8 THE MAITLAND MERCURY � Thursday, September 26, 2013 www.maitlandmercury.com.au

Colourful cobs all the rage The Gypsy Cob originated

with the Gypsy (Romani) peoplewho used these horses to pulltheir wagons.

While the Romani havealways used a mix of draft(Clydesdale and Shire) and ponybreeds (Fells and Dales) to drawtheir wagons, before the SecondWorld War you were far more likely to see horses very differentto today’s typical Gypsy Cob.

During WWI the British government requisitioned horsesnationwide with their ownersgiven little choice or recom-pense. The only horse not takenwere pintos, as their coats madean easy target in a charge.

The Romani were not blind tothis trend and by the start of theSecond World War the vastmajority of their horses were pintos, allowing them to maintaintheir wagon horse.

It is this very adaptation to circumstance that brought aboutthe cob as we know it today.

Moving into modern times the

“travelling” Romani and Gypsypeople began to settle, and cara-vans started replacing wagons.

When it became obvious thatthey no longer needed a horsecapable of consistent heavy workthe Romani realised that it wasalso no longer necessary to havea horse quite so large. The intro-duction of smaller, pinto cobsbegan to garner outside interestin the early 1980s and soon therewas a market for these quiet, will-ing partners as riding horses andcompanion ponies.

This trend surged through the’90s and into the 2000s and withthe Gypsy Cob’s introduction tothe United States, the populationin England likewise exploded.

Combining the internationaldemand with the lack of need fora wagon horse the smaller cobbecame the norm – along withthe established pinto colouringand the emerging importanceplaced on abundant feather,mane and tail.

The beauty of these horses is

surpassed only by their gentleand intelligent nature makingthem highly sort after.

Gypsy Cobs were introducedto Australia in 2004. There are anumber of breeders of both pure-bred and part bred Gypsy Cobsin most states.

With the Gypsy Cob popula-tion in Australia now at a highenough level, many showsnationwide are holding GypsyCob classes, therefore allowingowners the opportunity to showand compete with their cob.

People are now discoveringthe amazing talents of and usesfor the Gypsy Cob such as driving, dressage, jumping, western pleasure, showing, ponyclub and therapy horses.

Gypsy Cob cross breedshave been highly sought afteras an alternative to the expenseof purchasing a purebred, whilegenerally still having many ofthe desirable traits such asstrength, durability and a willingkind temperament.

GENTLE AND INTELLIGENT: The popularty of cobs, renowned for their kind temperament, has exploded right across the world.

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Magnificent Horse Breeds in the HunterISSUE 9 - The Gypsy Cob

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