I've been looking at Dutch Warmblood stallions for the same reasons—because I also like WBs. My fav TB stallion choice (great pedigree match, very close, gorgeous & affordable) mysteriously died. So... still looking & thinking...
With WBs there are many stallions to choose from via AI (US & Europe), and the stud fees are much less for top WB stallions. I wish AI TB registry was a possibility as I *love* French Buffet, a Dutch TB stallion... and his foals can JUMP!
It can get confusing when you start reading mare requirements for each registry. I think it's more important to define what your breeding goals are—do you want a dressage horse? jumper? hunter?—then examine individual stallions. Registry rules are more of a technicality IMO, as similar bloodlines oftentimes traverse different registries. I'm more interested in jumpers, so I focused more on Dutch WBs and Holsteiners.
The other confusing part is understanding a stallion's
registry and which registries that stallion is
approved by. A stallion may be registered Dutch KWPN, but not approved for breeding by them. Best to cross-reference a stallion with the official registry list—some stallion owners throw a bunch of WB logos on their stallion page, so sometimes it's hard to tell...
And some WB stallions cross well with TBs, some don't. And depending on your mare, things like bone, "type" and height are considerations for match-ups, along with conformational matches & the usual stuff. WBs are moving away from huge height & huge bone—seems some refinement is more modern. Within the Dutch WBs alone, they now have definitions for the ideal dressage type, jumper type and now hunters. It's definitely worth asking around and/or seeing offspring before deciding.
Here's a great website to start with:
http://wwwarmbloods.com/index.html
They have a forum for all different breeds, list all breed registries and many top breeders. Everyone was very helpful in answering my questions. It's how I found
http://www.majesticgaits.com, a Dutch WB farm in my state. I ordered a stallion video—boy, it really changed my mind on who I liked when I saw the stallions in motion.
Good luck! Hope this helps!
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