# QH bloodlines vs temperment



## .Delete. (Jan 7, 2008)

jmike said:


> i have heard recently that certain bloodlines can tend toward certain temperments -- possibly smart chic olena's tending more towards being cold backed and hot
> 
> is there a good resource to check the temperment of certain bloodlines?


The best thing you can do is research. There is no specific reference to find what studs/dams provide the best possible temperament. Trends start to emerge with babies and word gets spread around.

What bloodlines are you specifically interested in? Perhaps we can give you some insight.


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## jmike (Aug 21, 2013)

.Delete. said:


> The best thing you can do is research. There is no specific reference to find what studs/dams provide the best possible temperament. Trends start to emerge with babies and word gets spread around.
> 
> What bloodlines are you specifically interested in? Perhaps we can give you some insight.


 
Horse Pedigree Database | DWM NO FOOLIN AROUND | Quarter Horse | American Quarter Horse Association


smart little lena and doc's hickory


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## jmike (Aug 21, 2013)

i think these are the preffered links



Stud:
Smart Asa Lynx Quarter Horse


Mare:
Gk Cuttin Cat Quarter Horse


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## NorthernHorse (Jan 11, 2013)

Ive always had great minded horses with Docs Hickory and Doc bar in them, Ive never personally dealt with a smart chic olena bred horse, but a friend of mine has a grand daughter of his and says shes quite smart but she has to think about things before doing them and is more on the side of cautious, but otherwise a pleasant mare to be around.

But every horse is an individual, and could turn out any way regardless of bloodlines.

On a side note however every Frenchman's guy bred horse I'm come across has been hot and has some buck in them and are a bit hard headed. I don't know if that was sheer coincidence or if that's a trait in the bloodline, who knows.


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## jmike (Aug 21, 2013)

NorthernHorse said:


> Ive always had great minded horses with Docs Hickory and Doc bar in them, Ive never personally dealt with a smart chic olena bred horse, but a friend of mine has a grand daughter of his and says shes quite smart but she has to think about things before doing them and is more on the side of cautious, but otherwise a pleasant mare to be around.
> 
> But every horse is an individual, and could turn out any way regardless of bloodlines.


thanks -- i appreciate the insight


my trainers daughter has a smart chic oleana and says those are mostly cold-backed and hot


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## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

I'm riding a mare with doc olena breeding. Amazing horse, but hot and sensitive.

I have worked with several horses that had doc bar up close, and they were absolutely nuts, but that might have been coincidence. hot and crazy, and man could they buck.


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## jmike (Aug 21, 2013)

BlueSpark said:


> I'm riding a mare with doc olena breeding. Amazing horse, but hot and sensitive.
> 
> I have worked with several horses that had doc bar up close, and they were absolutely nuts, but that might have been coincidence. hot and crazy, and man could they buck.


precisely what i am worried about

may be too much horse for me


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## QHDragon (Mar 6, 2009)

BlueSpark said:


> I'm riding a mare with doc olena breeding. Amazing horse, but hot and sensitive.
> 
> I have worked with several horses that had doc bar up close, and they were absolutely nuts, but that might have been coincidence. hot and crazy, and man could they buck.


Funny, just this week I was having a conversation with a friend about Doc Bar and how they are pretty hot.

I have yet to meet an Impressive bred horse that wasn't a total sweetheart, but was a little dense when it came to the actual training.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I've dealt with my fair share of Doc Olena bred horses. Up until just a few years ago, a local breeder had a son of Doc Olena that he'd throw out a crop of foals from every year. There were a lot of those horses that never even got broke because nobody had the courage to get on them. Many of them were very sensitive and tended toward over-reaction, especially during the training phase. If you ever got one broke enough you could trust him, then you'd have a stellar horse...but getting them to that point wasn't for the faint of heart.


However, I've got a son of that stud in my pasture that is completely bombproof and 100% trustworthy. My niece started riding him when she was 6 and he was 5 and he's never taken a wrong step with her or any other beginner/child you put on him.

As for the Docs Lynx, I've ridden several of them as well and the ones I handled were really sweet. They were sensitive, but not a mean bone in their body anywhere.

As far as I'm concerned, you can get an idea about a horse by looking at the bloodlines, but temperament doesn't _always _breed true. If the horse is broke, then go look at them and just see what you think.

Though, if it's _not _broke, I wouldn't advise a green horse with those bloodlines for anyone less than an expert rider....just to be on the safe side.


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## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

> Many of them were very sensitive and tended toward over-reaction, especially during the training phase. If you ever got one broke enough you could trust him, then you'd have a stellar horse...but getting them to that point wasn't for the faint of heart.


 the mare I mentioned above I ADORE, to the point I'm selling my 3 year old I really like and buying her instead. She is hardworking, athletic, honest, intelligent and responsive. Exactly what I want in a saddle horse for myself personally. Near as I can figure(all conjecture) She was owned by someone and kept at a barn with an indoor, blanketed and in her own pasture. I'm guessing she badly intimidated her owner with her sensitivity and reactiveness, so she was sold. She can turn right out from under you if you don't pay attention. But an awesome, awesome little horse, with tons of heart.

two of the doc bar horses I worked with were sensitive to the point of being explosive, they could out buck most rodeo horses, and they were in general a huge handful. Athletic? yes, extremely. Responsive to cues? to a fault. Recreational rider friendly? NOPE.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

LOL, the more I thought about it, I remembered that I have a total of 3 offspring of that Doc Olena stud in my pasture. The oldest is Nester. He's our old bombproof, kid-catcher that is so ploddy and pluggy that I hate riding him. BUT, he's over 21 years old now. He was a bit of an outlaw in his younger days.

The second is Snuffy, the horse that I was discussing earlier. Put a kid or a beginner on him and he's a plug. Put someone on him that _really_ knows how to ride and he'll hop around and puff and squeal the first time you put him on a cow or the first time you ask him for a lope.

The third is my Dad's horse Pokey. He's a monster. I've ridden some pretty rank horses in my day and I don't think I would have had the balls to break him to ride. He wouldn't really buck, but he's spook and bolt and spin with the very best of him...and he was so athletic that you just couldn't stay with him. I don't think he'll ever be "user friendly" LOL.


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## jmike (Aug 21, 2013)

smrobs said:


> Though, if it's _not _broke, I wouldn't advise a green horse with those bloodlines for anyone less than an expert rider....just to be on the safe side.


too late --- she's been in the pasture since august -- just trying to figure out how hard it is going to be, or if it is worth the time and trouble only to find out she is too much


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## jmike (Aug 21, 2013)

smrobs said:


> LOL, the more I thought about it, I remembered that I have a total of 3 offspring of that Doc Olena stud in my pasture. The oldest is Nester. He's our old bombproof, kid-catcher that is so ploddy and pluggy that I hate riding him. BUT, he's over 21 years old now. He was a bit of an outlaw in his younger days.
> 
> The second is Snuffy, the horse that I was discussing earlier. Put a kid or a beginner on him and he's a plug. Put someone on him that _really_ knows how to ride and he'll hop around and puff and squeal the first time you put him on a cow or the first time you ask him for a lope.
> 
> The third is my Dad's horse Pokey. He's a monster. I've ridden some pretty rank horses in my day and I don't think I would have had the balls to break him to ride. He wouldn't really buck, but he's spook and bolt and spin with the very best of him...and he was so athletic that you just couldn't stay with him. I don't think he'll ever be "user friendly" LOL.


sounds like they can be all over the place as far as reliability and sensitivity goes


anyone have experience with the other side of her line -- the docs hickory side?


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Best advice I can give you is to find a good trainer. Horses who breed true to the temperament of their lines, you want them to get a good start from day 1. If they are ever allowed to start dumping people on purpose, then you'll just be stuck with something unrideable.

Something to consider...you spend the dough to get her trained only to find out that she's a little too much for you. With her lines, if she's built well, you could market her to a ranch/cowboy market and, if her training is good, then she'd be worth a pretty penny even with a sensitive temperament. Because she's a mare, she'd also be worth more than a gelding due to the possibility of being a broodmare...if her conformation is good.


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## jmike (Aug 21, 2013)

smrobs said:


> Best advice I can give you is to find a good trainer. Horses who breed true to the temperament of their lines, you want them to get a good start from day 1. If they are ever allowed to start dumping people on purpose, then you'll just be stuck with something unrideable.
> 
> Something to consider...you spend the dough to get her trained only to find out that she's a little too much for you. With her lines, if she's built well, you could market her to a ranch/cowboy market and, if her training is good, then she'd be worth a pretty penny even with a sensitive temperament. Because she's a mare, she'd also be worth more than a gelding due to the possibility of being a broodmare...if her conformation is good.


thanks smrobs -- i appreciate the advice

still too young to ride, but i have her started with ground work, and i am considering sending her away for a month to get a foundation on her

will get some pics up sometime this summer for conformation critique


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## Falcor74 (May 28, 2013)

I have a colt who is Docs Hickory down to High Brow Cat bred, and he is smart as a whip and nothing seems to really phase him. He picks up things quickly, is not high strung (not to say he does not spook a little still when trying to get a blanket on him), and he was raised wild until we got him at 10 months. Most of the things he tries to pull are what I chalk up to as typical youngster antics that he is not allowed to get away with.


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## Rideordie112 (Dec 7, 2013)

My gelding has both doc bar and colonol freckles up close. And he is hot as all get up when he wants to be. But it is a completely controllable hot.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

QHD--I had an Impressive bred filly. Though I never really connected with her (which was due mostly to my own inexperience) everyone absolutely loved her.


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## Remali (Jul 22, 2008)

I would have to say that, from what I have seen, definitely yes. Bloodlines do seem to make a huge difference in temperament. I have noticed a certain line that is quite athletic and easy-going, and another that was downright mean and nasty. It pays to look at the pedigree.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Rideordie112 said:


> My gelding has both doc bar and colonol freckles up close. And he is hot as all get up when he wants to be. But it is a completely controllable hot.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 I chuckled when I read this not because I think your wrong, just because my mare is so hot (NOT) that I could probably sling her over my back and move down the trail faster than she does.

Paint It a Freckle Paint

Of course those lines may be further back on her than they are on your gelding.

She's a wonderful mare though and is my "anyone can ride horse" and those don't come along very often so she's a keeper.


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## jmike (Aug 21, 2013)

still trying to figure her out

when she is on a lead line -- she is well behaved .. unless there is food around

off of the lead line --- it is anyones guess --- i have been kicked at more than once -- mostly food related stuff --- like alfalfa treat and beer

... no one gets my beer


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Does she get corrected when she kicks out at you? Over the years I've taken in a few horses that were food deprived and wanted to show a little aggression during mealtime at first. I've been known to throw an empty bucket or feed can at them or whack 'em with the plastic pooper scooper, whatever is in my hand at the moment, if they even thought about kicking me. Scares them more than it hurts them but it still gets the message across. Most times it took once a few of the more stubborn ones it took another time or two. I always aim for the leg they're aiming at me.


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

How does your horse handle on the ground, OP? 

I don't see anything wrong with these bloodlines. They are nice, and sent off for a foundation before you get on her would probably make you a nice little riding horse.


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## jmike (Aug 21, 2013)

JCnGrace said:


> Does she get corrected when she kicks out at you? Over the years I've taken in a few horses that were food deprived and wanted to show a little aggression during mealtime at first. I've been known to throw an empty bucket or feed can at them or whack 'em with the plastic pooper scooper, whatever is in my hand at the moment, if they even thought about kicking me. Scares them more than it hurts them but it still gets the message across. Most times it took once a few of the more stubborn ones it took another time or two. I always aim for the leg they're aiming at me.


yes -- i chase the crap out of her immediately --- if i have a stick or a whip in hand i waave it like a mad man and try like hell to make contact -- but she is a lot faster than i am and i rarely make contact

she is definitely not food deprived -- she is fatty mc-fat-fat

lol -- i have also thrown the feed bucket at her

so far she has kicked at me 3 times --- twice were food related, and once was beer related (i think she likes the yeasty/malty smell)


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## jmike (Aug 21, 2013)

SorrelHorse said:


> How does your horse handle on the ground, OP?
> 
> I don't see anything wrong with these bloodlines. They are nice, and sent off for a foundation before you get on her would probably make you a nice little riding horse.


she is getting better -- she acts up when we get near the fence/gate to the neighbors pasture -- finally got a chance to pick her feet -- i figure i will get a lot more handling on her over the next 6 months

i would like to send her off for a month to get a foundation -- my riding instructor recommnds a guy near me for $700 ... but apparently he is real good and works them 3-4 hours daily for the month

i would really like to do this -- but she is only 22 months right now -- and i don't have $700 just laying around at the moment -- might try to send her in August


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

^Teehee, beer related xD


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