crossbreeding belgians x shetlands?

[tussock]

I've seen a few using my studs for their shetland mares... And my own first foal was of this crossbreed... But I didn't have a plan back then. So I'm courious about these crossbreedings today. I'm pretty sure they don't make up a new breed or stock for a new breed. But I might be wrong? Do anyone have an insight in this crossbreed?

[Argent]

You can answer this yourself using the breed wiki. Just visit either the belgian or the shetland page and see if any of the breeds they produce use a belgian x shetland cross.

[Tom]

I was breeding Belgian Ponies. They aren't a real breed.

[Fox13]

I would assume most are going for a shorter height for a belgian (or taller for the shetland) or even perhaps color. It could also be to balance out a breeding report or maybe develop a better body build to participate in a different competition.

Then there are others who breed together just to see the result. Since shetlands are the shortest, most easily accessible breed and belgians are the tallest, most easily accessible breed, it would figure that these two would be used.

Otherwise, I see no breed wiki indicating a useful breed creation cross using these two breeds.

[Misfire]

Nah, they don't make a breed. Apart from the reasons above, I've bred a couple of these crosses to get the right body type and size. For example, Welsh Cobs (and to a certain extent Welsh Ponies) need to have a decent pony type and body size, but the breeds to create them don't. The Welsh Cob is (Welsh Mountain Pony x Hackney) x (Norfolk Trotter x Spanish Barb), so I would breed a Belgian x Shetland to one of those required breeds to get a half breed (say half Norfolk Trotter, or have Spanish Barb), then use the half breeds to make the cross. Don't know if that makes any sense, but it worked for me! Got a couple of cobs out of it.

[MoonRiver130]

I used to breed them and still do once in a while.

I do it to see if I can make a good drafty pony type. I think with some fiddling it's possible, but the result would probably be grade by the end of the refining process. Some of the official breeds don't look quite like what I picture, and these crosses are a good way to infuse draft and size. If you start with two nice horses you can get a pretty good cross, even though the foals tend to look funky. They're good for adding feathering to any project too.