Hancock/Driftwood

[LCK]

Tell me about your experience with these lines.

[pegleg]

they're usually a nice bigger horse with speed. some are real tough and some not so much. as with everything different people are using the "same" lines to go somewhere different. but overall not a bad place to start looking.

[tedsmith]

there used to be a lot of hancock blood around here tough horses usually a lot of buck with them get one broke you could use it everyday I believe the Damrons are the only ones breeding them around here these days

[pegleg]

you ever wonder why that seemed a sure combination? the hancock horses being brought to the rodeos today don't come with the tales of their training. or the double tuff stamp either. I can't decide what has had the most effect the training/handling or breeding. I lean to breeding as a good deal of these horses have come through the same hands. maybe the color is getting the better of the line. there are a good number of hancock bred horses standing in texas.
.

[nmplott]

Hagerman on here has a hancock stud. I am going to breed one of my mares to this stud in the spring.

[guy54]

I guess it is no secret that Joe Hancock had a little percheron in him. I tend to blelieve that a little draft blood in your horses is not a bad thing if you don't mind riding grade horses. One of the best all around horses I have owned has a quarter draft in her. The Hancock line of horses I was around as a youth were big stout horses. I haven't been around many as of late so I can't say about the modern hancock horses. Like everything else, they hang onto the name "Hancock" but in reality they may be several generations away from the original horse. Hyde Merritt was a neighbor, friend of my fathers, and my mentor and horse leader in 4-H. I was with Hyde the night he first brought "Blue Valentine" home from his father-in-laws place in Thermopolis. "Blue Valentine" and "Gooseberry" both use to run on Table Mountain that lies just to the north of our place. They seemed to produce some good all around horses for both ranch and arena. Some of them were what I would call a "cowboys" horse meaning you better be a hand and never go to sleep on them. I also believe wether a horse is good or not depends a lot on the handlers capabilites.

[R.M.]

I've always hears the good thing about a Hancock is if the break there leg you can still ride them! So I guess they are tough horses.
My personal experience: Very fancy looking horse! But they do like to buck, but my experience is only limited to three horses, and I'm not sure how much Hancock blood they had/(have). As far as driftwood goes, the only time we had a mare breed by a driftwood stud she slipped the foal, so never got to handle one.

[chaseb]

i have had several and they were all good except one they are tough and all the ones i have i rope on and day work hancock are hard to start but make one hell of a pony just my 2cents

[Mike Leonard]

I have been around a bunch of both and they are as good an arena horse for heavy roping as a man could want. I watched the old guys like Clark McKintire( Reba's Dad) and Shoat Webster and many others rope on them big stout suckers and I can attest they can do the job. If you are doing heavy ranch work, jerking critters from the mud, tying down heavy stock and such there are few better. As far as real cow work a lot of them tended to be a bit dead sided and stone jawed with not a lot of ride around in them. Most real hands working cattle more than just area or general tough work prefer a horse with a little more ride. Leo and Sugar Bars, and some King put a lot of stuff on the ground that was called magic on the big rances and old short eared Hollywood Gold put so much cow in them the only way you could keep them from looking at a critter was to turn their back on it and then they would still sneak a peek. You can run all out with the little Peppy's and the pol. Freckles horses but go back and look behind em and you will see a lot of this and Wimpy and Cowboy P-12 and King to Old sorrel. Real Cowhorses and cow ponies. Not to take away from the big blue and red roans I love em and Saw Everett Shaw and others rope on them and old Peanuts and Popcorn were the best for what they were intended. But just like Grey Badger I don't care to have a bronc contest every damn day day before I got for a joy ride, and I dang sure don't want to climb 16 hands to heaven in my leggins and long underwear in 20 degree weather, everytime I get off to check a track.LOL!

I know I am getting old Benny. LOL!

[LCK]

Thanks for all of the good reply's. Keep them coming.

[Hagerman]

I have the Blue Valentine line of Hancock with a bit of Driftwood in a couple.
You have to put something in the Blue Valentine line to perk them up a little because they are so laid back and the Driftwood has been shown to be an excellent cross.
Peppy does well also as do several others.
I agree with Mike in limiting the Grey Badger I and II, they seem to produce a bit more buck than most crosses.
Mine don't buck and are like pups. Mine came from Jerry Jeppson in Crowheart, WYO.
http://wyohancockhorses.net/ Call Jerry if you have any questions, just have a pen and paper ready!
They go all day, have little or no problems related to their feet and are a lot less likely to colic or founder than most others. Good tough steady ranch/work horses that respond well to you.
Good luck.

[LCK]

Thanks.

[luckylqh]

check out the babbitt ranch website babbittranches.com they raise some awesome horses lots of hancick /driftwood crosses with some king and playgun crossed in them. i have a whole pen full.they are tough and very versatile horses from the arena to ranch work,they have been breeding them for over 100 yrs to get what they have. from my experience there are non better, jake barns and sean grant have a couple also they really like them

[mulehound]

Sonny Beauchamp in Green River Has been raising Hancock horses most of his life. They are good looking tough horses.
Darrel.

[travshan]

Funny this subject comes up on a "hound website" but I have been raising Hancock/Driftwwod horses for a lot of years and I dont think you can go wrong with one rather it be in the arena or following a pack of hounds through rough country. I have a Blue Valentine stud and a bunch of Blue Valentine/Driftwood mares and I get nothing but positive feedback on all of the foals I have sold. This is not real good for my quarter horse business but in my opinion you can't beat a good mule for that everday hunting in rough terrain. The Hancocks are tough without a doubt!! There is also a lot of talk about the Hancocks being "broncy" but it is my opinion that all of that depends on what line of the Hancocks you are dealing with. Some of them are very laid back depending on what line you are dealing with.

Happy Hunting!!
Hatch Quarter Horse
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