I am thinking of expanding my business to include dressage training and instruction. (How hard can it be?) I have a couple of Percherons and a single Perch cross that don't really seem suitable for the hunter ring. Generally speaking, how do these horses fair in dressage? Does anybody have any experience with it?

Knowing you this is probably some mediocre joke topic, but the two draft horses that I used to ride love-love-loooved to fall on the forehand and pull you down with 'em. I think it's just the way they've been bred--to pull carts with their front end mostly.

Meh, my former George horse was a draft cross - although not a percheron but a belgian crossed with a TB - and, while he was no dressage horse, he never really laid on my hands. (Cox you rode him before, right?) If some shrimpy little kid was riding him, yeah, he'd putter around on the forehand but if you put some leg on him, he'd carry himself like a normal horse.

To speak to Freddie: I think that some horses will always be naturally better at certain things. If this wasn't true, why would we pay any attention at all to breeds and breeding? Like, nobody is going to try to participate in a sprint race on a TWH against a QH. But, horses can be, imo, pretty flexible fellers. If you are just looking to to ride for fun or participate at lower levels of the sport, as long as the horse has a decent mind, a willing attitide, is sound, and is not built like God just threw a bunch of random horse parts in a blender, why can't you train a non-traditional breed to do dressage or jump over little things or gallop around barrels or what not? If you already have it in the barn, I repeat, why not?

I have to be honest, some of the drafts which have been shown on other BB's have poor hocks and just do not engage and never will.

As for the DraftX's some look like they have been crossed with a barn door.

If y'all look at the top 100, it's warmplods all the way, with the occasional TB and ISH thrown in.

Have you got enough pelhams to go with them thar drafts Freddie?

Paddy

Does Freddie mean like this one ( and it jumps too).

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjC4kpf0jPY

Alexa, I never actually got to ride George! They were going to throw me up on him and smack his butt so he would pack me around at my first (and actually, last) big A show but I ended up riding another horse.

Piv- Can you imagine getting taken off with on that horse? lmao

That horse is doing better dressage that a lot I have seen that should be doing better. It is not my cup of tea as I have always migrated to the finer look with a dash of "pretty" in them.

I am riding a Belgian warmblood that looks a lot like that one in the video. I would be extremely surprised if he took off with me- even in an open field. It would be too much work! lol