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I've been competing a 16.1 hand app (TB on father's side - Army remount
ancestry; racing QH mother's side) from the time he was 5 years old and
what a great horse...not perfect, but great. Yes, I do have to use tons
of water for cooling all that body mass, but have never had any
metabolic problems. Suspensory injuries a couple of times, but have
learned to stay away from muddy or sandy rides - we do rocks quite
nicely. He's now 21 and has nearly 3000 competitive/endurance miles
(including 3 Old Dominion 100's), and is still doing 50's. I think when
you find a good horse you get along well with, you can deal with his
size as long as he isn't built too heavily - I don't think stature is
nearly as important as shape. And I do lower level dressage with him
too. So definitely do not give up the idea of trying your young TB horse
in endurance, especially if you like the horse well enough. Good luck. (I
know you're going to hear lots of negative posts about big horses, just
remember tall isn't the same as big.)
Patty in PA
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