Hairy cobs

[LindaAd]

I've been looking for a new horse, and I've seen a couple of really hairy cobs with long "cat hairs" even though they've got their summer coats. One really nice mare has heavy, greasy feathers; I like feathers, but my old boy has really silky ones, and he grows a beautiful sleek coat in summer although he has 4" deep fur in winter.

Perhaps some cob owner could tell me how they deal with this: do these long hairs come out in June, or can you encourage them by grooming. Or do you cut them off? And do feathers get silkier if you wash them, or does it just depend on the individual horse?

[Maria]

I own a hairy coloured vanner-type cob.

The cat/guard hairs do come out in the Summer - now Carrie just has a few stragglers under her neck and along her tummy.

But the feathers on her legs are quite course and she grows a beard. I keep her feathers and beard clipped to make my life easier, to enable me to treate her greasy heels and because she looks smart.

[LindaAd]

Thanks for your reply, Maria. It was encouraging. I met another cob, the same heavy type but with a lovely silky coat and no cat-hairs; the owner said she kept him clipped. So maybe that's the answer.

By the way, how would you describe a "vanner" type?

[judyl]

Hi LindaAd and Maria

To answer your question, I own a 'vanner type' cob and this means that she is more like the traditional old cob. Nowadays it seems to me that when you see a show class, the cobs in them have quite a lot of thoroughbred blood in them. My mare has the usual largish head, biggish body and shortish legs! I went to a clinic/demo held by Lyn Russell (a top cob show person) and she more or less said to me that I shouldn't show my mare as she wasn't good enough and I should just stick to having fun with her. I must admit that I wouldn't think about hogging her mane as I think it gives her protection and nor would I trim all her whiskers off either so I guess I just wouldn't take showing seriously enough. Anyhow, we have done a few local cob classes and we have occasionally been placed (quite low down I have to admit!) It seems to me that even in local, fun shows, you get your competitor who competes at county level and of course your common old 'vanner' type just doesn't get a look in.

I still have a lot of fun with my 'vanner' doing dressage, cross country and show jumping - although my top height jumping is 2ft 6ins. I'm afraid in this area, people pay a lot of money for their horses even to compete at Preliminary level dressage, so we don't do too well at that either! I did once ask a judge if there was anything I could do to improve my test and she said that there were such a lot of nice horses there - so in other words, I was on a cob!

Do you find people discriminate against cobs in your area? Please let me know as they certainly do around here.

Sorry to go on a bit but I once did a Classical Riding Test dressage test and it was so different. Sylvia Loch set up the club so that people can compete on their own type of horse and you weren't marked down because you weren't on a warmblood or thoroughbred. My cob moves very well but she's not a warmblood, etc. I did quite well in that test and got a special rosette for achieving over 65%. I was very chuffed.

Anyhow, I think I'm rambling on!!!

Judy

[LindaAd]

I enjoyed your reply, Judy and your cob sounds lovely. My old boy is certainly a "vanner" type; although I think he looks like a little show cob when he's all washed and plaited up, he's totally lacking in "presence", and I only tried a couple of local shows, family pony rather than cob classes, before I decided it was a waste of time and not much fun anyway.

Yes, very competitive people turn up at our local riding club shows with their polished show cobs. The club is quite good about running restricted classes for dressage and jumping, though, and I've competed in those - I don't think anyone discriminates against cobs at that level, and I'm not really good enough to feel discriminated against. That dressage judge of yours sounds like a horsy snob. It's sad.

I love those Lyn Russell-type show cobs, but they always look as if they should be hogged, and like you, I wouldn't like to have a hogged horse. It doesn't seem fair to the horse.

All the cobby types for sale round here at the moment seem to be Welsh cobs. I don't know if anyone has ever done dressage successfully on a Welsh cob ....??

[Maria]

That's spot on with the description of a vanner. Basically if you think of the horses owned by gypsies then that's a vanner.

I think the vanner was bred to be driven on the road - walking smartly on level or uphill roads, and trotting where the gradient allows. They're bred to cover long distances economically and to pull up to a ton.

I've resisted all attempts to persuade me to hog Carrie's mane. She has a long back, a short neck and a big head. She'd look absurd hogged. And anyway - a mane can be useful when jumping!

[LindaAd]

So I suppose a vanner is a horse that pulls a van, or a caravan ... I always said Tristan looked as if he ought to be pulling a butcher's van. But I've never heard the word used before.

A mane's not only useful for jumping. There's going up and down steep hills, and mounting ...