Gypsy Cob or Sporthorse For Sale

Above: From the time India came to be with me, at 6 months old, I exposed her to all sorts of things, such as Wild West Shows, with shooting, galloping horses, people falling off, yelling and screaming and small stampedes.  And while on location, she was often tied to the trailer with whoever came along, such as a Texas Longhorn. It was at this Wild West Show that India passed her test to be a “shooting horse”, meaning that she could be trusted to be in close range of  gunfire.

There are basically two main types of horses, drafts and light breeds   Although there still seems to be some argument concerning whether the Gypsy horse is cold-blooded or draft, it seems that most of the debate is over.   It is a draft.

The Gypsy horse breeds true and has been bred true to type over several generations.  Having said this, there might be some question as to why there is a lack of written history detailing bloodlines and other such notes. 

It simply is not part of the make-up of the people who bred them.   It is mostly an American  phenomenon, this need for paperwork.   

Draft is a word used to define work.  And in spite of the lack of papers, the traditional gypsy cold-blooded horses are a definite type, that breeds true.  Some lines have been bred for over 100 years. 

There still seems to be some confusion between just what makes a Gypsy Horse as opposed to a spotted draft or a “drum” or some other breed or type.  As stated before, the Gypsy horse is a true breed, whether it is registered or not.  You need to know the parents in order to determine breed  and you need  knowledge of characteristics in order to determine quality.  Let's face it, just because a horse is a “purebred” does not mean it is a good horse.  And just because a horse is a mix, doesn't mean it is any less of a horse than others.   There are plenty of grade horses out there who are beautiful, stable, and fantastic equine partners.  And there are loads of purebreds who are psychotic or in another way not good partners. 

So, if you are looking at a horse that is registered as a Gypsy horse and you trust the registry, your next obvious concern is whether it is of good quality.                                              
The Gypsy horse will have a basic cold-blooded, draft type body.  Think of a traditional shire but smaller and in any color and pattern you can think of. The heavier the feather, the better.   It should look like a smaller shire, say about 14HH, give or take a hand.  Horses that have light horse blood will lose heft, feather, and temperament.  They can still be awesome horses,  warmbloods... and can even have spots, but they are not Gypsy horses.        

The difference between cob and horse? The Gypsy or Roma people bred the cob size horse- smaller, more compact.  The larger horses are not traditional, and more common in the states.  While all sizes are still considered Gypsy horses, the cobs are more traditional.   

Like any good horse, a Gypsy cob will have a short and solid back, with a nice shoulder and apple butt.  As with any horse, the head should be in proportion to the rest of the body with both roman nose and pony-dish acceptable.  The eyes have more importance, and should be of good size and proportion.  The neck should be set well on the shoulder.  All of this is just words... so let's come at this from a different angle.  Imagine a Frisian.  You know how their necks are much higher up?  They carry their head and neck much higher than other horses, and that's what makes them seem so tall when, in fact, they really aren't. This is a breed characteristic of a Frisian, but not of a Gypsy.        

You want to see the shoulder at a angle that supports and creates a short back.  It should have such an angle that gives fluid leg movement. 

When looking at the legs, underneath the feather and regular hair, you want to see bone.  Not skimpy little “light-horse” bone, but bones with heft enough to move that body with ease, and still be in proportion to that body.  Gypsy horses or cobs are not “long-legged”, but compact.    You want to see a “draft” horse, not a fat light horse.

Although lots of people like post legs in their light horses, it is not a good thing in drafts.  You want a draft animal to be able to get those legs under him for pulling and pushing, called a “set”.  So, you want a nice angle, but keeping the legs firmly    underneath the hips.  A nice rounded apple-butt helps put legs where they should be.  Be careful to check the pasterns under all that hair.  It also needs a nice angle, like the shoulder.  In fact, the shoulder slopes one direction and the hips in the other, with a short back between them.  The pasterns are like shock absorbers.  So they need to be good.  Too low or too straight or too short and the horse will have choppy and painful movement and eventually could be crippled. 

There is a difference between a horse that has a nice “set” and a horse that is cow-hocked.  You want to see legs that evenly angle out from the hip.  The leg is still straight, just not pointing or facing directly forward.  When you are looking at a Gypsy Cob/Horse from behind, you should see the cannon bones are parallel to each other but you can see the side of them a little too, not just the back.  On a cow-hocked horse, typically the legs begin to tun out at the hock, but not at the hip and they very often angle out at the bottom, so are not parallel to each other.  THAT is a fault in any horse.  Again, you need to consider your use of the horse in order to determine how much of a fault it is or whether it will ever affect him at all. 

If you are looking for a pasture-mate for a horse you have and he will  rarely be ridden, if at all, and even then only at a walk for a couple blocks, then this fault will have little to no bearing on his life or yours.  In fact, if this is your need for a horse, I would strongly encourage you to check out rescues and not look  past mildly crippled horses. Even pain can be dealt with if mild.  There are loads of horses filling rescues and many of them have no issues at all, but lots have mild problems such as the one discussed above, but can still fulfill the needs of companionship and maybe more. 

For now, I will assume your interest in a horse is for more activity than simple companionship.  So, you should be looking for a horse with a history or heredity as a using animal.  If you know that you are interested in one specific discipline, then you can further refine your search looking for horses with that training or talent.  The Gypsy Cob is a pretty versatile horse, able to achieve high standings in most disciplines such as, driving, pleasure riding, dressage, and jumping.

 
The most obvious characteristic of the gypsy Cob/Horse is the hair... everywhere you look. They have loads of feather, thick long manes and tails and long hair on their jaws and bellies.  Although the hair is bred for, it only works on a good body.  There are lots of horses available for a few hundred bucks that have lots of feather and glorious long manes and tails... sometimes enough to cover up the horse, or lack of horse underneath.  The point is that all the hair in the world does not make up for long backs, low pasterns, beady little eyes,  steep shoulders, post legs, and a weak butt. 

Having said that... a traditional Gypsy Cob/Horse has lots of hair.  Are you following all this?  So, you can have a very nice draft-type horse with light feathering and what you have is... well...  a very nice draft-type horse.  You can have a horse with very poor conformation but lots of hair and you just have a horse with very poor conformation.  Now, if you have a horse with good draft-like conformation and lots of hair, including long thick feather, and proven genetics, you have a Gypsy Cob/Horse.

And when I say “lots of hair,” I mean LOTS of hair.  The modern-day Clydesdale's and Shires here in the states have had a lot of hair bred out of them.  In fact, it is not uncommon for breeders of these horses to dock tails, something unacceptable on many levels in Europe.   So if you think Fresians have lots of feather, think again.  The feather on a good Gypsy Cob/Horse will cover the front of the hoof. 

This is The Lion King, the Legendary Gypsy Horse stallion, who happens to be India's Grand Sire.  Bloodlines don't get much better than this.  Lion King was 15.2HH,  homozygous, and breathtaking.  I met him in person. Lion King passed away in Spring of 2008.     

Don't lose yourself in the color though.  It just might be possible that a horse is a really cool color like Palomino or Appaloosa... but doesn't have the conformation and then hair.  Again, it could be a cool-looking horse, but not a good horse.  The color is the last thing to look at.  Easy to say right?  Often it is the first thing we notice.  Just be aware of this and after you say, “whoah! Cool color!”...  you make sure it is a good horse.

So, let's say that after going through this material, (and I will assume you have looked through other material wherever you found it) and you either still want a Gypsy Cob or you want one more than ever.  So, where do you go from here? 

There are some “famous” names in the Gypsy bloodlines.  The more you read and research the more you will be able to recognize those names.  Also, the more reading and research you do, the better able you will be to determine who is talking nonsense and who is speaking the truth. 

If you decide you want a foal, as opposed to an adult who might have some time under saddle or who is of breeding age, let's talk.  If you would rather have an older Gypsy, I would be happy to direct you to a reputable breeder.  I have several friends involved with this breed. 

Bohemia's India is my girl.  I have raised her from a weanling.  She has been all over the country to participate in parades, horse fairs, and wild west shows.  She was invited to represent her breed at Equifest in 2008. 

Having been born into a family horse business, I have a lot of experience in working with foals and helping them get off to a great start.  India's foal will be imprinted at birth and worked with daily, several times a day.  This foal will be exposed to a number of confidence-building experiences. 

The breed is known to be very laid back and have a draft-type temperament. India is typical in that regard.  Being tied to a trailer with a Texas-Longhorn and having her feet trimmed before show-time, with gunfire and people being “shot off horses” going on all around, she was quiet and calm.  She was also tested as a “gunfire” horse, and passed.  This mean that she had to remain still while several shots were fired near her.  She passed easily.

Check out my blog, The Healthy Horseman.