# Would you consider a Percheron X a good dressage horse? why or why not?



## Piaffe (Jan 11, 2010)

Thanks!


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## nrhareiner (Jan 11, 2009)

My vet has one. Percheron sire out of a very very nice trakaner/TB cross mare.

This is the mare at 2. She is now 4 or 5 and doing very well in Dressage.


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

It would depend on the horse and its build. All horses of one breed are not built the same. Look for a perch with a more sloping shoulder versus an upright shoulder, and one that can track his back legs well under him. My perch is a level 2 trained horse, but I don't ride dressage myself, I'm more of a pleasure rider. Maybe someday!


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## IslandWave (Nov 25, 2009)

Forrest Hill Farm breeds Percheron/Thoroughbred horses and they are rather impressive horses. :wink:
Forrest Hill Farm dressage breeders history


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## roro (Aug 14, 2009)

I typically hear more about PercheronxTB crosses in the jumping/eventing ring, but they certainly can do dressage, just typically not to the extent that breeds bred for the discipline can.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

draftrider said:


> It would depend on the horse and its build. All horses of one breed are not built the same. Look for a perch with a more sloping shoulder versus an upright shoulder, and one that can track his back legs well under him.


This.

Not something you can make a blanket statement on.

Draft horses (generalization) are designed to pull with their strong front ends. Their back ends are not designed to push underneath like you want in a dressage horse.

It also depends on what level of dressage you are aiming to do. Any horse can do lower levels.


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## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

I have almost bought a couple of Perch crosses, because their movement was very good for dressage; unfortunately there had been other people there before, me, and they purchased the horses...

I do think it's going to come down with how the horse has been bred though, and not so much about the 'cross'...the ones I was after were both Paint crosses. But their parents both complimented each other, so the resulting babies had nice build, and nice movement.


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

It would depend on the horse. I've seen ShireXTB crosses and PercheronXTrakhener Dressage before.


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## QHDragon (Mar 6, 2009)

There was a HUGE debate on this just a little bit ago. It all depends on the build and breeding of the horse. Some crosses come out really good and some (even the same cross) come out not so good. Either way any horse can do dressage, it also depends on how competitive you really want to be.


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## White Foot (Jun 4, 2009)

My boss has one, she does level three? Whenever I watch her ride it's beautiful, however, I can hear the horse from a mile away. And you can tell she has to work hard.


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

To sort of recap the previous thread on the subject:

A cross resists generalizations because a cross doesn't run true to type - you can have a Perch/TB cross that comes out looking almost entirely like the Perch parent, entirely like the TB parent, or a combination of the worst traits of both. Or you can have a happy result and get a Perch/TB cross that has the warmblood type conformation that's ideal for dressage, but that's statistically less common. (In the previous thread, a poster get very upset at the criticism of draft crosses as sport horses and post photos of some gorgeous 50% draft crosses that looked and performed like warmbloods. Gorgeous, but not typical.)

So you'd be better off analyzing the confo of the individual horse for suitability for dressage rather than trying to make a generalization about the cross. 

Also, you need to consider exactly what you want the horse to do - almost any sound horse can do training and first level, however, if you want to show and be competitive, it's best to have a horse that looks the part and has the movement. If you have aspirations above second level, you must evaluate the horse for its ability to collect.


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

In general, horses with draft blood do not have correct movement for dressage. Draft horses do not have a moment of suspension in their gait, which is crucial to dressage.
As previously mentioned, they are also built to pull, not carry.

I would not recommend a draft cross as a dressage prospect, although they can do lower levels. A very well built one might potentially make it to PSG, but I think you would be extremely hard pressed to find a draft cross that can perform a piaffe/passage correct enough to show at GP.


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## Sea To Sky (Nov 29, 2009)

A friend of mine was schooling and competing one who was doing really well, and had huge stunning movement but he was built like a tank!


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## mct97 (Jan 19, 2010)

If it's crossed with TB then it could probably do it...basically a warmblood. Mostly depends on build and movement though.


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

mct97 said:


> If it's crossed with TB then it could probably do it...basically a warmblood. Mostly depends on build and movement though.


No, no, no. Crossing a draft with a TB does *not* a warmblood make. Not even "basically" a warmblood. It makes a draft cross. A mutt. Generally mutts with good personalities, but mutts all the same. Like my horses. They are NOT Warmbloods!


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## corinowalk (Apr 26, 2010)

When people call to see what we have in the rescue in the way of horses, we always mention rosie...a perch cross. Immediatly the response is "What level dressage does she do? Can she jump? How high?" Since she is the only perch cross that I've ever ridden, I can assure you that she is not the dancy prancy dressage type. Jumping is totally out of the question. Im sure there are some great perch crosses out there but not all are created equal.


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

corinowalk said:


> When people call to see what we have in the rescue in the way of horses, we always mention rosie...a perch cross. Immediatly the response is "What level dressage does she do? Can she jump? How high?" Since she is the only perch cross that I've ever ridden, I can assure you that she is not the dancy prancy dressage type. Jumping is totally out of the question. Im sure there are some great perch crosses out there but not all are created equal.



Haha lok at her NECK! Aww, she's darling....but yeah definitely not dressage/jumper material!


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## speedy da fish (May 7, 2009)

Indyhorse said:


> No, no, no. Crossing a draft with a TB does *not* a warmblood make. Not even "basically" a warmblood. It makes a draft cross. A mutt. Generally mutts with good personalities, but mutts all the same. Like my horses. They are NOT Warmbloods!


The horse (mutt as you out it ) would actually be warmblooded, even if it is not a warmblood we all know and love. crossing drafts with hot bloods was how we got the foundation warmbloods 100s of years ago. i got this info from:_ 'The Horse: A Complete Guide'_ not my info before you start pointing fingers! although it makes perfect sense to me.

I googled 'percheron dressage' and some good info came up and some really nice looking pictures at really high levels but they were all crosses


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

mct97 said:


> If it's crossed with TB then it could probably do it...basically a warmblood. Mostly depends on build and movement though.


Why do so many people think this? Crossing a cold blood with a hot blood does _not_ make a warmblood! All it does is make a CROSS, who may or may not get the traits to make it a dressage prospect!

Speedy, that's like saying breeding an Arabian stallion with an English heavy hunter mare will get a TB. Not so.

Warmbloods are a breed, like TBs, because they bred true to type. Breeding a draft with a TB does NOT make a warmblood, regardless of what you may have read in a book somewhere.


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

That's also like saying breeding a Mastiff and an Irish Greyhound will produce Great Dane puppies. 

Those two breeds may have been the originators of the Dane breed, but Danes are now a breed unto themselves, and an outcross to either of those breeds would mean the puppies were MUTTS.


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## payette (Jun 3, 2010)

My percheron/arab has his "floaty" moving moments- yet somehow gangley/goofy as well. I've seen him jump, at liberty, but he seems more like a foxhunting style horse, rather than a dressage type (high level anyway) but, he is the only percheron cross I'm familiar with. I definitely plan to do some basic dressage with him, just to work on suppleness and responsiveness, but I don't expect we will make the big leagues!


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

Absolutely I would. You see all sorts of cross breeds winning and competing against purebreds all the time! when choosing your dressage horse, conformation and temper for what you specifically want to do, is what matters. Unless you plan on entering breed specific shows(Qhs, Arabs etc), breed shouldn't matter.
I am quite fond of draft crosses. I only wish all breeds were put together or mixed with draft. They are such hardy and well minded, good tempered crosses.
Good luck with your search.


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