THE GYPSY HORSE BREED |
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THE GYPSY VANNER BREEDInformation we have gotten over the past few years...While fairly new to those outside the UK, the Gypsy Horse has been well known within the Romany and Irish Traveler communities, for many generations. The Gypsy Horse was first bred, as all breeds, from a mix of several other horses. Early nomadic families used small flat carts and needed horses to pull them. Later, they moved into living wagons, which were incredibly heavy and had to carry everything the owned, so a heavier horse was desired. That is when they started breeding heavy, Draft type horses that were strong and powerful enough to pull their loads. Since they traveled constantly, they met up with other roaming families who also had horses and began to trade and breed. There was much competitiveness within the Gypsy communities, so flashier and prettier horses were strived for. However, they still had to be strong, willing and of sweet enough disposition to live within the families at night when they camped. Horses with ill-temperaments were quickly sold off and not retained or bred. While we prefer to call him a "Gypsy Horse", the breed is known by many names across the world. According to where you might live or to which registry you prefer to belong, you might hear him called a Gypsy Horse, a Gypsy Vanner, a Tinker, a Gypsy Cob, a Colored Cob, or a Traditional. A Gypsy Horse will stand between about 13 hands to 15.2 hands tall - give or take a little at either end. Certainly some horses were much larger, but they were not what was referred to as a "Traditional" Gypsy Horse. While the very ancient history of the Gypsy Horse is unknown, they are probably descended from several early draft horse and pony breeds. There is no doubt that Shires, Clydesdale's, Dales Ponies and Galloway's, found their way into his early makeup. It is even thought that some Welsh Cobs were added along the way. The Gypsy Horse can be found in all colors. Solids to Black to White to spotteds or Appaloosa type patterns. The most well known though, is probably the Piebald or Skewbald. They should possess lavish hair and feather. Do your homework! Deal with those who have purchased top quality gypsy horses and can answer ALL your questions with knowledge as to the background and breeder of the horses they advertise. The Gypsy Horse Breed StandardThis is the best interpretation we have seen on what the Breed Standard is all about for the Gypsy Horse!Permission has been granted by Carol to reprint her write-up of thoughts after the show here in the USA. We do so hope US Breeders take heed and note of her words below. CAROL SMETTEM, ON THE 2ND GYPSY HORSE WORLD SHOW AT FORT WORTH, TX:"It was a real pleasure to be asked to fly in from the UK and be one of the judges at your show this year. I would like to thank everyone who helped me and made the days go so smoothly. A special thanks to Sherry Trafton-Johnson, the alternate judge, who so kindly and professionally took over my judging on the final day. I can only apologize hugely to all the exhibitors for my inability to finish the third day. For those of you who did not already know, I had come out of hospital only the Friday before and it was questionable if I would be able to do any of the judging. Thank you so much for accepting my decision to stop when I did and for all of your kind comments. The Gypsy Cob is a unique breed in the UK and it has found its way across to America where it is lovely to see so many supporters and enthusiasts. I am extremely protective of the breed and wish to encourage the correct breed standard and true breed type. Everyone should have a basic knowledge of horse conformation. It is available in many books and via the internet. Every horse has the same skeletal structure and to this we add the breed standard and finally breed type. The Gypsy Cob breed calls for a well muscled, well boned, wide chested, medium to short back and good action. This should come naturally with correct conformation. A bonny head, intelligent, alert but gentle, without having too much likeness to the breeds that established the Gypsy Cob, i.e. Shire / Clydesdale / Dales / Fell and Welsh. It is important to remember what the Gypsy Cob is about. It needs to have the conformation to be able to pull a Living Wagon 15 miles a day. Without this, it is worthless, incorrect. It would not be considered worth keeping by the Gypsies if it is not correct and sound. If you are not sure what breed type is then look at Appleby DVD s, go on various UK websites. Talk tot the breeders of these horses, any of which can be recommended by the GCS UK. They will be more than willing to help you understand the breed and its correct type. So to the horses at the show, my general opinion was “Wow, what an enthusiastic bunch of people.” There were so many entries which is wonderful for the breed. But, I guess I should give you my concerns first, which were mainly, poor fronts, weak chests, and bad shoulders. The front end of the Gypsy Cob is the engine. Without this you have no horse. The chest should come down equal to or below the elbow, the front chest should be wide (wide enough to drive a bus through the Gypsies say). The neck from the base of the ear to the point of shoulder should be the longest part of the horse. If the point of the shoulder to the base of the tail is longest, you have short neck or a long back. The under neck should be short and muscled.
Some heads were poor and untypical. A Gypsy Cob should not have big uncommon ears, medium to small, giving an alert expression with a large oval eye set wide apart. There were some with heads with large ears, small piggy eyes, too long in the foreface and no cheek bone, which should be rounded. A Gypsy Cob needs bone, good flat bone. If you are not sure what this is then there is a publication heading its way to the GHRA office to help you. The length of cannon bone is important. Some were to too long and lacked bone.
Feather is the main flag of the breed. Without this you don’t have a Gypsy Cob. It must be correct type of feather, long and silky starting from the knee, not coarse or curly. You must have feather at the front of the leg not just at the back. My three main winners all had correct feather, correct flat bone, and good legs. Rear legs are showing a number of cow hocks and close movement behind. Imagine these horses after 15 miles? A Gypsy Cob is not a lazy breed. You should not have to drag it around a ring reluctantly. They should trot out with enthusiasm with a medium knee action covering the ground well, not as we call ‘daisy cutters’. ‘Daisy Cutters’ are more than likely to end up on the floor resulting in damaged knees and untold damage to a very valuable Living Wagon with maybe children inside. Please keep in mind what this breed is about, what it is intended for and ask yourself if it could do the job it was intended. Be honest with yourself, and keep the best interest of the breed in mind. These are not meant to be flashy show horses. The joy of owning a Gypsy Cob is that anyone can show them, and have the pleasure that involves. If the Gypsy Cob fits the breed standard and good breed type, then I do not care how is on the end of lead rope. If it is correct, it will stand correct naturally. Quite a number of entries I had to ask to walk their horses forward and stand naturally. I don’t want to see a Gypsy Cob stretched out behind. This is totally undesirable and not part of the breed and looks horrible. My stallion winner was a good example of correct stance, natural and unforced. This actually leads me nicely into temperament. On the whole, the temperament of most of the Gypsy Cob I judged was excellent with only a few exceptions. I know that this particular ring can be poky, and I took this into account. Basic bad manners is not part of the breed. If I did not feel safe going and feeling certain horses feathers/shoulders etc, then would a 5 year old child be safe? Or a pregnant wife? Again, this is where you need to think about the history of the breed and remember it is a true family horse. I do not like seeing stallion harness on a Gypsy Cob. It is not painting the correct image and it certainly cannot have a natural head carriage. Any Gypsy Cob that is behind the bit is not natural and undesirable. How can they breathe correctly if their head is either vertical or worse behind? Imagine pulling a Living Wagon up a hill. They need to breathe and fill their lungs. Any unnatural or enforced head carriage was heavily penalized. Incidentally, a driving bit should be ideally a Liverpool bit in a driving class or a Wilson bit, (a jointed snaffle with double rings on the end often seen at Appleby). Any other bit is not required for this breed. This is where the breed of horse should be remembered. I enjoyed very much looking at the babies who very promising. Some of these babies had real pretty heads and very typical. Some of them had good feather and correct bone for so young. This is a encouraging sing for the future. I would love to have judged a class of just babies. It would have been very interesting. Against older youngsters they didn’t really have an equal chance, but I was very happy to see such promising foals. I would especially like to thank these owners for taking the time to bring them and I hope they were not too exhausted on their return home. The Get of Sire class was extremely well supported which is encouraging, but it troubled me greatly that the same faults appeared in each family. This proves that these faults are breeding on, namely untypical heads, long, straight, narrow across the eye, poor feather, narrow fronts, poor shoulders and weak back legs. This needs to be corrected now. The stallion owners need to take a good hard look at what they are producing. They have the breed’s future literally in the hands. Now is the time to be honest and ask if your stallion is producing the best possible Gypsy Cob. There is no room for half way. The Gypsies would not thank you for this. They are ruthless in their breeding policies and rightly so. I can walk amongst some fields here in England of various Gypsy families and I can point out a foal by a certain stallion. These stallions are priceless and the backbone of the breed. They continually breed good correct foals. Mares should be able to breed better than themselves and improve on their quality each generation. This is why stallion choice is so important. It is no good just choosing the stallion that happens to be winning at the time. Does he compliment your mare? Does he have the same faults as your mare? If so, find another. Stallion and mare compatibility is so important. It is not down to luck but good judgment that breeds you a good foal. Thank you again for taking my judgment in such a polite way. I am sorry for those I disappointed, but thank you for bringing your beautiful horses for me to judge. All were presented clean and well groomed. It is okay for a Gypsy Cob to have a woolly coat in January! If you do clip them, do it in plenty of time for the coat to grow back to a sensible length. Pink clipped skin looks so unsightly on a Gypsy Cob. The best mare I ever saw was called Hairy Mary. There was a reason for that!!! I hope you all had a safe journey home and perhaps learnt something about the breed you all obviously love so much." .......Last thought from Carol on the discussion board on this article: well Allison <~~(the person who posted this article) its up to you now!!you have to spread the word about my feelings and feel free to publish the report if it helps get the message across. It is very encouraging though all the messages of support i have received, via this site, msn and email, it is now obvious to me that I confirmed what some American breeders/owners had been thinking, but for whatever reason didn't challenge the situation. I guess being an International judge and founder of the Gypsy Cob Society UK it has a bit of weight behind what my opinion is. I find it very difficult to sit and do or say nothing when we in the UK have known this breed for so many years, and assumed that when it was discovered abroad that these enthusiasts would treat it the same way. I guess the assumption was wrong and now is the time to iron out the crooked path, put the breed back on track and encourage those breeders who want to preserve, promote and go forward with the Gypsy Cob in the USA. What Can The Gypsy Horse Do?Do you ask yourself What Can They Do? Well we have the answer....Click the link and find out! |
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