The Best Horse Breed

What is the best breed of horse? Many ask this question, typically those who are not horse people or those who are not very familiar with horses in general. On the other hand, there are horse people who have taken a particular liking to a certain breed and are so passionate about said breed that they swear there is none better. Is this a fair question to ask however? To me it's like  asking who is the best race of people. There are different talents, abilities, strengths and weaknesses, ugliness and beauty among every race of people in the planet. To say that Latinos are the best dancers, or Asians are the smartest,   or even saying things like Germans are the most racists, would be stereotyping a race for the actions or accomplishments of others within that race. I know many German folks that are extremely cool with people of all nationalities and I've never once heard of or seen these folks make a racist regard. I have met some really dumb Asians, and I am a Latino who cannot dance if my life depended on it. I have worked with literally hundreds of horses during my horse career and I encountered great horses and the complete opposite in every breed I handled. Breed associations and breeders will have a list of wonderful things to say about their breed and they are all true, but not with every single horse of the breed. I say this because as a judge, trainer, breeder, and stud farm manager I learned that the mechanics of every horse are the same and a good horse regardless of the breed will have better use of said mechanics. Remember the saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and to each of us beauty comes in different coat colors, head shape, movement correctness and conformation. To me personally, a good horse has not too much to do with the breed. To me a proper conformation from a riders point of view, followed by correct movement, and finally the elegance and size that will compliment the latter. To me a good horse can be grade, Arab, AQHA, Andalusian, Thoroughbred or a mix of any breed papered or not, but has the morphology, correctness of movement, and sound mind. People spend tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars, heck some spend millions for the perfect horse, yet they ignore what the perfect horse is. In the art of centaurism which is the highest level of riding in Classical Spanish Equitation we learn to identify qualities that a horse may possess just by watching him play in the paddock. We then take said horse and slowly train him in our classical disciplines which is very similar  to classical dressage but with some differences. But not to get off subject, every horse has the ability to perform the three basic gaits, namely the walk the trot, and the canter. All horses can be collected and riding in most disciplines since most disciplines today come from the same roots of classical riding of the past. The dished head of the Arab horse is gorgeous and desirable to some while the roman nose of a Lusitano horse is more beautiful to others. The best horse breed in my opinion therefore is that which is developed to it's fullest potential. This can be achieved only if the trainer is highly skilled and knowledgeable, but also if the horse has the correct conformation. Please note that some horses are difficult to train because they are very smart, while others are smart and willing and thus learn really quick. As a kid I watched the Black Stallion, and fell in love with Arab horses, I always wanted one since. Then I noticed the musculature beauty of my uncles priced Quarter Horse, and fell in love with those, and wanted one. Later, I rode my other uncles priced, parade horse, a gray Azteca stallion they called buckskin, (might of been buckskin as a colt I never asked) and wanted one of those. Then my brother and I saw two Spanish horses (PRE)with the longest manes and tales, a bay stallion and a white stallion, and thought those were the most beautiful yet. Of course wanted one of those. I have ridden many horses of different breeds, I've owned, Arabs, Aztecas, PRE, Pintabian, AQHA, Hispano-arabe. I have also trained as mentioned before hundreds of horses that included many different breeds and have found that I would never make the mistake of calling a certain breed, the best horse breed, since I have found excellent horses in all the breeds I have trained. With this said, keep in mind that some horses are bred for specific disciplines so trying to train a Clydesdale to race with a thoroughbred or a to try and have an Arab pull the Budweiser wagon would just not be fair. Not that one or the other could not perform, but they are just not built that way. Which ever horse you have, which ever reason you fell in love with that specific breed is what makes that breed the best. Happy riding to all, until next time. @atdtony