A question about cobs

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I just saw an ad on H and H for a cob. To me, he looked like a miniature Clydesdale. I had some old British all breed horse books back in the dark ages. The pictures of cobs didn't look anything like most of the cob pictures I see now. And, the picture of the HOY winning cob looked more like the old pictures. Is any one type more correct than the other?
 
I can't answer that but what a great question. My thoughts would be that most of the breeds have changed. I had a welsh who was a traditional old style of welsh D. Cob type. These days the D looks far more like the old c types. Arabs have even more dished faces than they ever had before. The irish sports horse has become seemingly an acceptable mix of anything irish combined with a tb. Then don't even think about dogs look how much they've changed. I'd have to say though do we really think they've changed for the better and if so how
 
There are several types of cob and it’s a type not a breed. In the showing world they are split into ‘show cob’ and ‘traditional cobs’ the traditional cob has now been split into natives, traditionals and vanners which are all a bit different . But a cob is essentially just a horse with a big body on short stocky legs

There are also mini and maxi versions of all of these too just to add to the rainbow…
 
blitznbobs said:
There are several types of cob and it’s a type not a breed. In the showing world they are split into ‘show cob’ and ‘traditional cobs’ the traditional cob has now been split into natives, traditionals and vanners which are all a bit different . But a cob is essentially just a horse with a big body on short stocky legs

There are also mini and maxi versions of all of these too just to add to the rainbow…
Click to expand...

I thought the Gypsy Vanners were the American version - ie imported from the UK. But looking at them they do look a bit different - and very glamorous with an abundance of mane and tail.
 
Kirstineridesagain said:
I thought the Gypsy Vanners were the American version - ie imported from the UK. But looking at them they do look a bit different - and very glamorous with an abundance of mane and tail.
Click to expand...
They are still just a bog standard cob up close. We have two on my yard both lovely mares and very nice looking even though I don’t like all the hair. I have what would be deemed a show cob but she’s not tall enough and if she had the amount of hair the ‘vanners’ do she would look just the same as they do.
 
For those interested in how much breeds and wild animals have changed over the years the Natural History Museum have a taxidermy unit in Tring https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/tring.html It used to have a huge selection of pedigree dogs which shows how much pedigree dogs have changed through the years but I am not sure if it is still there. Much of the collection is over 100 years old.
 
Which HOYS cob were you looking at? I saw both a show cob and a traditional - the show cob looked to be quite a bit bigger, but the type has historically had different uses.

Both mine are under 14.2 so wouldn't stand up against the show cobs at that level. My smaller one has a lot of hair and does ok in the tradition classes though
 
I think there is a big difference between a show cob and a traditional cob.

Within show cobs there are differences between LW, HW and Maxis. The maxis are largely hogged IDs 😄 My HW cob has some clydesdale in him down the line.

Traditional cobs are a different type all together. They are hairy, for one thing, but also tend to be more compact and smaller. The movement is different as well. Show cobs are expected to be workmanlike while traditionals are rewarded for flash.

Then you have the Welsh Cobs, another very different type.

Outside of showing a "cob type" is much broader. I had a cob type. He was coloured but not hairy enough to be a traditional, too small to be a show cob but not fine enough to be a different type.
 
I know a woman in the US that breeds Gypsy Vanners and often crosses them with some other breeds. She got quite upset with me when I referred to them as Cobs 😬

They are, in fact, Cobs...to me.

One of the school horses at a previous yard was a little spotted Cob of sorts (Germans call them a Tinker). He was adorable with his hair, but when the clipped it all off, he did look quite sharp and a bit more sporty.

I don't mind the idea of a nice functional Cob. They do come in an array of varieties.
 
DressageCob said:
I think there is a big difference between a show cob and a traditional cob.

Within show cobs there are differences between LW, HW and Maxis. The maxis are largely hogged IDs 😄
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This!

I have been told by a successful producer that my H could be a very successful show cob. He moves well and has a lovely shape to him in the way he is put together, along with loads of bone and a slightly common head. But they also said to be successful I'd have to out lots of weight on him and hog him. Er, no thank you! I spend ages keeping his weight down!

He is an ID X Connie, but his ID sire was the bulldog of ID sires.
 
Jenko109 said:
www.facebook.com

Danaway Welsh Cobs

Trevallion black harry 3 weeks before the won the ultimate prize in the Welsh breed George prince of wales cup we owe him so much here at Danaway not only his success in the show ring but also with...
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com

Just what have they done to the Welsh Cob? 😭
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That is a travesty of any type of horse - where s the function in proportions like that?! My avatar is a 1/2 Welsh D , and her short legs do not a comfortable ride make , especially in canter. In fact she finds cantering difficult with her conformation, but would trot all day long. Not quite ideal when I can only ride side saddel....
What sort of judges would even allow that weird horse in a class , let alone license him as a stallion ? Functionality has to be a key factor in breeding, surely?
 
When I was a pony mad kid decades ago, cobs were stocky equines of a height that overlapped pony and horse, so somewhere between 14 and 15 hands. They weren't coloured and they weren't hairy. They were built for comfort and supposed to be able to carry a rider all day.

Hairy coloured ponies/horses (that I'd call Traditionals today) were known as gypsy ponies. They were totally different animals from cobs.

When I returned to horses after a 25 year break I was very confused that the terminology had all changed and cobs weren't cobs any more and hairy coloured ponies were so popular!
 
I just saw a sm post tonight about a stallion cob who everyone was gushing what a beautiful classic stamp cob he was. He looked cut and shut! Stubby legs, bum high, sway back and a gigantic neck that turned swallowed his wither.
Lol edited to say clearly not read all the posts above! Not with the times.
 
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Kirstineridesagain said:
I thought the Gypsy Vanners were the American version - ie imported from the UK. But looking at them they do look a bit different - and very glamorous with an abundance of mane and tail.
Click to expand...
IIRC, about 20 years ago the Gypsy Vanner "breed" suddenly appeared out of the blue as a pricey name over here in the States for imports of what UK sites were calling coloured cobs. About the same time similar horses were coming in and being called Drum Horses as if it were a breed instead of an Army title. Later the GV name started appearing on British websites too.

Just my recollections. Could be a bit off.
 
cornbrodolly said:
That is a travesty of any type of horse - where s the function in proportions like that?! My avatar is a 1/2 Welsh D , and her short legs do not a comfortable ride make , especially in canter. In fact she finds cantering difficult with her conformation, but would trot all day long. Not quite ideal when I can only ride side saddel....
What sort of judges would even allow that weird horse in a class , let alone license him as a stallion ? Functionality has to be a key factor in breeding, surely?
Click to expand...
He really does look out of proportion. I can see issues for him in the future with that conformation. Poor thing.
 
I started fitting natives as a speciality 16 years ago and you could already see the influence of the in hand breeding on the Welshies I was fitting. Shoulders get more and more laid back and the back gets shorter, with the one in the link the croup has also got flatter and flatter....and suddenly you have nowhere to put the saddle. I mean he'd take, what, a 12" saddle? But people want "more front" on the horse, and I swear that's in part because saddles won't stay back making them look short in front. Completely the wrong way to go of course, make more space in the back and the saddle's more likely to stay back.

I'd love to see a horse like that taken and given rehab work to improve the posture. A LOT of it is posture too, and that back would lengthen if it lifted, if the shoulders could drop forward and down because the thoracic sling was lifted, and that pelvis angle would soften.

The in hand effect on breeding saddle horses is not good.

blitznbobs said:
the traditional cob has now been split into natives, traditionals and vanners which are all a bit different
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Is the natives section, and this whole split of types, not coloureds, rather than cobs? I'm out of date and never did fully understand half the classes but that was my understanding.
 
Google Rainhill Welsh Cobs. I found some pics of him that look a lot more normal to me. I know very little about Welsh Cobs but the pics on that site are not as grotesque as the FB one. Rainhillwelshcobs.com
Or just google the stallion's name.
 
Another thing about Welsh inhand breeding is the inbreeding! When I saw my old Welsh D’s passport after we brought him, I was shocked! Every single line except for one traced back to one single stud (within 2-4 generations, most often 3), Nebo Black Magic. It even showed that NBM had been bred to his own daughters multiple times on Dipstick’s passport 🤢. It certainly explained why he was so neurotic, and why we lost him at 18. His trot was very high-stepping and impossible to sit, and I don’t even dare to speak of his canter!

That’s besides the point, but it absolutely made me cringe.

On the cob front, mine would probably be considered to be a traditional, and she’d probably look smart and sporty hogged (but I like the hair, except feathers 🙈). She is honestly the best ride though, and so incredibly comfortable, a trot I could sit to for days and a canter like butter! I think a cob can be anything with a good brain, a stocky shape, and potential for hair.
 
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