# Desert Norman



## bgoricha (Feb 6, 2013)

*Zamara*

I own a 10 year old, 16.1 Desert Norman Mare Zamara (Zoe). The breed is fantastic. We compete primarily in dressage at First Level, but Zoe was also in three USEA Beginner Novice events last year, ridden by my trainer, and placed in all three. It is a marvelous sport horse breed, combining the docile disposition of the Percheron and the athleticisim of the Arab. She is short coupled with a round barrel, big sloping shoulders with a strong rear engine. She has substantial bone so she can carry weight. Beautiful feet. She also has the Arab trait of bonding with her owner which makes her a delight to be around. Highly recommend the breed.


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## Karoo (Dec 13, 2012)

Magnificent looking horse you have there. I wonder if the cross is consistently good for the relative extremes of the parent breeds.


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## bgoricha (Feb 6, 2013)

*Zamara 2*

Zoe originally was a private rescue from an Amish auction so I don't know much about the breeding considerations. I assume they bred her for light cart work. She got injured pulling a mower and the Amish farmer put her into the auction where she was purchased by a woman who rehabbed her. She's lucky she did not end up with a kill buyer. I've owned her about three years. I agree that the cross could have some issues depending on the blend. But the few Desert Norman pics I see posted seem to show well put together stock. As I said in my original post, she's fantastic and a joy to own. I hope this thread may cause other owners of Desert Normans to post pics so we can see the variations.


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## horse happy (Jun 15, 2010)

What a beautiful mare she is! This is encouraging indeed, as I have a 4-year-old Desert Norman mare. She is all black and looks very much Percheron but she is shorter, perhaps due to the Arab influence? She was a PMU foal out of Canada. I have her export papers from Deloraine, Manitoba. Since Percherons continue to grow into their seventh year I'm not sure how tall she will ultimately be but now she is 15 2. She too has good bone, a strong neck and powerful engine. My farrier thinks she is too thick bodied to be used as an event horse but I have seen full Percherons used in eventing. I will be using her mainly as a trail mount, perhaps competitive trail. I'm looking forward to hearing from more owners of Desert Normans as well!


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Sometimes those crosses backfire and don't always produce a good cross. One example was a big bodied horse as per the Percheron with a small arabian head.


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## AnrewPL (Jun 3, 2012)

bgoricha said:


> I own a 10 year old, 16.1 Desert Norman Mare Zamara (Zoe). The breed is fantastic. We compete primarily in dressage at First Level, but Zoe was also in three USEA Beginner Novice events last year, ridden by my trainer, and placed in all three. It is a marvelous sport horse breed, combining the docile disposition of the Percheron and the athleticisim of the Arab. She is short coupled with a round barrel, big sloping shoulders with a strong rear engine. She has substantial bone so she can carry weight. Beautiful feet. She also has the Arab trait of bonding with her owner which makes her a delight to be around. Highly recommend the breed.


 
Cool, How do you get your horse to levitate like that??? (joking of course, nice horse)


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## BeachinIt (Apr 17, 2012)

Oh. My. Gosh. I know what my next horse will be!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## dbarabians (May 21, 2011)

I am not a fan of heavy or draft type horses but that mare is very nice. Good luck with her. Shalom


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## Karoo (Dec 13, 2012)

After posting earlier I googled the breed. I reckon there is a difference between a once-off cross and the breed itself that has come down many generations.
Impressive animals.


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## FrostedLilly (Nov 4, 2012)

I had never heard of the "Desert Norman" until viewing this thread. The horse pictured above is absolutely beautiful! For some reason, it reminds me of the horse "Snowman" who was thought to have come from an Amish farm in the 1950's with suspected Percheron and Arab lines, although it could never be confirmed. Honestly, I wouldn't have considered this cross, but I've seen a few pictures and they look like solid horses, not to mention gorgeous.


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## horse happy (Jun 15, 2010)

I'm not savvy with uploading pics but I'm going to try to upload my 4-year-old Desert Norman mare. She is a real sweetheart. I wasn't sure if the bonding I am enjoying comes from her being a mare or if it is characteristic of her Arabian blood lines. Whatever the case, she is a real sweetheart.


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## horse happy (Jun 15, 2010)




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## horse happy (Jun 15, 2010)

Here is a pic of my Desert Norman mare.


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## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

Rode an incredible mare that was an oops baby, the dam was accidentally put in with the stud. she was 14.2hh grey arab, the sire was a 18hh percheron stud. resulting filly was 17hh and amazing, stunning to look at and an incredible trail horse and jumper.


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## bgoricha (Feb 6, 2013)

*Zamara 3*

Thanks for the nice comments about Zoe. You can find out more about Desert Normans by checking out the Desert Norman Registry at www.desertnormanhorse.weebly.com. Zoe is not a registered Desert Norman as her parents were unknown but the Registry thinks she meets all the breed characteristics and can be referred to as a Desert Norman. When I bought her I only knew she was an Arab/Perch cross and later found out about the Desert Norman breed. And yes when I read the Snowman book I found the similarities to Zoe's story striking as both came from the Amish, both went through the Amish auctions, and both excel in jumping. But Snowman to me looked like more of a Perch/TB cross as he had a good length of body. 

I've been searching for folks who specifically breed Desert Normans and only found a couple references. But this cross has a lot of potential if a serious sport horse breeder would put some time into it because they are a very versatile breed and amateur friendly. Reminds me of the Irish Draught.


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## bgoricha (Feb 6, 2013)

*Horse Happy Desert Norman Mare*

Horse Happy your mare looks very much like Zoe in conformation. She is beautiful! Not sure about your farrier comment about not being suitable for eventing because she is too heavy bodied. Zoe events successfully at the lower levels. I've been told this type of horse is harder to keep in competitive condition for higher level eventing than say a TB, but it is doable with a focused training program. Zoe will never be a Rolex horse, or for that matter an FEI horse, but she is the kind of horse you can do just about anything with at the lower levels so it does not lock you into one discipline as your interests and/or abilities change. That's why I think they make great mounts for adult amateurs who are looking to have fun with their equine in the show ring or at home on the trails. They have easy going temperaments, are very rideable and comfortable since you are not sitting on a rail, good medium height that does not jar you when you jump off, very intelligent and easy to train, workmanlike about their jobs, well built so they are more likely to remain sound, affordable to buy and easy keepers. What more could you want? 
Attached a pic of Zoe "jumping" the dog.


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## horse happy (Jun 15, 2010)

bgoricha, thanks for your kind words! Yes, they are good and honest and I'm guessing that they will become more popular as people become aware of these smart, sturdy, well-built and big hearted horses. Whether they ever do or not, I feel I have an absolute gem, as I'm sure you do too with your Zoe


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## lggdressage (Apr 1, 2013)

I have a mare I purchased from a local horse dealer here in PA, I to have no breeding history on her, I think she may very well have been an Amish buggy horse as she does drive as well. She is approx. 11 to 15 years old and about 16hh. I believe there is a good chance that she is an Arab/Perch cross but honestly there's really no way of knowing.


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## horse happy (Jun 15, 2010)

lgg dressage, your mare is so lovely and has such kind eyes! She certainly looks like she might have Percheron in her lineage  Congratulations!


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## lggdressage (Apr 1, 2013)

Thank you


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## lggdressage (Apr 1, 2013)

Does anyone know if the Desert Norman registry is still in existence? I sent them an email days ago and have yet to receive a reply, I have also noticed that they have not be active online for a couple of years..I read that the original person who ran it became ill so they had stopped registrations for a while but it was supposed to be back up and running..perhaps they had to stop again? anyone know more?


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## Sweeney Road (Feb 12, 2012)

No one answered the question lggdressage posed, so I will ask again! I am trying to adopt an Arabian mare who was apparently used almost exclusively for breeding to Percheron studs. I would assume that the previous owner thought he would corner the market on these 'Desert Norman' horses. Anyone out there own one of these which was bred/purchased in WA State?


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## bgoricha (Feb 6, 2013)

Unlikely my mare was bred in Washington, likely Ohio but she ended up in Michigan where I bought her from previous private owner. I know of two more Desert Normans in SE Michigan. I think the Desert Norman registry went inactive again. The person who I was in contact with online stopped answering emails. A real shame. I did get my mare registered as an American Warmblood based on her performance record by the American Warmblood Registry. I have seen a number of Perch/TB crosses in eventing and they look similar to a Desert Norman but with longer backs.


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## Sweeney Road (Feb 12, 2012)

I think the person who was using the Arabian mare for breeding to Percherons was also breeding Percheron/TB crosses. I'm not certain why he didn't stick to PB Arabians, but he is out of business now (convicted of animal cruelty unrelated to his breeding Arabians to Percherons) and I don't think he wants to be contacted in regard to his horses.


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## Horseychick87 (Feb 5, 2014)

That is an interesting cross, I've heard of Spanish Normans, but not Desert Normans.


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## Sweeney Road (Feb 12, 2012)

I think the ones I have seen in photos are quite beautiful, but I suspect there are a lot of them which did not turn out as well as the breeders would like. 

When I was told that the mare I am seeking to adopt had been bred to Percherons I too thought that it was not a very good cross except in very exceptional specimens.


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## bgoricha (Feb 6, 2013)

I would like to see the offspring of a good Desert Norman mare to a good Desert Norman stud to see if all the traits carry through. I have only heard of one DN stud in Canada but he was not even 50/50. Although I am not interested in breeding my mare, when we do fantasy scenarios folks suggest a breeding to a lighter breed to refine her. But the sturdiness is what I like. So many of our barn warmbloods end up with lameness issues and, knock on wood, we just keep plugging along. Another surprise is that my mare is docile to tack up and handle but a very forward mover with great gaits. People do not expect that. My trainer who has ridden the other DN mare says both mares ride and jump the same (very well) and both are highly intelligent so something is carrying through. But agree it could be a crap shoot to try to breed one. To avoid potential birthing issues, I would suspect it would be better with a Perch mare to an Arab stud. Just happy I found my mare and she did not end up as some Frenchman's dinner.


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## Exotic (Dec 29, 2014)

I've never heard of this breed, but looks like a nice option. I love mixes!


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## squirrelfood (Mar 29, 2014)

Desert Norman Horse


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