Should drafts be ridden?

[CarrieB]

Draft horses were meant to be harnessed and used to pull carts and plows, but I keep seeing more and more people training them to be saddled. Do you guys think they should be riddnen?

My vote- yes, they look so pretty under saddle :)

[Corinna]

I can't wait to get my shire some day. Iwill ride bare back and under cart

[lbaker]

The last time I went riding (last June, sooo long ago) I rode Bud, a huge, gentle giant of a Clydesdale. He was so magnificant I went back the next day and went out again!

[HollandLoppy89]

I kind of ride a big draft horse, but he's a haflinger/qh mix. He's so strong! He's awesome to ride, and loves it :)

[CathyBogart]

My favorite horse that I ever rode was named Green, and he was a HUGE shire cross.

[dab_20]

Yep. My friend got a new Clydsdale (sp?) cross. She rides him and he's soooo beautiful!!

[lute]

i've not ridden a draft before but i hear they are pretty smooth under the saddle.

[Sweet Sixy]

I've only ever ridden a draft cross. He was a dutch warmblood/belgian mix and he was great! It is interesting feeling as though your legs don't even come half way around the horse though, haha.

[king2005]

Saddling a draft is fine. I knew one back at the barn & his owner was SCARED to death of a fast horse or a jumping horse. She got him as hes much slower & has NO will to run nor jump.

I thinking making a huge horse jump is wrong.

[Miss Z]

Hmmm, yes and no. They're fine for doing light work, and they make a very gentle and safe mount. However, these horses were not designed to be ridden. They were designed to have pulling power, ie: a strong back, deep chest and relatively short legs in comparison to their body. Therefore, shoulder and hip movement is a little restricted, so long periods of cantering or galloping and too much jumping can really damage them. If you can find an extra-wide saddle to fit one, and you don't intend to do much more than hacking, then drafts would be OK. But there are heavy-type horses, such as cobs, which possess the gentle nature of drafts but have the ability to gallop and jump high.