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by Michelle Drum February 02, 2022 6 min read
A pivotal question for all equestrians at the beginning of their competitive journey is what kind of horse to ride. Though precise estimates vary, there are more than 200 different horse breeds in existence worldwide. That’s a lot of different types of horses to choose from! So, what are the best horse breeds for competitive equestrian riders in each English riding discipline? Keep reading to find out.
When it comes to choosing a horse for competitive riding, there are four primary things to consider: temperament, experience level, breed, and age and conformation. All five of these characteristics can impact performance and make the horse easier or more challenging to work with.
Beginner riders are encouraged to seek out an older horse with a calm temperament, as these tend to be either easier to train or well-trained already. More experienced riders, on the other hand, may prefer a younger horse that they can train themselves, and will likely want to choose the breed that’s best suited for their style of English riding.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the top horse breeds most suitable for the different styles of English riding based on the rider’s experience level.
When choosing your horse, here are some of the important characteristics to look for based on your English riding discipline.
Hunters require accuracy, elegance, and a consistent pace, while jumpers require speed, accuracy and cleverness. Hunters are judged on movement, way of going and form over the fences. While jumpers are judged by how quickly they can complete a series of jumps without knocking down any of the rails. Both disciplines demand accuracy and athleticism from the horse and rider, so athleticism is a top quality to look for in a jumper.
Dressage is a very advanced form of flat work in horse riding, as the horse and rider move up the levels, the horse is required to respond to very slight movements to perform movements for the rider. It almost looks like a dance, and the direction from the rider is so slight that it’s almost undetectable. Certain breeds may respond more quickly and easily to the cues provided by the rider and thus may be better suited to dressage than others.
Eventing combines cross country jumping, show jumping, and dressage. It requires speed, stamina, courage, and physical prowess. Tall, lean, and athletic horses tend to do best in higher levels of eventing.
There are truly so many incredible horse breeds, however, when it comes to English riding some are going to be better than others. We’ll start by listing out all of the breeds then we’ll sort them by English riding discipline and rider skill level.
Beginner equestrians benefit from a calm horse that is experienced or takes well to training. The horse’s breed may be a little less important than temperament for beginner equestrians, but breed is still something to consider as you’re developing a bond with your horse that will benefit you in the future. Here are some top horse breeds to consider for beginner equestrians by English riding discipline.
As equestrians advance in their discipline, the horse’s breed becomes a bit more important. You’ll want to select a horse whose breed is well suited for your chosen discipline. Here are some of the top breeds that have proven successful for each of these types of English riding.
With so many breeds to choose from, and temperament, experience, and age influencing each individual horse, there is no right or wrong choice. Many of the breeds listed above also do well across multiple disciplines. There are plenty of options for competitive riders, but we hope this guide will help you narrow down your options to find the best fit for you.
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