Hello - So this may be a weird question but its been on my mind lately after being in the warm up area at a dressage show. I ask because I recently saw a 5 yr old WB in the warm up ring who had incredibly natural, springy, suspension at the trot and canter with very little effort so it got me thinking. I think that: if you were able to pose the springy moving WB in the exact same pose as the well-built Connemara or TB or whichever other, and photograph both, and then, you were able to lay the outline or tracing of the horse from each photograph one over the other, the differences would be more readily apparent.
Looking at a lot of pics of breeds at rest and in motions, and a lot of slow mo video, will help train the eye, too. There are several conformational factors at work including but not limited to length of leg, length of back, degree of uphill conformation, ability to tuck the croup, neck length and shoulder angle.
IMO a large part of the equation is that the well-built WB is able to bounce and a smaller but helpful part is that he realizes he can, and wants to. The WB hail from coaching horsesβ¦think of that movement in front of a 4-in-hand and you will have your answer.
The postillions invented posting for a reasonβ¦to get off the backs of those horses with big trots. I am genuinely confused, not trying to pick a fight, but what Pluvinel has said about warmbloods has always been my own understanding of their development. My understanding is that the German WB is developed from the cavalry, multi-purpose, cannon pulling horse by introducing lighter, hot blooded horses.
Back then there was not horse transportation as we know it so each region had its stallion station where local farmers took their mares. In typical German fashion records were kept. The names of the regions represent modern horses, i. Hannover, Westphalia, etc. Back in the day, many were camped out behind from their pulling requirements, many were thick, coarse, heavier horses with little spark and a duller ride. Then, through the selective breeding process, more attention was made to produce the lighter, better moving, athletic horses and these horses were bred to others similar and they improved by breeding the best to the best over years.
