# percheron/percheron crosses compaired to friesian gaits



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I have never ridden a fresian, but I have a percheron and a cross and have visited with a lot of folks who have percherons or crosses and, considering that fresians are likely the same as every other horse out there, here's my guess.

I would venture a guess that some are very pleasant to ride and others aren't, depending on their individual conformation and movement. Some may have one gait that is awesome and another gait that is terrible (my boys both have wonderful lopes but terrible trots). Have you gotten a video of the horse being ridden and/or moving at all gaits at liberty? That would be the place to start, IMHO.


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## TessaMay (Jul 26, 2013)

smrobs said:


> considering that fresians are likely the same as every other horse out there, here's my guess.


Blasphemy! :wink:


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

My Perch used to get mistaken for a Friesian when he was younger, though he would have been a very big one at almost 18 hands.


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## EmilyJoy (Dec 30, 2011)

Gorgeous!^^^


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## rileydog6 (Mar 2, 2011)

these are the 2 percheron crosses i work with

here is the 5 yearold percheron X TB(15.3 hands)










10 yearold, barely green broke, Percheron cross mare(16.2 hands) yes she has dapples,i worked very hard on those


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Friesians have a much bigger trot and can be hard to ride.


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## rileydog6 (Mar 2, 2011)

here is a video,there are some more recent ones on his channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1OVGradliY


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

I have ridden percherons and percheron crosses and they are good horses to ride some more forward than others but most are easy to sit to the trot.
I have never ridden a friesien but watching videos of others riding I know that they are very forward and have lots of "air time" meaning a huge trot, and strong canter. These riders are very experienced and I can see that they have a hard time sitting to the gaits of these horses. Beautiful to watch but hard to sit to.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Depends what you cross the Percheron with as to how much elevation you're going to get out of it
On the whole the purebred Friesians are lighter built, shorter backed and longer in the leg than a Percheron and that impacts the way they move
The Friesian is classed as one of the oldest breeds though so had an influence on the breeding of many European horses that are now regarded as 'purebred'


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## SummerShy (Aug 3, 2014)

I'll have a friesian someday no matter how they ride!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Their very upright neck set can make it hard for the to stretch out lower and raise there backs. Can end up with the rider feeling like she is riding in a hollow behind the upright tree of a neck.


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## MinervaELS (Mar 4, 2014)

rileydog6 said:


> here is a video,there are some more recent ones on his channel.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1OVGradliY



That music. :lol::lol:
Heavy metal Friesians ftw!

I would go see him and ride him. I actually like him. He seems steady and has obviously survived all sorts of silly pool noodles and orange barrels. His actual gaits look pretty smooth to me, but his transitions (both up and down) are awful. Most of the video was too far away for me to see what the rider was doing while watching on my phone, so I couldn't tell if she was responsible. The horse seems green to me, at least as far as English is concerned. He didn't have much video of riding him Western.

He did have his head up, but he put it down at a few points in the English part. What style do you want to ride, and what discipline do you want him for? I think he is workable for sure, and I don't think his gaits are going to throw you out of the saddle (though his transitions might). I wouldn't buy without riding him, or sending my trainer to ride him.

I can't vouch for whether or not he's like a Percheron though.


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## rileydog6 (Mar 2, 2011)

thank you for everyones responses.i plan on doing low level dressage and competitive trail with the occasional 2 foot jump here and there. this guy is fairly green,he is only 5. the young 5 yearold green percheron/TB i ride has the "throw you out of your seat" gait when he picks up the canter or gallop,but i am working on him sitting more on his but and using his hind end,so i am used to that movement.the first time i took him out to gallop in the field he went straight into a gallop from a halt and he scarred me half to death as he jumped up so high i though he did a small rear,but im used to it now and expect it from him.


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## GreySorrel (Mar 5, 2012)

rileydog6 said:


> thank you for everyones responses.i plan on doing low level dressage and competitive trail with the occasional 2 foot jump here and there. this guy is fairly green,he is only 5. the young 5 yearold green percheron/TB i ride has the "throw you out of your seat" gait when he picks up the canter or gallop,but i am working on him sitting more on his but and using his hind end,so i am used to that movement.the first time i took him out to gallop in the field he went straight into a gallop from a halt and he scarred me half to death as he jumped up so high i though he did a small rear,but im used to it now and expect it from him.


A full Percheron, while they can do dressage, they don't excel at it, they are too heavy, their bones are too big, and it is going to be harder for them to execute the moves and style you want. They were bred to pull and to do fine driving or be in front of a wagon. 

I have two Percheron mares, I ride them both and I do anything else you can think of that involves a harness with them as well. These animals will give you their heart and soul, the trust of a good draft animal is amazing. 

Doing competitive trail...WHY do you want a draft horse to do that with? Again, they aren't bred to do that, they are heavier, have more mass, they aren't built to go far and fast down a trail and cooling them off is going to take a bit of doing. Jumping, I can't say I enjoy watching draft animals jump, as even if it isn't tall jumps, can you imagine all that weight coming down all the time?


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## rileydog6 (Mar 2, 2011)

i think you might of read it wrong, im actually looking at a friesian not a full draft or even draft cross,of which some can be very nice. im looking for the friesian to do dressage and a little bit of jumping,which they are fully capable of.i was just trying to get a feel of the different gaits since the friesian has a very uphill movement.


GreySorrel said:


> Doing competitive trail...WHY do you want a draft horse to do that with?


competitive trail is NOT endurance,very big difference, and drafts/draft crosses are some of the big competitors! competitive trail is over 10 miles of trails at your own pace with 10 judged "spooky" obstacles, like going through tarps,over bridges,dragging thing,backing through an L, crossing a creek, side passing over a pole, ect. here is there website if you are interested in more info https://www.actha.us/
my little fjord,small draft, always placed in the top 3 out of 200+ riders and actually enjoyed endurance and could hold a consistent 9 mph trot over 20 miles,making the other "big" horses in the group have the canter/gallop at some points to catch up and he would barely be sweating/breathing hard,it all depends on the individual horse.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Drafts were bred to trot all day with some breaks. Depending upon the terrain a draft may do fine on an endurance ride of maybe 25 mi. if the rider can stand 25 mi. of trotting.


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## Captain Evil (Apr 18, 2012)

Rileydog6, have you gone out to see the horse yet?


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

For the record, friesians are considered light drafts. So, essentially you are still looking at a draft horse.

I have a paint/Percheron gelding. He has very flat, smooth movement. Absolutely nothing like a friesian. 

I have ridden a 16.2hh friesian cross mare (I think she was friesian/QH). She had big movement, but it wasn't horribly difficult to ride. She was just bigger than anything else I had ever ridden, so it took some adjusting.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## rileydog6 (Mar 2, 2011)

Captain Evil said:


> Rileydog6, have you gone out to see the horse yet?


not yet,it is a 18 hour round trip,so we are trying to find a date that works.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Whew. With a trip that long, it would almost be worth seeing if flying was cheaper LOL.


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## rileydog6 (Mar 2, 2011)

i just realized the picture for the other guy i ride isnt working 
Here is the 5 yearold percheron X TB(15.3 hands) he is a failed police horse,in other words he had the training but was too sensitive,but it makes him a good riding horse.i dont really have any good pics of him yet


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## rileydog6 (Mar 2, 2011)

smrobs said:


> it would almost be worth seeing if flying was cheaper LOL.


haha, yah,we are trying to maybe make a little mini vaca out of it,but my spring break is not until early march and im afraid if i wait too long he wolnt be there as the owners have already dropped the price and are open to offers.


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