Do different horse breeds have different temperments?

[luvarabhorses]

I did camps with kids for about 5 years. I did a lot of "be a rider, not a complainer" and got them to do a lot of handling for me with young horses. We had a ton of fun but it was a lot of work. I turned them loose in the woods with walkie talkies and they had to follow trails as part of a murder mystery. When they came upon the body, they had to do some CSI work. I remember one murder the clue was "Timothy" which was the hay the pillow-corpse was clutching in his gloved sock tube sock hand. None of them could figure it out even though we had gone over what plants made up hay.
The thing that surprised me the most was the inefficiency in the barn chores. They would park a wheelbarrow at the end of the barn, get a pitchfork full of manure and walk all the way down the isleway with it. I tried to work on their brains a lot in thinking out how they did things. It was scarey.
One funny thing was I allowed one kid to get dropped off at 7:15 am because of the mother's work schedule. The next day- the remaining 6 campers showed up at 7:15. These wound up being very long days.

 

[La Unica Farms]

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As someone who has grown up around Arabians almost all of my life, this is my input as far as Arabs are concerned.

With a QH ( just an example ) you ask it to do something and for the most part, they will do it. If you ask an Arabian to do something, first you need to make an appointment with said Arabian, sit down and discuss the terms of your arrangment, wait for the Arab to weight the pros and cons of your request, then sit back and enjoy because you are in for one heck of a ride!

HorseFeathers- I love what you did with my picture of Tigger but it is taking me some time to get use to. I always use that picture of Tigger as my avatar ( only haven't here because BYC says that it is too big and I haven't been able to shrink it down small enough ) so everytime I see your posts, I think it is one of my posts.

 

[luvarabhorses]

I guess that is true but I don't find the discussion period to be that long. I've had ones that went on the trailer for the first time after a short discussion and from that point on saw the trailer, and must have said to themselves," that's a trailer, you ride in it", and just jump on.
My original Arab, Krissy, would watch us loading saddles and gear into the trailer, and chase all the other horses away from the area, stand there innocently with a "pick me, pick me" expression.
There are definitely rotten ones out there. The Arabian industry focuses on breeding stallions that have never been under saddle to mares that have never been under saddle. I just never see the meanness in any of the Arabs that you will find in other horses.
One more funny story:
The first time I tried starting a young horse I got a book and stood out in the run in (had no barn at the time) with my young subject, Lara, and a much younger yearling, Rosebud. As I gathered what I needed, cooed and paid attention to Lara, Rosebud ran off with first the bridle and then a girth. Tired of it, I locked her in a stall in the run in, was walking by when she reached through the window and pulled the hood of my jacket until I was up against the stall door. It was very funny and it wasn't mean, she knew exactly what she was doing.

 

[La Unica Farms]

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I realize my statement to describe Arabs is an overexaggeration but my purpose is to try and explain the difference, I have heard some people say that " you tell a QH to do something, but you ask an Arabian to do it "
With Arabians is really is a partnership. They are your horse just as much as you are their person.
I have also found Arabians to be scary smart and even mischivious. One of the farms I worked at had a mare who I loved and adored with all of my heart. She made up her own game of "tag" with me. She would stalk me as I walked across the pasture, I would bend down and "hide" in the grass ( as much as you can hide in foot tall grass LOL ) and when she would get right up on me I would jump up and make a loud noise at which point she would turn and go screaming across the pasture, kicking up her heels. Just to come back and do it all over again ( maybe that is why it took me so long to get my work done.. hum
I own both of her foals, sisters, and the one named Sheena is just like her. Sheena loves to grab the hose out of the water bucket and spray me or whatever unsuspecting horse happens to be standing there.
Its fun in the summer but can be a little frustrating in the dead of winter. She seems to smile more on those 20 degree days though.
Your story reminded me of something my first Arabian did to me.
I was in my early teens and I was leading him around the front yard, letting him eat the fresh grass and just enjoying his company. He started to nibble on my shirt at which point I pulled my shirt out of his mouth and told him "NO". He stood there for a minute and I swear I could tell he was really thinking about something. Unfortunately for me, he was up to no good. All of the sudden he grabbed the bottom of my shirt and lifted his head all the way up and beyond my reach. So there I am standing in the front yard ( near enough to the road ) with my shirt up over my head and no way to reach his mouth to get it back. Of course, several cars went by as I struggled desperately to get my shirt back. As soon as the last car went by he simply released my shirt. As I pulled my shirt back down and looked up at his face, there was no doubt he had a smile from ear to ear.

 

[luvarabhorses]

Good story! I just look for any excuse to blab about them. That's part of why I enjoyed the trail ridind business I think- just getting to talk about them.

 

[abluechipstock]

a smooth natural gaiting tennessee walking horse all the way, i'm not biased am i!

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

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[()relics]

IMO...again...There is nothing wrong with any specific breed of horse...I have worked with and own several of the above listed. A QH once he/she is trained will, for the most part, remain obedient even if only ridden occasionally....an Arab will retain his/her knowledge but has to be ridden regularly so they are reminded that they must listen...Apps and color horses have their lines tied to Qh's so they are in general similar to Qh's...Again all horses are different. Don't buy a breed Buy a specific horse.

 

[luvarabhorses]

As I get older and creakier I envy that smooth gate you people enjoy. We all have to agree to disagree that their horse is the best!

I know that with Arabs the code is that the only people who are allowed to say bad things about them are the people who own them and then only amongst themselves.
I remember one article I read in an Endurance Riding magazine on how to spot an unregistered Arabian
It went:
If you find a horse that goes to drink out of a bucket, the same bucket it has been drinking out of for 6 months, but has a leaf floating on the top and the horse spooks at it, it is an Arabian. Even I laughed at that.
I've had hard core Arabian friends who had to give them up due to knee replacements etc.. and tell people they are "sentenced to a walker" by their Doctor. They adapt.

 

[Cara]

Just out of interest, has anyone here owned a Missouri Fox Trotter? They look quite interesting, being a cow horse but not a dreaded QH

The best horse I ever rode was a Connemara, but they're a lot more common and affordable across the pond!