Gypsy cob - apple bum ?

[Shysmum]

I read something about this in another thread, could anyone explain this to me ?

I've been panicking that the boy has got a gutter - tho he is on a poor paddock every daytime, is worked most days, and otherwise seems just slightly over weight. His exercise is gentle as he's young, and I've just started very short lungeing sessions too. At first I thought "fat" then I thought "could it be changes cos he's working" then I'm back at "fat". ps mum is a dales.

Many thanks, teacakes all round. sm x

 

[jensheff26]

my cob has one altho she is a bit overweight i was told on here its a gypsy trait and not to worry about it

 

[Bessieboo]

Ooo would love to know the answer to this as well. Was just discussing my mare's apple bum with a horsey colleague and we could not decide if it means she is overweight or if it is just because she is a little coblet. I can feel her ribs ok but I have been told her topline needs more work and she needs to lose her pot belly.

I know that is not much help to you but you must have read my mind when you posted

 

[Spudlet]

These breeds of horse are supposed to be chunky, BUT chunky like rugby players - so muscled - not sumo wrestlers - so fat.

All horses carry their fat in different places, just like people do.

Have a look here, and start condition scoring your horse regularly so you know what your baseline is. http://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/information/right_weight_advice It is very easy - if it were not easy, I would not be able to do it You break the horse down into areas, take a score from each area, then take an average - all explained on the link I have posted.

Yes, horses of these breeds can tend towards being overweight but that does not make it ok for them to be so, or any less hazardous to their health.

ETA - you have to remember what they were bred for originally - to pull the family bow-top for miles, with the whole family + all their possessions in it, and then to live off whatever grazing was available when they stopped and little to no supplementary feeding and little or no shelter. So of course they are good doers!

 

[Cahill]

apple-bottom boys (2&3yo`s)

 

[DanielleAngel]

Hmm, I know it's a cob trait. But my Section A x C mare had one when she was in full time work (Dressage mainly) I think it can either be fat or muscle.
Obviously it looks alot better when it's muscle but don't worry too much. I'd say 99% of the cobs I see have one It's a good thing.

 

[Serenity087]

They're supposed to have apple bums (we call them peachy bums!)

When Dorey foaled her bum vanished off the face of the earth. Am delighted it has sprung back into it's peachy glory!

She actually got marked down for lacking condition on her hindquarters despite a peachy bum one year. It just wasn't large enough to match her front end!

 

[Theresa_F]

This is Stinky's bum when he was rising 4 - just starting to get apple shaped. The apple shape should be muscle and not fat.

This is him taken last month, he is now 6

He is getting more muscle and rounding. He still has another two years of filling out and developing to do and should be more muscled by then.

This is the rest of him to give you an idea of how he looks

He is in good enough condition to do well at showing at the moment, but is not quite as fit as he could be due to my ill health at the moment. He is not overweight for his type, they are meant to be square and chunky in shape.

 

[BigRed]

I would love to know how you get their feathers to crinkle ?

 

[Shysmum]

Haha!! Thanks so much for the replies...I think I'll have to get my camera out! He has a kind of gutter line as if "between the cheeks" which is why i was worried about fat issue. In fact I can just see it in some of the pics, but his is more pronounced - thanks so much for the pics, never can have enough of pics of gypsy coblets

 

[Jingleballs]

My HW gypsy cob has one and always had - even when he was really lean and muscled last summer without an ounce of fat on him he still had an apple bum!

 

[Theresa_F]

It is the way he is. As he has got older, they are less curly. They are not a fault in the gypsy cob, but masses of straight silky hair is the most prized and these horses cost a small fortune.

Stinky has very silky hair but with a curl, which is preferable to rough hair. Some people use straighteners on them, but if I ever get that serious about showing I will give up. That said, curly hair has not stopped him taking the top spot if with a judge who realises that traditionals can have curly hair whereas in natives, it is not correct to be wavy.

Farra the clydesdale has lovely silky hair that is dead straight.

His mane and tail also have a natural wave to them and again as he has got older, they are more straight.

 

[Shysmum]

 

[guccigivi2001]

i wouldnt worry, last summer my friends 13.2hh coblet had an apple bum, very pronounced but not an ounce of fat on him! before then he was out of work and had a gutter running down his back that held water when you bathed him he was a bit of a tubs but despite being in work we still have mini gutter and apple bum on super muscley cob

 

[moandben]

What about this one ?

 

[Sparkles]

Hairy's applebutt gets bigger the more work he does, as his muscles just expand and expand, luckily he has a huge shoulder to match and is a hench boy naturally anyway.

Not really got any great butt photos for him, but these are the best ones I could find:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...2_446908821752_708806752_5618681_161376_n.jpg


http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._446907966752_708806752_5618657_2817144_n.jpg

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Mine's in full work at the mo and has a luvverly apple bum! Sorry can't provide piccie, but he's always had his "bum" and I just love it to bits!

 

[JenHunt]

Ron has an apple bum all year round. even in the middle of winter when he's hunting fit... it's all muscle though, so I'm not worried about it.
see! (well actually its not the best pic for showing off his bum, but the best I've got here)

 

[Billsmam]

Binky01 your cob is just gorgeous!! my boy looks very simliar to him but i normally clip him out due to lack of classes round here for solid hairys. What kind of showing do you do with your lad?

 

[[59668]]

Mine has an apple bum - proper gypsy coblet. I was worried it was a weight thing, but then I was told it was a trait they have, and as he's not really overweight now but still has it, I just treat it as another lovely feature of my lad.

 

[Sparkles]

His aim is to get out doing some of the solid in-hand and ridden qualifiers this year soon as I find a few round here Might attempt the workers if I fancy a laugh for the day!!! Not taking the workers seriously though....our style leaves a lot to be desired!! Haha.
Thanks

 

[Shysmum]

thanks soooooo much guys, I feel much better now ! Buy co-incidence, the farmer who I bought the boy off has just moved Shy's Dales mum and his new-born sister into a field down the road (and yes we do visit, how brilliant is that !!).. I had a good look at mum, and yes she has the mother of all apple bum's with an almost full length gutter.

I'm still very conscious of his weight, as he's only a babe I don't work him hard, so the measuring tape is in full use.

The pictures are all stunning thanks so much. If I hadn't had a fall this morning ( other post) , I would have got snapping, but I'll try tonight. - btw, Binky those feathers are to DIE for !!

shysmum xx

 

[Sparkles]

Haha thanks!

Got more to grow yet!!!! Am on a hairy mission lmao

 

[starbar]

One here too! Not the best pic though, sorry

And he's had a good bath since then!