, 1/2 Saddlebred. He has nothing but saddlebreds and uses them for everything (he claims), I just don't understand the major difference's between TWH and a SB.

[Karen]

Just as there are hot headed TWH's, I'm sure there are hot SB's. Judge the horse, not the breed. This was the advise of my dog trainer, knowing I'd never really ridden before.

Get a gelding between 8-13 yrs old, and RIDE him at a field trial (as much as possible) before buying.

I, of course, did NOT follow these instructions with my first horse (who thankfully has proven himself a great dog-horse), but I DID follow them with our 2nd horse.

[wems2371]

Personal preference--do you want to trot all day or ride a smooth gaited horse? I believe unless the saddlebred cross is 5 gaited (includes rack and slowgait), you will be bouncing or posting all day long at a trot. I don't know why anyone would take a good 5 gaited saddlebred (or any registered SB) and cross it with a quarter horse, and tend to doubt the offspring would 5 gait.....therefore I'm guessing you'd be getting a trotter. I'm not dogging SBs, because I just saw one yesterday that I would've taken home in a heartbeat (beautiful strawberry roan, bald face, blue eyes, great conformation, gorgeous head with pointed in ear tips ), and you can use them for anything .....but I wouldn't buy one to ride that didn't gait, knowing I was going to be trotting all day to keep up with a majority of others on gaited horses at a trial.

IMO it's a buyers market right now, with a lot of good horses up for sale, so I would stick to TWH, Missouri Foxtrotter, Paso, and other breeds known for their smooth gait. And then try them out like Karen said, to be sure you get the right fit for your experience level.

[Brittguy]

If you get a bad horse it will ruin your trialing experiences. There are enough of TWH out there with poor gaits I would not bother to check out a horse with this breeding.When a certain breed is most popular there must be a reason.I meant to answer this thread earlier ,but now wems very closely stated what I felt.

[myerstenn]

Let me follow up on my "don't waste your time comment" If you want a horse to just play with and get your brains beat out then you ought to consider a SB. If your serious about working dogs off of horses ,don't look at or consider anything but a walker, foxtrotter or maybe a paso. the later is generally smaller than the first two, by that I mean under fifteen hands. I know of no one in field trials that uses a saddle bred but iam sure there may be a few around.

[Crestonegsp]

I am not a Saddle Breeds authority but when living in Arizona we lived next to a woman who raised them and they were beautiful. When we would work dogs on birds and when we fired a blank pistol the Saddle Breeds would come unglued, spin and jump. We lived there for 8 years and they never got used to gun fire.

[CherrystoneWeims]

You never know until you actually try the horse. See if the seller will let you take it for a weekend to a trial. I've seen good Saddlebred and bad Saddlebreds. I've seen good TWH and bad TWH. Some are very level headed and some are bad.

[zzweims]

Horses, like dogs, were bred for a purpose. From day one, the TWH was bred to cover the plantations at a comfortable gait while the rider did everything from check the fields, watch the slaves, and shoot dinner. In general, they are very level headed and relatively smooth. I like Saddlebreds and have ridden several. Some were amazing and some were a disaster. Ditto for the TWH. But on average, the TWH came out way ahead for this particular game.

For anyone interested in field trial horses, your first and best bet will be the Tennessee Walking Horse.

[snips]

Let me follow up on my "don't waste your time comment" If you want a horse to just play with and get your brains beat out then you ought to consider a SB. If your serious about working dogs off of horses ,don't look at or consider anything but a walker, foxtrotter or maybe a paso. the later is generally smaller than the first two, by that I mean under fifteen hands. I know of no one in field trials that uses a saddle bred but iam sure there may be a few around.

What he said! I trained and showed Saddlebreds for 30 yrs and I would not want to ride one at a FT! They are bred to have a big trot. Not one that is a comfortable smooth rack or run walk...