# Daft question



## Mese (Jun 5, 2008)

I know nothing about horses at all ... other than I love the way they look so I do gaze adoringly at the pics that show up here , so this may seem an idiotic question to you guys , but be gentle with me , lol

Anyway , I was wondering , and please forgive my ignorance , why is it ok to mate one breed of horse with a different breed when that is generally frowned on in the dog world ?

Told you it was a daft question , but if I dont ask i'll never know , lol


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## AlexArt (Apr 25, 2010)

Not a daft question at all!! Horses are generally cross bred to either improve the characteristics of a breed or type eg. conformation, height, action, temperament etc usually to better suit the type of riding the owner does or wants to do with the resultant foal, for example in victorian times new forest ponies are sometimes run with an arab stallion to improve the quality of the ponies to stop them returning to a much more coarse feral type which tends to happen when breeds are left to run wild and are not selected on their ability to carry a rider.
Some breeds - usually the rarer ones it is actually frowned upon to cross breed them as some people can be very anal, to put it politely!, over 'purity' of blood lines and don't want a breed to die out - all very well and good but it's often at the detriment to health within the breed - same with dogs I suppose. For example I breed a breed called a friesian and they suffer from alot of genetic problems due to having such a small gene pool, also not everyone wants a big heavy draft type so I often outcross them to racehorses to get a lighter more athletic sport type horse which suit a variety of disciplines and has a better conformation suited to riding as a pose to driving which the friesian was primarily bred for also helps to dilute some of the problems - so it just depends on the individual and their aims.

Some people crossbreed because they haven't a clue though, the same as the dog world, just because they want a cute colour/breed name for example with little consideration for the outcome and the resultant foals conformation being suitable for anything other than looking a pretty colour, or to try and add value to what is essentially a disasterous mare by putting it to an expensive stallion hoping that the genetic lottery will shine on them!!!!!

Alot of the warmblood breeds you see competeing today are a mix of breeds (hence the name meaning a mix of hot and cold blood - not literally but in terms of temperament) - usually a more solid laid back driving/draft type and finer more sensative highly strung race types to get a good allrounder, and like dogs there are very few actually pure breeds, the only ones with pedigrees that go back any distance are breeds like the arab, barb, tarpan etc and are the foundation stock for all the modern breeds - such as the thoroughbred.


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## Mese (Jun 5, 2008)

Thanks for explaining Hun 

I googled Friesian , wow , stunning looking horses :001_wub:

I adore draft horses , I dont know why but of all the types of horses the heavier ones always drew me as a child and thats never changed over the years


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## freckles (May 8, 2008)

Agree with Alexart...

and also to show horses they do not need to be a pedigree as such, so its not so important..

I breed Appaloosas (spotted horses) and I could (when I lived in the UK) show them in 'breed' classes just for Appaloosas where they needed to be pedigree ... or put them in Hack, Hunter classes where they dont have to be.. 

Some breed the Appaloosa to Arabs... to get a good Long distance horse..


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## Doguiesrus (Apr 18, 2012)

I've always though this as I breed both dogues and gypsy cob type horses but my other logic was in dogs you would have to find say up to 15 homes for a cross breed litter where as its just one with a horse! Dont know if this makes sense but that's how I see it!


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## MissyThePony (Aug 6, 2013)

Not a daft question 

Horses are usually cross bred to create a better type for different people. For example, somebody could cross a thoroughbred with a Irish Draught to create an event horse - so it'd be the speed and stamina of a thoroughbred and a big, powerful body shape like a Irish Draught and then the temperaments of both or either breed. And then people tend to breed shetland ponies with welsh ponies or cobs as they make great child ponies and tend to make a nice height for children as well as having a lovely, easy going temperament to suit a beginner or novice. 

Of course this can go completely wrong and you can end up with a crossbreed that is completely unsuitable so it's trial and error really, although most people know what breeds would suit what. 

Hope I helped


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## MissyThePony (Aug 6, 2013)

Doguiesrus said:


> I've always though this as I breed both dogues and gypsy cob type horses but my other logic was in dogs you would have to find say up to 15 homes for a cross breed litter where as its just one with a horse! Dont know if this makes sense but that's how I see it!


Well it's still over-breeding really. There are not enough homes for the thousands of foals born in this country alone every year! And people just breed horses for the hell of it or to make quick money. Don't get me wrong, if you have your horse of a lifetime or a brilliant, well bred horse then go for it but make sure you have the mare properly bred and vet checked. There's too many horses and ponies which are just bred by 'a friend's stallion' or 'was running with stallions' which is just silly! Not having a go at you - just stating that 'just one' doesn't mean there isn't too many about


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

Mese said:


> Thanks for explaining Hun
> 
> I googled Friesian , wow , stunning looking horses :001_wub:
> 
> I adore draft horses , I dont know why but of all the types of horses the heavier ones always drew me as a child and thats never changed over the years


If you enjoy Fresians take a look at this guy Frederic Pignon 




His brother Jean-Francois also works in a similar style but with Camargue mares, more my type to be honest.

Though I do love fluffy feet!


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