what height for cob classes

wibble · #1 8th Apr 2008, 08:41 AM

Firstly what is the maximum height for a cob in a cob class?

Secondly where would I get my horse's height measured?

Thirdly, I have a heavyweight piebald cob who has all her feathers but not much of a mane, looks like a punk rocker at the mo! and I have no clue if she is 15hh or 15.3hh so I am in a dilemma whether to hog her again and clip of her feathers and show her in a local cob class or grow her mane back and show her as a coloured, any suggestions?

Lastly if I grow her mane back and if I am standing facing her which side should it be on?

so many questions, thanks for your help

graciemoo · #2 8th Apr 2008, 08:48 AM

Personally I always think that chunky cobs looks fabulous with their manes' hogged...and their feathers in full growth...
If you do grow her mane out, it should be on the right side as you look down at her when sat on her...i.e. the left as you look at her.
In terms of her height, stand her next to a horse that you do know the height of that is 15hh or 15.3hh and you will be able to tell. Or you can stand her against a wall, chalk off where she is, measure it in CM's and then convert to hh. There are loads of online calculators or site that tell you how many CM's/inches to a hand.

graciemoo x

wibble · #3 8th Apr 2008, 08:58 AM

I agree that they look fab too but I don't think that hogged mane and feathers is accepted for cob classes or coloured is it?

There is a section i her chaps passport about height and getting an official to sign it, where would I get that done?

molly34 · #4 8th Apr 2008, 09:03 AM

There's some good basic info here: http://www.theshowring.co.uk/cobs.php

For showing, you either need to clip everything or leave everything - if you hog, the feathers & whiskers have to come off too and the tailed should be pulled. Personally I prefer the natural hairy look, but if you're serious about showing you'll get more mileage out of a hogged & clipped hoss - have a look at some of Coyote's before & after Nelly pics

Mehitabel · #5 8th Apr 2008, 09:07 AM

show cobs are always shown hogged and with legs clipped out - no feather. top height is 15.1hh, or 153cm, however there is a lot of controversy over how big some of these alleged 15.1s really are.
you can buy a measuring stiick or guess with a tape measure or weightape, if you get into serious showing tyou can contact the JMB (joint measuring board0 ti find out where your nearest approved measuring place is and get her done properly and have a life height certificate done.

if she is overherighty for show cob and you want to do only coloured classes oyu can still turn her out as a cob if that is what she suits. the other option is to go traditional and have long flowing mane and tail and fearthers. there are also some maxi cob classes now, for over height show cobs.

Glider · #6 8th Apr 2008, 09:08 AM

At affiliated level there are 3 main types of cob classes for hogged/trimmed cobs, lightweight cobs exceeding 14.2hh and not exceeding 15.1hh, heavyweight cobs exceeding 14.2hh and not exceeding 15.1hh, and Maxi cobs exceeding 15.1hh. At local level some shows will have a height restriction (often at 15.1hh) and some won't. Maxi cob classes are a fairly new innovation, so some local shows haven't caught up yet!

To do affiliated showing your horse would have to be measured by a vet on an official measuring pad, but if you're doing local level things you'd be better off investing in a measuring stick (usually about £30 - you could always rent it out for a pound a time!!) or borrow one. Measure when your horse has his shoes off (if she wears them) and when his feet are well trimmed. If you can't do that, and measure with shoes on, take off about half an inch from the height you measure to account for them. The horse should be as relaxed as possible when you measure.

Often people think their horses are bigger than they actually are, so you may find you're easily under 15.1hh.

If you go down the "hairy" route, your horse's height doesn't matter at local level, and at affiliated level there are classes for all heights.

What you choose shouldn't only be based on your horses's height, but also on her type, and which class she is most suited to. Do you have any photos?

wibble · #7 8th Apr 2008, 09:29 AM

these are 2 photos from before I had her, one clipped out and one jumping as a natural although the photo doesn't do her many favours!!

Mehitabel · #8 8th Apr 2008, 09:39 AM

well, IMO she has enough feather to go traditional if you want to - a lot of cobs don't actually produce that much so look a bit odd with hairy top half and not particularly hairy legs. it is a faff keeping it clean, you have mites to contend with and the hair takes a lot of maintenance, especially when mostly white!

i think you could go either way - she looks smart clipped out.

wibble · #9 8th Apr 2008, 04:12 PM

the trouble is my lack of clipping skills, she looks a ight state after I have got near her with the clippers!!!

Skippys Mum · #10 8th Apr 2008, 05:26 PM

She is stunning

. I am a wuss. I wont commit either way. Arnie has feathers trimmed and mane pulled to nice short tidy length (although to be fair, he doesnt have much feathering and when I let his mane grow he just looks tatty - and I wont hog cos I need something to hold on to

)

Glider · #11 8th Apr 2008, 08:24 PM

I prefer her hogged, but she could carry off the traditional look too. You could do more show classes if she were hogged (cob and coloured).

It's up to you - what do you prefer?

mogadoga · #12 8th Apr 2008, 08:28 PM

I think shes looks nice as she is, but looks similar to my friends cob who is stunning hogged and trimmed.

You can show in maxi cob classes if over 153 cm. Alex stands at 162 so we do maxi cob, open cob, or stated over and not under a certain height. And do any coloured. You could also do riding classes, and riding club (includes small jump and horse is ment to suit the purpose of just that- riding club)

Dont worry about clipping also, im crap....but it all comes off

so its soooo easy haha

wibble · #13 14th Apr 2008, 11:27 AM

I have been told not to bother entering coloured classes if she is hogged as they like them with full mane and feathers, is this wrong?

Also I have been told that heavyweight coloured cobs never do well in cob classes, is this wrong as well?

Never considered doing riding horse, perhaps we will have to try it. She doesn't move to the summer grazing for another 6 weeks so I have to wait until then to clip her feathers if I want to.

I love her hogged as she looks neat all the time whereas it's so much work to get her ready with all her mane and feathers and I even have to put stockings on her to keep her fethers out the way for the farrier!!

Dilemma, Dilemma!

Soot · #14 14th Apr 2008, 11:32 AM

If you look at my recent thread about Lucy you'll see that she's quite similar to yours -- she was hogged last year and we never came anywhere - too tall for cob classes (and even in open classes the "correctly" sized cobs always won) and not favoured in coloured classes. Now that I'm growing her feathers, mane and tail out she's MUCH more eye catching and striking. I'm not even pretending to go the "maxicob" route any more and am doing coloured classes, riding club horse, ridden horse (edited error!), etc ... She's currently got a half mane, which one of the judges made a comment about, but it's not like I'm going to give her extensions so it's just a question of being patient and letting everything grow!

Daffy Dilly · #15 14th Apr 2008, 11:39 AM

Cobs cannot do riding horse. A riding horse is a skinny thing similar to a hunter, they wear bling and have plaits.

Ridden horse is open to anything over 14.2.

At the moment it sounds like she's nearer show cob than traditional. I would be tempted to clip the lot off (opens show cob classes up for you too) and if you then decide you want to go traditional, start growing out as soon as you've done your last show. Something like megatek rebuilder would speed up the growth, but probably not enough to get you in as a traditional this year.

Glider · #16 14th Apr 2008, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wibble

I have been told not to bother entering coloured classes if she is hogged as they like them with full mane and feathers, is this wrong?

Yes, this is wrong. Hogged cobs have won coloured classes at the highest level, including the Horse of the Year Show.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wibble

Also I have been told that heavyweight coloured cobs never do well in cob classes, is this wrong as well?

Yes, this is also wrong. There are many heavyweight coloured cobs doing extremely well. Perhaps there is this perception because there are quite a few HW coloured cobs about that lack quality (? due to breeding for colour rather than conformation), but a good coloured HW will do just as well as a good solid coloured HW or coloured LW etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wibble

Never considered doing riding horse, perhaps we will have to try it. She doesn't move to the summer grazing for another 6 weeks so I have to wait until then to clip her feathers if I want to.

If she's a cob, she won't be suitable for riding horse classes. Riding horses are usually TBs or TB crosses, and even finer than a hunter. Look out for Ridden Horse classes though (these are for all horses that can be ridden).