Choosing a capable, suitable or if very lucky the perfect dressage horse is the holy grail of our sport. Being able to make the right choice depends on many things - such as what is on offer at the time, how far the buyer's budget reach etc. The choice is mind boggling, however choosing the right horse for the right rider seems to be incredibly difficult - especially for a rider on a limited budget.
When deciding on the right breed for dressage the German and Dutch warmbloods instantly spring to mind. We all know that Holsteiners, Oldenburghts, KWPNs Hanoverians etc are dominating the international dressage scene. It is common knowledge that most horses with top dressage lines are more than capable to perform all the movements required in at top level. However the real talented warmbloods come at a price -rather hefty one.
So what's left for an aspiring dressage rider who is not flushed with money? The less money the rider has, the more limited the choices are.
Many sport type warmbloods available for riders with smaller budgets, and some of them might even be nice, correct movers, but one way or another the rider has to co promise. If the horse is athletic, and moves nicely for dressage, than more than likely it will be very green or even unbroken, or it will have a difficult attitude. Bringing a young and green horse on is a huge amount of work, and keeping him sound is never guaranteed.
If the rider would prefer a school master, than more than likely older ones, and ones with health issues will be within reach.
There are plenty of thoroughbreds available for a low price. However thoroughbreds - like with warmbloods - can be headstrong, and sharp, and they can pick up injuries quite easily at times.
Another option is to obtain native type breeds - such as cobs, cob crosses Freisians, Haflingers, Shire or Clydesdale crosses etc. These type of horses are often cheaper than warmbloods, hardier, therefore to keep, and often have relatively easy temperaments. However they are a lot less flashy, and might not be albe to compete with the athleticism of the warmbloods. They are often less extravagant in their movements, and don't catch the judges eyes.
Spanish horses are other option. They are more expensive to obtain than the 'native' type horses, and less flashy in their movements than warmbloods, however they have been bread for hundreds of years for battle, and consequently for high school dressage. They often have super, trainable temperaments, and although less flashy, they are usually capable of high school movements.
This was my dilemma for most of my dressage career. I had two stunning big warmbloods in the past. After working hard on the basics for over a year, one of them sustained a catastrophic kick on his hock, and was retired as a light hack at the tender age of 5. The other one was a rather stunning 14 year old Oldenburgh by Donnerhall (yest that Donnerhall!!). He was very cheap, as he was a difficult ride, and a head shaker - therefore he came cheap. As a wanna be dressage rider on a small budget, I just had to give it a try. He came with nasty scars inside of his mouth, and only wanted to go with his mouth glued to his chest - he no doubt got rollkured a lot in the past. If I tried to ask him to come up, he'd shake his head in a panic. He was a lovely horse, but terribly scared, and very difficult. My budget only stretched to fortnightly lessons, and without more help I just couldn't do justice to him.
After riding all type of horses in the last few years I decided to try an Iberian breed. After some searching found Faustino, and Andalusian Lusitano cross. He is three years old, and totally unbroken, and very lightly handled. He was very cheap due to his tender age, greeness, and a sarcoid that was removed last summer. As you can see im making compromises, like we all have to on a budget. He is small, and less flashy than a big warmblood; and of course the threat of the Sarcoid coming back is always there. However he has a charming personality, and he seemd to be very well balanced for his age, with a pair lof active hindlegs. He will be my partner on my quest for dressage glory on a shoestring.
I will let you only our progress, to give you budget dressage riders ideas, tips and some food for thought. Hopefully my journey will be of some help for some riders out there.
From Faustino and me:
Thank you for reading.
