Cobs which lack oomph

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caroline23

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there seems to be a bit of a divide on if the slower cob types should be fed for energy to buzz them up a bit or not...as an owner of a slow plodder (works off light aids now, just not naturally forward) in all situations shows, gallop tracks the lot! id be interested to hear what other owners do? providing the horse is healthy and up to the fitness of work intended?
 
It's all about training and good riding from the seat, and of course, habit acquired by the horse from how he has been ridden in the past, carrying a whip to reinforce and respond more quickly to aids, fading it out can help. Food has little to do with it in a cob, imho if horse is healthy and up to the fitness of what is required. :)
 
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I think the trouble with food and slower cobs is just that it tends to increase weight rather than how fast they want to go. I would prefer to do as you have done and teach them to go forward from light aids and make sure tack fits properly etc. Some cobs just need more thinking time. I have a forward cob x who is fascinating in that sometimes she just needs more time to figure out where to put her feet but all the time she is thinking forward and how do I do it. It would be really easy to chivy her along but she just needs to think it through. Her thought process is just really slow. I would not want to feed her high energy food as ultimately I do not think it would make her think faster. She is forward thinking though just has to think it through sometimes. Cobs are definitely a bit different!
 
i have to say , i do agree with Shils...... to an extent ;) Only i think its the TB’s that are think lol. imhe - i do get a little :confused: at all the the threads that crop up about this though. Lets be clear - there are many cobs that ARE forward thinking but there are also many more who fit the plod/quiet stereotype. I just dont get how if people have the latter type they cant just either embrace the horse they have and be thankful, or sell and get something with more oomph instead of trying to make the poor animal something its not. Im not talking about those just adding a little sparkle but at the end of the day, you have what you have and you cant fit a square peg into a round hole :o
 
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Oh good - another one of these threads - be prepared to be shot down OP for daring to ask for a bit more from your horse!! Poor lazy coblets should be allowed to plod along at their leisure not be asked to actually expend themselves in any way!

Ultimately, it depends on exactly what you are looking to improve. Do you want your horse to be more forward to the aids - then school them to do this , do you want them to be fitter for the job - then do the fittening work to achieve this, if you want them a bit more forward thinking or to get a better idea of what they are capable of then hunting/group hacking can help to let you see exactly what turn of speed they are capable of.

These horses are perfectly capable of being more forward and just because it's not their natural disposition doesn't mean they can't be expected to give a little bit more for the whole hour of so of their day that we ask them to work.

Feeding wise - there are many options but most of them will ultimately lead to weight gain unless you provide the level of workload required to keep the weight off.

A good instructor who understand these types of horses can also be a godsend. :)
 
Babybear said:
Oh good - another one of these threads - be prepared to be shot down OP for daring to ask for a bit more from your horse!! Poor lazy coblets should be allowed to plod along at their leisure not be asked to actually expend themselves in any way!

Ultimately, it depends on exactly what you are looking to improve. Do you want your horse to be more forward to the aids - then school them to do this , do you want them to be fitter for the job - then do the fittening work to achieve this, if you want them a bit more forward thinking or to get a better idea of what they are capable of then hunting/group hacking can help to let you see exactly what turn of speed they are capable of.

These horses are perfectly capable of being more forward and just because it's not their natural disposition doesn't mean they can't be expected to give a little bit more for the whole hour of so of their day that we ask them to work.

Feeding wise - there are many options but most of them will ultimately lead to weight gain unless you provide the level of workload required to keep the weight off.

A good instructor who understand these types of horses can also be a godsend. :)
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I'm a 'good instructor' who understand these types of horses only too well.
That's why I say sell it and buy something decent. :p
Unless you enjoy ending each ride feeling as if you've carried the horse round?
S :D
 
Shilasdair said:
To sum up:
1. Cobs are thick.
2. If you want a forward thinking animal which is light on the aids - sell your cob and buy a decent (blood) horse.

S :D
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Ahh Shils what shall I do with my cob, he has forgotten his breeding and IS forward thinking and light on my aids!! :( Do you have a brochure or something for him to read (not thick you see, he can read)?!
Btw op he is fed no heating feed but is young, quite fit and has 'lighter' cob breeding being welsh x vanner. My y/o's MW mare when hunting fit goes well on oats...
Cobs don't HAVE to be over weight its a myth and if you say he is 'fit for work intended' then maybe he needs to be even fitter?

Buddy enjoying his xc... Any advice Shils? :D:p
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My old horse was not strictly a cob (IDxTB), but a tad on the backward thinking side! Fed him straight oats with hi fi lite - with an oat balancer and pro pell plus in summer and sugar beet in winter.

I think straight oats were better than a competition mix for energy without extra calories as most competition mix's have barley and other fattening ingredients.

Also, either legal hunting over the winter, or fast hacks with a bunch of friends regularly helps keep them thinking forwards :)

Cobs are worth their weight in gold - horses for courses and all that!
 
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