GSD Woman
Well-Known Member
Is there such a thing of a non-hairy cob? I love the idea of a nice, sturdy, do it all horse/pony but the hair is just too much for me. Maybe I'll need to stick with Quarter horses.
Cobs
- Thread starter GSD Woman
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blitznbobs
Well-Known Member
Clippers are your friend
ycbm
Einstein would be proud of my Insanity...
Percheron orr Suffolk based heavies are clean legged. I think there are other European breeds as well.
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twobearsarthur
Well-Known Member
Nope there are just degrees of hairiness from woolly mammoth to slightly less woolly mammoth. Clippers, trimmers and shedding blades are compulsory bits of kits in the struggle.
Irish Draughts are pretty clean legged but mine at the minute is sporting the full on fur coat and curly legs lol
AdorableAlice
Well-Known Member
Absolutely, all you need is a set of Heinigar and Andis clippers. A spare hour every 7 days and a sense of humour ! A well turned out cob can be very smart.
I have two big cobs and the clipping isn't too much of a problem as long as the big twit is on side. The thing that puts me off cobs is the mallenders/sallenders, CPL and hyperkeratosis which are of course all linked. But I am stuck with my cobs now and I do love them. Pass the grease and gloves please.
I have two big cobs and the clipping isn't too much of a problem as long as the big twit is on side. The thing that puts me off cobs is the mallenders/sallenders, CPL and hyperkeratosis which are of course all linked. But I am stuck with my cobs now and I do love them. Pass the grease and gloves please.
TheLoneWanderer
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Clippers are the way forward
stangs
Well-Known Member
Continental drafts all have minimal hair on the legs. You're in the US, iirc, so the most common should be the Percheron and Belgian Draft.
Alternatively, some of the HMAs have a serious amount of draft blood in them, so the resulting mustang is a lovely, chunky (granted not to the same extent as the cob) sort, at a more manageable height.
Alternatively, some of the HMAs have a serious amount of draft blood in them, so the resulting mustang is a lovely, chunky (granted not to the same extent as the cob) sort, at a more manageable height.
palo1
Well-Known Member
Most Welsh D's are not that hairy! But they are something of an acquired taste in other ways lol.
[153312]
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off the top of my head ...... Normandy cobs, Belgians, percherons, irish draughts, boulonnais, noriker, black forest horses (probably others from that part of the world I haven't heard of!) are all heavier types with minimal hair.
Bluewaves
Well-Known Member
I've a black and white Irish cob who is pretty clean legged. He has much finer legs than lots of his cob friends. There are lots of that type around here mixed in with the hairier lads.
Spotherisk
Well-Known Member
Yes, the traditional cob type (as described many years ago as having a head like a lady and a backside like a cook) is completely different to the traditional cob. Google 1950’s cob, RS Summerhays etc etc.
There is a cob on Horsemart, number 270575 (nothing to do with me), which is clean legged.
There is a cob on Horsemart, number 270575 (nothing to do with me), which is clean legged.
Errin Paddywack
Well-Known Member
The RS I worked at had cobby types. One looked like a Highland, a couple of Welsh Cobs, and a few Irish types, one trotter plus sundry ponies, all up to reasonable weight. None were really hairy but we kept their heels trimmed regardless. I only ever remember a couple of cases of mud fever, no other skin problems at all.
Mind you the biggest we ever had was 15.2 and she wasn't kept long as she wasn't really cost effective compared to the smaller ones. Most were around 14.hh to 14.3hh and they carried all sizes.
I can remember seeing a couple of gorgeous cobs out hunting, real quality, hogged and trimmed. That is what I think of when anyone says cob, not the coloured hairies.
Mind you the biggest we ever had was 15.2 and she wasn't kept long as she wasn't really cost effective compared to the smaller ones. Most were around 14.hh to 14.3hh and they carried all sizes.
I can remember seeing a couple of gorgeous cobs out hunting, real quality, hogged and trimmed. That is what I think of when anyone says cob, not the coloured hairies.
Spotherisk
Well-Known Member
This is Harley aged 29 last summer. When we were showing he would have been termed a light weight cob, measured 14.3hh and had 8 1/4” of bone. There’s nothing trimmed in this photo.
GSD Woman
Well-Known Member
I tried Horsemart.uk but couldn't manage to find 270575.
Spotherisk
Well-Known Member
tital is Super cob! Chestnut skewbald mare.
SatansLittleHelper
Well-Known Member
Any cob can be unhairy with a set of clippers ??
stangs
Well-Known Member
Link for you: https://www.horsequest.co.uk/search/270575
Surbie
Well-Known Member
Their coat type can vary so much. I look after a little piebald vanner type who is VERY hairy and would have immense, coarse-haired feathers if he weren't clipped regularly. My heavyweight cob has fine, silky feathers (I fondly [but wrongly] think wannabe Friesian! 
) and a very soft coat. He has a spot of cob grease on his heels but has never suffered with mites and other related cobby issues. Other than being stubbornly chubby.
) and a very soft coat. He has a spot of cob grease on his heels but has never suffered with mites and other related cobby issues. Other than being stubbornly chubby.
Errin Paddywack
Well-Known Member
She is rather nice.
Surbie
Well-Known Member
Oooh I like her!
GSD Woman
Well-Known Member
Very nice. When I looked at "super cobs" there were a few that caught my eye.
Spotherisk
Well-Known Member
I am biased towards her because she’s chestnut.
jnb
Well-Known Member
Mine would grow feathers but not that much mane, if I let him.
poiuytrewq
Well-Known Member
My work has 2 Normandy cobs. They are hairy as in massive manes and forlocks but that’s the owners preference (for some reason!) They have very little in the way of feather and if your on FB there’s a Normandy Cob page where you will see photos of clipped pulled manes. They are really quite smart with minimal input.
smolmaus
Well-Known Member
My friend's cob has no recorded breeding as his mum was pulled off a mountain after being dumped but looks to have just enough TB in there somewhere (1/4 at most) that he has a lovely chunky shape and a little bit of feather with a beautiful full tail but no wooly mammoth in the winter. Sports cob! Smart and neurotic! But beautiful!
CanteringCarrot
Well-Known Member
At the yard there is an "Irish cob" and he's a cute, smaller, spotted cob. When his feathers are shaved and his mane kept neat, he looks like a sporty larger pony of sorts. Totally different look in comparison to his natural hairy self. So if you've got the time, and the materials, they don't need to be so hairy, but yes, by nature, they are.
I think they can be fantastic all arounders and some choose their specialty and really rock it.
I think they can be fantastic all arounders and some choose their specialty and really rock it.
Annagain
Well-Known Member
My friend has had her maxi cob (16hh ID x cob) for 5 weeks now He arrived freshly clipped, hogged and trimmed. We've had to hog him again but his legs haven't grown at all. We're crossing our fingers that means he doesn't grow much feather.
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Pippity
Well-Known Member
This is my heavyweight cob's legs after six months or so without clipping. They never get much hairier than this. (And I'm eagerly awaiting the mud going, so I can clip them again. I keep them hairy in winter for protection.)
In winter, she needs to be hogged about once a month to stay vaguely respectable; in summer every two months. She grows an impressively thick winter coat, but is lovely and sleek in summer.
I was only complaining to my friends the other day that 'proper' cobs, ie, hogged, banged tail, no feather, are impossible to find on horsey merch. They seem to be very out of fashion. I think mine's the only hogged cob on a yard or 70 or so horses.
Nowadays, if it's coloured and hairy, it gets called a cob, regardless of height or bone.
In winter, she needs to be hogged about once a month to stay vaguely respectable; in summer every two months. She grows an impressively thick winter coat, but is lovely and sleek in summer.
I was only complaining to my friends the other day that 'proper' cobs, ie, hogged, banged tail, no feather, are impossible to find on horsey merch. They seem to be very out of fashion. I think mine's the only hogged cob on a yard or 70 or so horses.
Nowadays, if it's coloured and hairy, it gets called a cob, regardless of height or bone.
[153312]
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love a proper cob. Love the trads too but head of a lady/arse of a cook formula doesn't seem common anymore. Big shame. Your girl is lovely.
GSD Woman
Well-Known Member
jnb and Pippity, Your cobs are lovely. That is exactly what I think of when I think of a proper cob. I never liked hogged manes because it is one less thing for me to grab in an emergency. That's just my opinion. Neck straps are also very useful. I think of them as "oh sh!t" straps.