[Liberty's Gal]

Well now that my mare is sold (buyer is coming tomorrow) I am horse shopping. Yeah!

I really have my heart set on buying an Arab or Arab cross. Unfortunately my trainer is not very found of Arabs and seems to be trying to push me in another direction. She is a dressage trainer and owns/shows warmbloods. She has suggested a warmblood but honestly I don't have the $$$ and not sure it would be a good fit. She has suggested going horseless for awhile inorder to save more. Which isn't a horrible decision but there are a few nice arabs out there right now.

Honestly I am not sure I am a 100% comitted to dressage. I like dressage. I am learning a ton but I am not sure that is where I want to spend all my time. I went to some shows and they are dominated by very $$$$ warmbloods (and rightly so) and I am not sure if that is what I want to devote all my time to.

I guess I would also like the option of switching around a little and maybe showing in some hunt classes or even a costume class which is why an Arab would be a good fit. There are lots of arab shows in my area both rated and unrated and I think between them and dressage I could stay busy.

Problem is I really do not trust myself anymore. I made a big mistake when I bought my mare and bought myself a horse that was way too much horse for me and not well enough trained. I am very afraid of doing the same thing again. I really like and trust my trainer I just wish she was more supportive of me getting an Arab. I would hate to go against her recommendations and end up with another horse I can't ride.

Any advice?

[Dawn]

Be up front with her, tell her what you just told us. If she chooses not to cooperate, find someone else.

[Jenje!]

Don't let her bully you into "her" breed... not everyone is going to really "fit" a Warmblood any more than everyone is going to "fit" an Arab.

You can do PLENTY of dressage with Arabians... get a registered Arab or half-Arab and do breed shows. Right now my trainer (who trains and owns other breeds but prefers Arabians) is off at Sport Horse Nationals with the show string. All dressage, all the time.

So you could do that, and if you decided it wasn't for you, there are sooo many other things you can do with them...

My filly, for instance... I BRED her for dressage... but I know that at any given time, I could change my mind and go off and do some reining on her, cutting, endurance... just about anything!

[Truce]

Arabs are versatile; you can do pretty much whatever you want with them. If your heart is set on an Arab, then please go for it. You’re the one that pays for the horse and you’re going to own him/her and not your trainer!

I was riding WB’s for the first 12 years of my riding career and at that point, every horse besides a WB was “less worth” (it was the society that brainwashed me).

After I left the jumping circuit I rode a Friesian for a while (fun!) and now I have all possible breeds you can think of. Yes, WB’s are great, but so are other breeds!
Follow your heart!!

[JBandRio]

Your trainer is breed-blind, and likely a WB-snob on top, simply put.

You need to have a heart-to-heart with her about what *you* want from your riding. If you like dressage but also want the ability to pursue other disciplines, and you really want an Arab/cross, then you need to be frank with your trainer about that. You need to be looking for a sporthorse type horse, whether it's an Arab or not, otherwise you will find dressage fairly difficult given the conformational limitations that some breeds have. That is not to say that you can't find a NSH who excels in dressage, but I wouldn't go looking SPECIFICALLY at a NSH for dressage - does that make sense? You can certainly look for an Arab specifically, but you will have to focus your eye on type more than just the breed.

[cowgurly02]

Agreed with all that's been said. I would definatly tell your trainer exactly what you told us, and if she is still unsupportive and still pushes WB's on you...I'd say find a new trainer.

You have to do what makes YOU happy

[Sandra-A1]

Sadly, if your trainer is pushing you toward on particular breed then I doubt that she will change her mind and be happy with your purchasing an Arabian. There are some dressage trainers who do suffer from breed prejudice and unless you are prepared to constantly hear about the faults and problems your new Arabian (if you get one) has simply because it IS an Arabian and how a warmblood would have been more suitable and can do dressage better....then you probably should look into locating a new trainer/instructor.
Why not visit a few other trainers...including several who specialize in Arabians?
It can't hurt to check around and see what other trainers are like.
If your questioning yourself and having doubts about purchasing a breed of horse that YOU LIKE and that YOU WILL ENJOY...then YOU need to do some serious thinking about if this trainer is the right one for YOU!

You might be surprised and find one that you will like and enjoy working with even more. When you do I bet your riding skills advance and you really start to improving even more because you will be doing what YOU enjoy with a the horse YOU want and YOU are truly the confident & HAPPY rider that you knew you could (and wanted to) be

[bay_blnd jmpr07]

Compromise! LOL Arabian/Warmblood! I gots one! Most athletic little thing ever. So smart too.

[Lindsayanne]

ARGH. This drives me crazy.

You need to sit your trainer down and remind her that you want to buy a horse that makes YOU happy, and that her job is to help you achieve your goals. Some trainers just can't adapt to a breed different than their own and that's a sad fact, but better that you learn that now rather than later.

[Liberty's Gal]

Originally Posted by Sandra-A1

You might be surprised and find one that you will like and enjoy working with even more. When you do I bet your riding skills advance and you really start to improving even more because you will be doing what YOU enjoy with a the horse YOU want and YOU are truly the confident & HAPPY rider that you knew you could (and wanted to) be

The word confident is truly the key to it all. I want to build my confidence again and become a confident rider that has fun when riding and is not nervous all the time while still being able to show and have fun. That is what I really want and I really want to achieve that with an Arab.