Where are all the so called safe cobs?

Hal1k1

Hal1k1

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I keep hearing that cobs are safe compared to arabs, tb's and warmbloods but when I was looking for a horse to loan there was not a safe one amongst them.

I had one that napped really badly on a main road and it was advertised by the riding instructor as bombproof who then really annoyed me when she stated that the previous person to try him had the same experience so got off and lead him back. Bombproof? Yes proof that cobs can develop bombs under their tails.

I have been bucked off several times by cobs impersonating wild horses at rodeos. They don't just know how to do vertical handstands some of them can even throw a twist in mid-air.

I expect some of you will respond and tell me you have one. I rode one over a year ago out on a quiet hack? It only took 6 minutes for him to be covered in sweat from rearing and spinning and as for me I just needed to sit down again when I got off him.

They might look as if they are the ideal pony but give me a sensitive TB any day, you expect them to have mad moments!
 
I have 2 cobs - 1 irish type total nutcase and terrible in traffic, has a buck a rodeo bronc would be proud of and can spin and bomb off on a sixpence, yet she looks like butter wouldn't melt and people assume she's a plod...

My 2nd cob is a welsh D - he can have his moments but is safe and sensible, BUT I wouldn't put a novice rider on him as he needs a confident rider and is a sensitive chap.

My 4 year old is some sort of standardbred cross and so far *touches wood* is proving safe and sensible.

My old angle arab mare was also so safe and sensible it belied her breeding and she was safer than most cobs on the yard at the time and totally obedient - would happily carry a novice all day too.
 
Firstly I must say I love cobs. But the only really bad accident Elizabeth has had was off a cob, bolting across a very busy road and throwing her off into on coming traffic. ( I will sound like a proud mummy but Elizabeth does have a fantastic, balanced seat, our WB rears vertical and she has never come off, not when he spins or any other time)

I used to ride a Welshie x trad cob and he was stunning but not bombproof. There are however safe cobs out there, just like there are safe TBs, safe WBs (Not mine out hacking) and safe other breeds. Imho it is not the breed of horse but the horse itself.
FDC
 
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I have 2 cobs, one is a total knobber. My daughter had a riding lesson on him this evening, he ran up the banks, napped badly, bucked and was just a general prat. He's fab hacking in company, but on his own he goes up vertical, spins, and again is a complete arse.

Other is a welsh cob, full of herself.

I know of far better behaved TB's & WB's, just about all cobs I know are utter knobbers :(

So to answer your question of where are the safe cobs: I sure as hell don't have them :D
 
Having a 19, going on 5, year old cob, now that he is fit, he is definitely not a plod. Doesn't bother about any form of traffic, isn't concerned about much in hedgerows etc, so, rarely shies, but, is terrified of pigs and cows! He's okay if they don't move, but, if they move towards him, he's up in the air and gone!
However, no matter how dramatic he is,there's so much horse underneath that you just don't move! I imagine it would be very, very difficult to fall off him, whereas, a quick 'spin and shoulder drop' on a finer built horse is much harder to sit to, IMO!
 
It's a shame you're not near me. I have a lovely cob who I let people borrow and who really needs a long-term sharer as I have two other horses and he needs more riding. As well as dressage, showjumping, showcross and xc with me he has also been a lead rein pony for my little nieces, has got a nervous novice back into riding and is just teaching someone's husband the ropes (both of them regularly coming back from a ride with huge smiles on their faces!). He is safe to hack alone or with company and just loves to be out and about.
I do have two Irish sports horse mares to keep me on my toes though :)
 
I have a fab little cob with loadsa character. Take me blasting across the beach and paddles in the sea, but will also school nicely and pop a few jumps, dressage tests and xc. Great in traffic, large groups but now and again can be nappy on his own. Can be a bit of a handful at times loading and clipping but never maliciously. Happily goes into dope mode when the kids get on and doesn't flinch then they yeha on the end of the reins. Would never say he is 100% safe but on a daily basis I count myself lucky I have such a genuine horse!
 
I've got a Welsh cob and she spooks. But I would rather have her and gain the experience sitting out the spooks and riding forwards.

If there ever is a safe spook, it's her. All she does is either leap away and stop, scuttles forward a few steps then stops, or just stops :D So long as you keep your leg on, make her go forwards and give her confidence, she soon gets over it. She doesn't rear, buck or bomb off.

The other day, I booted her on the bum by accident when dismounted, she didn't flinch. I've also booted her during a disasterous leg up, didn't move an inch.

A fellow livery had a coloured cob who bucked her off every time she rode.

It's a shame that breeds are stereo typed.
 
Right here!
Photo122.jpg

Love my cobby he's a total dude!!
 
My experience of cobs is that they will never do anything nasty, they are just very switched on compared to other breeds and will take pee if allowed to. You have to be one step ahead of a cob..... :0)
 
Cobs and safe. Well this depends on first of all their breeding. Finding a horse with a lot of cold blood in it might make the horse less flighty, although to be honest the full TB's we had at our stables were two of the safest horses on the yard.

Secondly training and schooling. What have they been exposed to during their training, where have they been.

Thirdly it depends on the rider. How does the rider react to situations and how do they ride? Many people have this idea that cobs are suitable for nervous or novice riders, but its like all breeds so are some arent.

Fourth - what are they being fed?

Fifth - Are they happy in their chilling out arrangements.

Sixth - Cobs are mainly cross breeds (obviously exceptions for pure breds) so you probably will never know what they have been crossed with just like dog breeding trends.


all these help to create the horse and its reactiveness to situations.
 
Agree with Dougal. It's a bit of a myth that all cobs are plods. In fact quite alot tend to be quite sharp and willfull - including my boy :D eta obv as with any breed there are some sane ones out there... They just can't be generalised!
 
I think cobs are the " Baldrick " of the horse world they always seem to have a cunning plan to do something different each day to test you. Cobs are VERY bright that is why they appear to be thick, they are not stupid, there is no such thing as a 100 percent safe horse of any type, after all they are animals with minds of their own, thats why we all love them.
 
RaYandFinn said:
Agree with Dougal. It's a bit of a myth that all cobs are plods. In fact quite alot tend to be quite sharp and willfull - including my boy :D eta obv as with any breed there are some sane ones out there... They just can't be generalised!
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tibby said:
I think cobs are the " Baldrick " of the horse world they always seem to have a cunning plan to do something different each day to test you. Cobs are VERY bright that is why they appear to be thick, they are not stupid, there is no such thing as a 100 percent safe horse of any type, after all they are animals with minds of their own, thats why we all love them.
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My coloured coblet is sweet natured,however he can be a monkey (in the field/barn) he is smart and sometimes opinionated and stubborn. Ridden he is quiet,ok with cars but isnt keen on tractors/not introduced him to buses and I wont go on the roads.Hes brilliant on lead rein with my daughter whose 13 and still learning. I have seen him do mighty bucks in the field at canter. lol
 
Mine's safe as houses. When I first got him he would take the pee, but never nastily. But in the last decade(+) he's:

been ridden in outdoor schools with hot air balloons taking off 20m away (had to circle down the other end when the wind blew it into the school!)

given pony rides at the local fete between crockery smashing, bouncy castles and archery stands

been hacked out and jumped by my novice and nervous mother

taught half a dozen people to ride

got a number of nervous jumpers back into the swing of things

used to hack him out alone (off road) in the pitch black, meeting combines and all sorts (off road). used to hack him out on private land tackless too (teenagers :rolleyes:). Not to mention the usual long hacks by ourselves in daylight, over A roads etc.

and will still jump a decent height sj / xc course and turn on six pence :p he also puts in a nice show if you cba with that sort of thing ;)

The reason you can't find one is that the good ones aren't for sale :D
 
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The good ones never come up for sale because people hold on to them ;)

I have a safe cob-a welsh one :p
Like most welshies she has her moments but they are nothing big!

On the same note my friend has a 6 year old ex-racer that's safer than your riding school veteran. So, you can't stereotype by breed. :)
 
I've had two cobs in my life - one as a teenager and one now. Both Irish cobs, 'old-fashioned' types (i.e LW/MW and little feather) both sharp as knives on occasions, especially with grass under their feet. The first was a genuine bolter with everyone except my father, who hunted him with festoons of hanging rein and used to just say "Whoa, my little man", and he did (SO annoying). Current one is forward going, few brakes, and used to shy a lot - the woman who tried her out before me rejected her as being too lairy. But she's honest as the day, willing, loving, and a beautiful herd leader. We've overcome the shying except when galloping, which I hate - suddenly you're going 30mph but 20 yards parallell to where you were before.

There are cobs who are genuinely bombproof but, as everyone else has said, it's the horse, not the breed. My two 'safest' horses were a TB and an English hunter. I watch the horses who go by our place up the village street. Often it's the TBs who ignore the postman's van, the builder and his concrete mixer, the mobile library....
 
Interesting. I have had three:

Apache, coloured middleweight cob: safe as houses. Easy ride, but you couldn't ride him behind another horse at any pace faster than a walk. He had to be in front or by himself. Behind he'd buck and try to bomb past. That was his only issue though. He was a fab first horse and taught me loads.

Elsa, bay irish: Sharp lady. Not as safe as houses. Great as long as she was worked, and took all her confidence from her rider. Much better off in her subsequent hunting/pony club/working cob home than with me.

Seneca, welsh cob: a delight to handle and a great hack, but has to make his own mind up about anything. Not in any way bullyable. Ears constantly on the alert, but rarely does anything much. Definitely not a novice ride though. Much too sensitive. You have to know him and influence his decision process.

So, one out of three I'd say... in my experience.
 
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