Good and bad crossbreds

People tend to generalize and think I hate all crossbreds, so in contrast to the Pintabians I was making fun of a few days ago, let me give you an example of a good part Arab tobiano stallion. This one was sent to me and I have to agree - if you are going to breed spotted part-Arabians, this is the kind you want to breed.

He is correct, pretty and most of all USEFUL. What I like about this horse is that even though they have chosen endurance as his discipline, one look at the photos on his web site shows you that he could have been equally successful as an English Pleasure horse. (Although staying sound for 1000 endurance miles says a LOT to me about something's worthiness to breed on, not to mention that he has to ride in a herd, with mares in heat, and behave himself in order to compete - and he does.)



The great irony here is that according to some ads I found online, he sold for the price of one breeding to that blech Pintabian from my original blog. Which would you rather have?



I'm not totally anti-crossbreds - especially when they can be part of an established and respected registry that has horseshows, like half Arabians. I just think you have to know your stuff regarding genetics, conformation, etc. so that you don't wind up with some kind of mix and match nightmare with the worst traits of both breeds. It's easier to screw up breeding a crossbred, in my opinion, and that is evidenced by the stunning numbers of just godawful hideous draft crosses out there thanks to that weird "Oh, everybody is going to want a draft cross, you'll get rich on them" trendy nonsense that went around a while back (and appears to still be going around with the slower folks...) My god, what auction these days doesn't have a zillion of the things going to kill? Sad, sad, sad!



If you are a "beginner" breeder, it really is best to stick with one of the "main" breeds and get good advice from an experienced breeder. By experienced, I do not mean "has been doing it for 50 years." I mean "their homebreds win at the shows/other type of competitions RIGHT NOW." That's the person you learn from if you want to do it right. And please don't even think about if if you don't have disposable income and the ability to train or wherewithal to hire a trainer. If you just want a baby to play with, there are a ton of them already out there.