Meet my Mare

Me I am a TB fan. I love warmbloods too, but I ride the TB's so well and they try so hard and have so much heart. They are not that hot, in fact the ones I have trained (off track too) have been LAZY once I learn what they like.

I wanted to be a Grand Prix rider. Micheal Matz was my idol (still is). I love Beezie too. I had opportunities to ride and work with George Morris and Frank Madden amongst others on my east coast ventures.
 

I love TB's too.  Aerial is 3/4 TB, 1/4 Hanoverian (sire was full TB, dam was 1/2 and 1/2).  She definitely has the typical TB personality, though.  She is VERY energetic, even at 17 years old.  There were times when I wished she would be calm like your TBs, for sure!!  I always joked that the only Hanoverian she inherited was her head (BIG warmblood head!).  But seriously, she also has nice warmblood suspension and a very light front end, so her gaits are gorgeous (almost always gets 8's and 9's on her medium walk!).  Her canter departs are so airy, you feel like you're floating (as long as she's not full of herself and bolts through them...haha!). 

You are so right about TBs having big hearts.  Aerial will try, try, try, even if you can tell she's having a difficult time with something, like when we first taught her lateral movements.  She would fumble all over her own feet, but eventually she got it.  She never gives up!

Before Aerial, I had a registered QH mare, but I grew too tall for her, and also outgrew her capabilities show-wise.  She could jump 4' plus, but she didn't want to.  She was better suited for a children's hunter at small local shows (not A shows, of course).  Aerial, now that mare will jump anything (see round bale reference).  I sold Tess to a kid, and she eventually made her way back to my trainer, so now she's enjoying her retirement.  I'm just so happy to know she'll live the rest of her years in a wonderful home.

I never competed in show jumping; just the stadium part of eventing, but I love watching it any time I can catch a competition on TV.  Did you guys watch that reality show Animal Planet did with Frank Madden a couple years ago?  I was addicted to it!!

Ahhh...it's so nice to talk horses with people!!!!  Whodathunk it on a dog forum?

The "ONLY" thing I don't like about warm bloods but this is not really an issue anymore as so many have so much TB blood now, is they are big and I am petite! When I first started riding warmbloods (early 80's) so many were bigger heavier boned animals and if I didn't have draw reins on I felt like I would be dragged to kingdom come. These were upper level jumpers. I was just not big enough to "put my back into them". Then I would see tiny Margie Goldstein (she is smaller than I am) but she would wear BIG spurs and BIG bits. That was when I had my light bulb moment.

We had a few horses (WB) come through my barn that were AWESOME. Carlos was a large German horse (maybe Hanoverian I can't picture he brand right now) he was like driving a high end sports car. He was tall but short coupled and man was he broke! Then there was Duell he was a Westphalian I think, he was my luxuary limo (about as long as one too) I miss him. I brought him back from what they thought was a career ending injury. He was sold and taken to a new barn. The last one was Lulu she was a Dutch mare, she was small, wiry, athletic, heart as big as all out doors, and beautiful. I wanted to buy her, big time. She developed brain cancer, we tried to keep her alive and comfortable to harvest eggs to breed her but time was not on our side.  

We have had several more than that but those are the ones who have been particularly special to me. I worked at a show a few years ago for a friend and took care of Calypso's (Olympic Gold) full sister. Oh man was she incredible!!!! I just drooled watching her go around. She didn't have her brothers scope but she was winning in the high amateurs.

Oh I love horses!!! I would ride all day if I could, I miss the days when I did. Tonight I go walk Pete around for 15-20 min (I sit on him) and I will ride the pony (pays off being petite) I hope I can catch another ride too. I have not ridden "horses" much in the past 6 months. I really want to, I love the pony too but...my pony days are LONG over.
 

 Haha. TBs are great horses, but I prefer those big boned WBs, lol. I grew up riding fat ponies, stocky QHs, and wide WBs... anything narrower I feel like I can't get my leg properly...lol. It's funny because I'm only 5'4 and Tahoe (the Old. gelding I showed) was 17.3hh and WIDE! I looked like a peanut but for some reason we made a great pair in the ring.

I like to addition of some TB blood in certain breeds of WBs; I think it helps refine them and help open their strides up a bit more. I know some real QH horse people are getting a bit ticked off with the TBs though...there's a debate whether or not to segregate the Appendix QH as their own breed... currently Appendixes are registered under the AQHA, etc... normally there a 50%/50% mix QH/TB, but now people are breeding Appendixes to TBs and to TBs and to TBs, etc and it gets all the way to the horse being only 1/8 QH and yet it's still registered as a Quarter horse, even though all the actual Quarter Horsey-ness has been bred out... so that's why they're trying to bring back all the foundation QHs... lol

Oh, well... anyways... 

That is so cool that you got to work with Micheal Matz and Frank Madden. I would die to be able to train under one of them. I had to stop riding the jumper circuit when my trainer died...so now I just do around and do the B-rated stuff and lower with the mare I have now. She's great, but she can't take me any higher in jumpers..we can jump 4ft, but I think that's about her limit - she's a sweetie and very well rounded in all english and western disciplines, so she's a definite keeper, but, ah, I'd give anything to go back to that stuff!

Wow sorry about your trainer.

I had a registered full paper QH a number of years ago. He was 7/8 TB if you looked at his papers. It sound funny you saying they want to segregate the breeds. What are they going to do about all the TB blood in the non Appendix? Three Bars (foundation QH sire) Jockey Club TB, Jet Deck the same. They have bred so much TB into the QH's I don't know how they know which is which. I am sure there is some "rule" but I don't know what it is.

My QH 's registered name was Decka Bar Top, I believe he was bred (in OK) for the track but I also believe the ranch owners died and he went through an auction. He ended up in as sale barn out east where they discovered he could JUMP. He was sold to some small time trainer (who thought he was big time) who sold him to my employer, who I bought him from. We won a TON in the jumpers. He could jump and loved to go mach II with his tail on fire. He looked like a 16.3 had TB but he unfortunately had old style tiny QH feet. His pasterns broke down and we had to put him to sleep. I had a QH friend who saw his breeding and she said "if you get him to World's based on his breeding alone, you can get $200,000.00 for him" and that was in the late 80's. I showed him under the name Atlantic City his barn name was Reggie.

Horses and dogs...what else could make a person happy.