Re: Re: dressage riders/horses

["Spencer" <spencer@inu.net>]

Some are breeding the american equivalent of the 'sporthorse'.. so to speak
by breeding the stockier breeds to arabian stallions to get 'more action'..
an example is percheron/arab.  My instructor said not all the draft types
move well enough to bother breeding to arab for dressage horse.  Here is QTR
horse country, lots of qtr horses are doing nicely in dressage competition..
actually, as they already have a lower head carriage, that is one less
problem..  as the Arab have a naturally high head carriage and that is one
of the things that has to be worked on.  It all takes time. According to
article in EQUUS, taller horses have more problems with lameness.  If a
horse is stressed to young, it will probably breakdown earlier in life than
one not stressed early, ie jumping 3yo, cutting, barrels, that puts lots of
stress on the legs that the horse would not normally put on itself.  Showing
dressage is indeed a great way to take your young horse out to see the world
and gain valuable training.
Mary Ann