What Is a Grade Horse?
The Advantages of a Purebred Horse
As I mentioned above، one main advantage is being able to participate in breed organizations' competitions. There are shows specific to quarter horses، off-track thoroughbreds، Arabians، etc.
If you want to participate in a discipline that a certain breed excels in، getting one of those
purebreds allows you the opportunity to compete in those breed-specific shows. Whereas، if you chose a horse of unknown lineage، you wouldn't be able to do those show circuits. There are tons of shows and disciplines open for any breed. So، if you find your dream horse and he doesn't have registration papers، you should not let that deter you if he really fits your needs.
Another advantage of a purebred horse is that if you get a mare، she can have value as a broodmare. This benefits the owner of a purebred horse that gets injured and is no longer sound to ride. If she is a quality registered horse، she still has some value as a broodmare. Whereas a grade horse generally would not be used for breeding purposes.
Another fun advantage of having a purebred horse with registration papers is being able to research their lineage. It is fun to see pictures of your horse's parents and read about their competitive accomplishments! That is one thing that you definitely will not be able to do with a grade horse since you most likely will not know who their parents are. It is a fun thing، but not enough of a factor that should sway your decision when buying a horse.
How Old Is He?
The main disadvantage that many see with a grade horse is that without registration papers، it is hard to verify a horse's exact age. Obviously، you can get a generalized idea of an age range by looking at their teeth، but you may not be able to tell exactly، especially with horses that are older.
Many times with grade horses that are older and have had many owners، you may not get an accurate age on them (simply because of the fact that things get mixed up and time flies by). Not that someone would intentionally mislead you about a horse's age. Sometimes، with no paper documentation، it is just easy to get mixed up over time.
