Cob Owners

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amzy

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I have had my gypsy cob for 3 months now and he has always had good manners and been perfect to lead with a headcollar, until today. I took him for a short walk as I'm waiting for a new saddle and out of the blue, when I turned him for home, he reared up and then kicked out at me with his hind leg. He ran off a few feet to the nearest grass and I caught him, got his head up and started to lead him again. He did it again and this carried on until we got back. Thank god we weren't far away from home. The YO then took him on the same walk to see if he did the same with him and, although he wasn't quite so bad, he did try and rear and run off on a couple of occasions.
We can only think that the sugar in the grass after the frost has set him off as he only has grass, hay and 2 handfuls of pony nuts a day. I was just wondering if anyone else's cob changed personality like this from food alone.
 
Hmm odd behaviour. What do you know about his last home? If he was thin or undernourished and has been on better feeding more recently, he might just be feeling a lot better about himself and feeling full of beans and ready to test you.
 
Is he hungry? My horse hates the state of her grass at the moment (no green in sight, just horrible wintry brown stalky stuff) so is refusing to eat it and is becoming a bit bargy in-hand because she's hungry. Same goes for my friend's tank-like cob. My horse is ultra-polite normally so is easy to remind her of her manners, and once she's had some hay in her belly she behaves again. Friend's cob requires food and some manners!
 
I think he's always been in regular work before I had him but the whole reason for me buying a cob was because I thought I was being sensible buying something that is normally known for not hotting-up if not ridden regularly. I would normally ride about twice a week but my current saddle isn't right so I have just been doing in-hand work with him for the past couple of weeks.
 
I don't think he's particularly hungry as he never touches his hay in the stable if only in for an hour but will eat it all if he's in over-night.
 
He's a cob. And he's a boy
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Everyone thinks cobs are super quiet and a bit thick and will put up with everything (not saying that you're doing things he has to 'put up with'
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). Ours have proved themselves intelligent, testing, questioning, mickey taking, brave, easily bored neds. If they aren't handled regularly they really start to take the mickey, getting bargy and bolshy - if kept in regular work they ask questions more often, but like to think about the answers. Ours get bored easiyl and like to hack out as much as possible; or to be tested in the school (Big Cob more so than Little Cob, he's far better schooled and is expected to work properly when asked to, whereas Little Cob at five is still getting his two brain cells working together on a consistant basis
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).
 
In that case I'd guess that he's just trying to find his boundaries with you. It could be that he's feeling full of himself because you aren't riding him as much as he's used to... although I'd expect that to happen sooner than three months in TBH. I'd suggest lots of ground work (especially if you can't ride at the moment) so he learns how far he can and can't push you and how he has to behave with you.
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Does he have much turnout?..
My current cob and especially my previous cob both did great flighty Arab impressions when the moments takes/took them
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They're not all dead from the neck down
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If you're not riding atm and turnout is limited it could be pent up energy.
Otherwise it could be that he is just feeling good, or testing his boundaries.
Maybe cut out the cubes and see if that makes a difference..
 
[ QUOTE ]
He's a cob. And he's a boy
wink.gif
Everyone thinks cobs are super quiet and a bit thick and will put up with everything (not saying that you're doing things he has to 'put up with'
smile.gif
). Ours have proved themselves intelligent, testing, questioning, mickey taking, brave, easily bored neds. If they aren't handled regularly they really start to take the mickey, getting bargy and bolshy - if kept in regular work they ask questions more often, but like to think about the answers. Ours get bored easiyl and like to hack out as much as possible; or to be tested in the school (Big Cob more so than Little Cob, he's far better schooled and is expected to work properly when asked to, whereas Little Cob at five is still getting his two brain cells working together on a consistant basis
smile.gif
).

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agree totally. I have a coloured native mare. The baggage decided that she didn't want silver stars stencilled on her bum with silver hairspray and was cow kicking! I'm still astounded.
She also is coming in frm the field on the hungry side. She's a bit bargy then and needs putting firmly in her place.
 
He's on unlimited turnout and the grass is quite good tbh. We have now put him in a starvation paddock with hay and cut out the nuts as from tomorrow. Will see how it goes in a few days.
 
As others have said, at lot of people think of cobs as plods. This is definitely not the case, mine can be a gentleman when he wants however, hacking he can be spooky, sharp get wound up and basically be a right plonker at times. He is generally very well behaved from the ground, but can , on being turned out, turn and kick out at me or his field mate, he does it from a little distance, and I don't think for a second he means to 'get me' and it is purely high jinks. But one thing for sure is cobs have huge characters and can be very cheeky.
Mine doesn't have a bad bone in his body, and all his larking around never scares me as to me its just his personality. Possibly this is just yours being cheeky too, but if it becomes dangerous or you are frightened by it then he needs to be brought back into line.
 
.[ QUOTE ]
Ours have proved themselves intelligent, testing, questioning, mickey taking, brave, easily bored neds. If they aren't handled regularly they really start to take the mickey, getting bargy and bolshy - if kept in regular work they ask questions more often, but like to think about the answers.

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Totally agree with this. My Welsh D has the most appalling stable manners if not worked regularly. Being turned out especially he will start to bite, tow you towards the nearest source of food (or whatever he thinks may be of general interest to him). leap around and generally be a bit of a a pr*t. I have found that wrapping the rope round his nose to t/o and b/i works wonders, although he will still take the odd cheeky nip there is very very rarely any towing around or leaping.
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He's on unlimited turnout and the grass is quite good tbh. We have now put him in a starvation paddock with hay and cut out the nuts as from tomorrow. Will see how it goes in a few days.

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Good luck...sounds like a good plan
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i find most horses change a bit at this time of year, they seem to get cheekier as they are hungrier , my irish gypsy cobs girls manners are uncharacteristically not so good at times just now, i know its the time of year
just try your best to remind your gypsy cob who is boss, maybe invest in a pressure halter, good luck
 
Lets make it official Cobs are not plods. They can be bargy and stroppy and are strong willed.
Mine snaps a lead rode in half when tied up un-assisted for 5mins.
I love cobs but you really need to show them whos boss sometimes and not let them push you around.
 
Oh yes
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Big Cob undoes his rope, picks up anything handy in his teeth so he can throw it at you if he's bored. He can be a prat on the ground, then friend gets on and he's an angel. Little Cob will make you walk halfway across the field to get him, and then give you cuddles. Big Cob can scare the pants off all and sundry, but will give kisses and we can put any child on him and he will take care of them (until they know what they're doing, and then they're an honoury adult and treated as such lol).
 
I own a chunky connemara (ok, not quite a cob, but nearly) that does that when I try to lead him, minus the kicking - he just rears. pressure halters have eased the prob a little bit.
 
I could cry reading all this because my "wonderful" Angel, the plod from heaven, rescued at 12 and now newly backed, turned into a Demon Horse yesterday and it shocked me to the core. Might gather my thoughts to ask for advice here later. It involved an easy hack on her own, goats, saying NO big time and then losing the plot totally and ending up hurling herself into a thick holly hedge! Cobs are NOT plods! They can be sharp and very intelligent, it's just that they often use their intelligence to think up different ways to get out of work. When Angel says NO, she means it! The above replies have helped me realise Angel is not the spawn of Satan but just an attitudinal gipsy cob mare! Deeble, I don't think it's anything complicated like sugar levels in the grass, I think it's just your newish ned trying to lay down the law. You need to get on top of it pdq or it could get worse. I'd invest in a Dually headcollar but do spend some time showing him how it works and how to release the pressure himself. Good luck x
 
My boy is the same, amazing when ridden, really wonderful at looking after other horses and riders but my god if you cant handle him in the yard, then you can lose the will to live quite easily. Strong, bargy and bloody hard work but once he knows youre the boss, youve got a gorgeous gent again. I am quite small and my loaner is tinier than me, a mere 7 stone I think and 4 foot 9 so she had to be strong when she got him as I was nervous for her but fear not, the are in love. Strangely enough though, he has never kicked or bitten in my knowledge, just shoulder barges you cos he knows thats all he needs to do. git! COBS ARE NOT PLODS. HANDLE WITH CARE!!
 
I'd agree cobs are not always plods. some of them are slow, quiet and easy 9 timesout of 10, then suddenly they are quite difficult. this is particularly scary because you don't expect it. i rode one RDA cob mare that was always, always, always perfect and she got my XC confidence back...so that my connemara gelding could go and muck it up again.

But that mare was an exception...you're right that it's possibly nothing complicated, just a cob having a 'bad' day, and that if it isn't solved now it will get worse.
 
Cobs: lead in a bridle or controller halter until they learn that good manners get rewarded and thuggish behaviour will not be tolerated.
He sounds bored - my old hunter who was decidedly cob shaped and natured was horrid if not occupied, so used to hack in all weathers and hunt or hunter trial as much as possible. He also got forced into dressage lessons and we'd hijack anyone's grid jumping sessions. Anything to stop him plotting mischief!
I appreciate you can't ride at the mo - but will he lunge? If not, it's about time he learned! You might need a confident friend to help initially and discourage any rudeness, but at least it will keep him occupied!
 
Another one for the "cobs are not definately not plods" my gypsy cob is well mannered to handle the majority of the time , and a gent in the stable, I have spent lots of time making sure he knows who is boss, he is to big and bolshy otherwise.

However...in my experience at this time of year if he is hungry at all then it tends to all go to pot a lot and leading him to and from the field can be a nightmare as he will blatantly just try to run off to wherever has the most grass - or he will walk as nice as pie until we get to the gate to his field and you put one hand on it to open it and he has that mischeievous look in his eye - then he's off in a flash! which as you can imagine is a total nightmare when im turning out in the morning and short of time! he will also try for anyones hay one the way out of the barn!

SO if i think there is a chance he might be feeling peckish then its turnout with the control halter time which works very well when he tries it on - i then have a very sulky "its not fair" look off him until we get to the field. but i have to be very determined and very assertive in my body language - if he thinks there is a chance of getting an inch he's had the whole mile and gone before you know it.

And if he does manage to run off , it doesnt seem to matter if i dont let him have any grass at all - he always tries and he always gives up and lets me catch him after a short time when he has made a run for it. Its almost as if he is trying to make a point.
Mine is also full of character and very very opinionated, more so at this time of year as he is stabled overnight and having haylage and ridden wise he is much more full of himself and prone to spookyness and argueing about it if he doesnt want to do something that requires any effort like canter, but then at other times going like a rocket!


Deeble - i would certainely invest in a pressure/control halter of some type when leading your cob and make sure you let him know who is boss . Good luck.
 
Someone I know breeds Gypsy Cobs and generally yes they are cool calm collected placid horses.

On the other hand, I have a show cob who I call "A bulldozer on Acid"

He's stressy, sensitive, sharp as a knife and is a tank with a thoroughbred inside!

Dont be misled into thinking cobs are quiet plods.
 
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