Do different horse breeds have different temperments?

[EllyMae]

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Amen to that! My riding buddy had an Impressive QH and he was NUTS!I have a foundation bred QH, (the tried and true stocky cow ponies) and he is like the proverbial Golden Retriever.

 

[ILoveJoe]

All horses are as unique as people.
My Appaloosa is great!

 

[tpflabs]

My first trainer, who was an old cowboy, use to say, "There are two breeds of horses.. Stock horses and those that should be stock horses"
he didn't care for them"Fancy bred things"
I will take a foundation bred QH, Paint, App any day of the week over any other..

 

[horsejody]

()relics :

This has been said before but...buy a Qhorse you won't be wrong. A paint or an app. are fine ...just make sure that they have Qhorse blood. They can still be registered and shown as a color horse even if they have a sire or dam that is a quarter horse providing they have the color pattern...and they will get the Qhorse sense and versatility.

I have known some nice quarterhorses, but the worst horses I have known were quarterhorses too. Buy the individual, not the breed.​

 

[luvarabhorses]

I had a quarterhorse growing up that was very safe but never wanted to do anything. He was never mean but he would park himself and no amount of flailing of my little legs or a crop would make him move. It gave me a bad feeling to be so mean to him.
I had an older QH mare come to my barn for breeding and she was a doll who had been a great kids horse and a wonderful disposition.
I had a boarder with a QH I had to evict because I didn't want to see her killed on my property. My QH loving farrier said "I can't believe this crazy QH in a barn full of Arabs".
What I love about them is they are always game. I tacked up my little mare the other day and she was so excited about going for a trail ride, it was like when I ask my Westie if he wants to go for a car ride. She does this wacky thing of bending a front leg at the knee, turning her head sideways and sticking her tongue out.

I have to take a picture of it. She also did it in a leadline class once during the lineup and was placed last, which was sort of sad for the little kid.
As for them not being good at western games, that's not true. That same little mare, Tara, has won a lot of blue ribbons in barrels, poles and keyhole. They just don't like being hit. If you show them what to do and start out with it slow they are great. They will give it everything they have.
Most of the time the top three horses at the fair and other multi breed events are me on Tara, a kid on Emily and a kid on Pauleene. I have another mare who sucks at it, Rosebud, because she is too cautious. She is my safety queen. I call her Pop Pop sometimes.

 

[AHappychick]

I am partial to Mogans, never like Arabs they were usually jumpy skittish and nasty although not all of them but IMO they are not as nice as other breeds.

 

[horsejody]

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Like many horses, many bad arabs are that way because of the trainers. Different horses need different methods. Around here there are many ruined arabs because many people that think of themselves as trainers specialize in quarterhorses. A lot of quarterhorses learn by repitition. Too much repitition will bore an arab and result in frustration. A frustrated horse with a mediocre trainer causes a frustrated trainer. Then the trainer tries the only thing that he/she knows, more repitition. It's a disaster waiting to happen. A lot people pass themselves off as trainers, and they only know one type of horse or nothing at all. I would trust my daughter's arab over most of the quarterhorses I know, but DH's horse was taught using Parelli methods and had a lot of handling from the day he hit the ground. Riders should also be aware that different breeds move differently. If you are used to a slow paced horse that barely picks up its feet you might be uncomfortable getting on a horse that moves with a bit more animation. The extra animation in the walk doesn't necessarily mean the horse is antsy or ready to spook. It just might be the way he walks. A lot of people get on an arab and get nervous because the headset is higher or the animal walks a bit quicker. Then the rider gets nervous, and the horse picks up on it. Its a vicious circle.

A new rider or horse owner should learn to ride from an experienced person and on as many types of horses as possible. Then when the person is ready to buy, they should call on the help of horse people they trust to find the right horse. The individual horse is more important than the breed or color. There ain't no such thing as a bad color on a good horse.

 

[Appytaz]

I think from reading all of the post you can really get the sense that the horses personality needs to compliment the owners personality. Everyone has their own ideas and feelings about different breeds. A more "hyper" type person will understand a more "hyper" breed (Arabs, TBs Ect.) A more laid back person may prefer the stocks (QH, Appys, Paints)

I grew up riding and showing a Saddlebred. He was a complete nut when we got him, but we just clicked. It is amazing what a 13 yr old teenager can do for a high strung spoiled Saddlebred

I was a complete nut with that horse and there was nothing we didn't do or try! he went thru drive thru windows at McDonald's, rode in parades, took us to the lake for an afternoon of swimming, and then took me to Regions with 4H and competed and won with the "Big Guys" at bred shows. That has by far been my favorite horse.

I am now 36 and I have a 7 yr old Appy. He is a completely different personality, but so am I! I have raised him from 6 months and he is just a big lover boy. Laid back with an "OK we can do that" type personality. He has been showing since he was a yearling and won his 1st showmanship class as a 2 yr old. The judge compliments him on his behavior and said she never would have known he was so young if she had not just judged him in the 2 yr old class. The one problem I do have with him is he is too smart for his own good. He learns things quickly and just as quickly becomes bored with it and starts to look for trouble.

A friend has an Appy that is the same age as Taz (they were weaned together) and he is 1/2 TB. That horse is a true nut case! He is 17hands with a full blanket and a ton of chrome. However, I will take my 15'2 snowflaked boy any day. She was not able to show this horse until he was almost 5! She took him to shows and he was doing ariels above the ground. Her husband had to hold him down, while Taz is watching and thinking - "someone's gonna get a whippin'

If you like the Colors - then by all means - GO FOR IT! And as you said - you have plenty of time to decide. Maybe go to a few different bred shows or barns and take some lessons on the different breds. Decide if you want to ride english, western, trail ride, maybe get into showing. and as you can see - ask here - there are a ton of different opinions!!

 

[luvarabhorses]

Horsejody is really wise.
I feel the need to promote Arabs because they have made such a wondrous difference in my life. I want to share. Sorry if it makes some people nauseous. I feel sorry for people who have had bad experiences or they have made bad impressions on them. It just has been really cool for a horse to turn to you and practically ask you, "what do you think? can we do this?" In my stallion's case he has so much trust in me I have to be more alert for hazards. We came upon a angry open mouthed cottonmouth this summer and he sort of sat there waiting for direction, "do we keep going or turn around? "- uuuhhh.. we turn around (nervous me). My Rosebud was entered in trail class with a 6 year old girl a few years ago. You had to pick up a clorox bottle on a rope and carry it to a barrel where you were supposed to leave it. She drug the bottle and rope behind Rosebud through cavelletis, over a tarp, a small jump, it was hysterical. I don't think Rosebud noticed.
It's great when you have wonderful experiences with horses of any breed.

I actually feel safer on my Arabs than anything else because in order to train them you have to make friends and I call it "get their brain", then the sky is the limit as to what you can do with them. Some horses are just really easy to train and practically anyone can do it. You can really screw up an Arabian and wind up with a mess. They aren't above forming opinions of people who are inconsiderate etc.. I had one girl on Tara for a 21rst birthday party. She was a little intoxicated and was banging her sides for no reason. I told her not to do it. Tara stopped and looked around at her giving her another chance to straighten up. Finally Tara stopped, and gave a warning hump. We switched mares (she got Rosebud) and finished the ride without incident. Tara is on a mission on a ride and reminds me of a little computer. You don't turn it on and then smash your fist on the keyboard.

 

[rjv_piper]

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Well said!

Arabs are great, if you are looking for that type of horse. My friend has an arab that is great with kids and very nice. He also has the run of the house. I don't like being around him because he is the pickiest thing that I've ever seen. If the rider does one thing wrong, he's mad. I have one Arab out there right now, and he's coming along great. I've only fallen from him once so far and that was a crazy accident. He loves to be loved, but I'm not his type. Sadly, he will be sold to a good home in a couple of years when he is more broke. Arabs are nice, but not my kind of horse.