Cob

What is a cob?

A type rather than a breed: a short-legged, deep-bodied, heavy-boned horse of about 14.2 to 15.1 hands, built to carry weight rather than to gallop. "Traditional" or "Gypsy" cobs are the feathered, usually coloured animals bred by British and Irish Travelling communities; show cobs are a different, cleaner-legged animal judged in the ring.

Because it is a type, the word tells you what the horse looks like and nothing about what is behind it. That matters more here than in any other guide on this site.

History and origins

Cobs were working animals - pulling carts and traps, carrying farmers, doing the jobs that needed a strong horse in a small space. The traditional coloured cob was developed largely by Romani and Traveller families in Britain and Ireland from the nineteenth century, selecting for a strong, sound, tractable horse that could pull a wagon and be safe around children. The Gypsy Cob societies that register them today are recent, and registration is far from universal.

Appearance and size

142-155cm typically, though smaller and larger occur. Broad chest, short strong legs, abundant feather from knee and hock down, thick mane and tail. Traditional cobs are frequently piebald or skewbald; show cobs are usually solid-coloured and trimmed.

Temperament and personality

The reason people buy them. A good cob is unflappable, willing and genuinely kind - the horse that carries a nervous returning adult rider back into the sport. They are not lazy exactly, but they are unhurried, and they forgive a great deal.

Intelligence and trainability

Sensible and straightforward rather than quick. They learn steadily, retain what they learn, and rarely invent problems. They can be strong and a little stubborn, and a cob that has learned to lean on the bit takes real work to re-educate.

Children and other pets

Excellent for older children and adults alike, and often the safest ride on a yard. Easy in a herd, easy around dogs, easy in traffic if they have been done properly. Too wide for most small children to sit comfortably across.

Health problems

Laminitis and obesity. A cob is an extremely good doer. On UK pasture, unmanaged, it will get fat and its feet will suffer. Restricted grazing, weight monitoring and a muzzle for most.

Mud fever and feather mites. The feather that makes a traditional cob beautiful traps wet and mud all winter and hosts Chorioptes mites. This is a recurring seasonal job, not a one-off. Many owners eventually clip the feather off, which solves it and costs the look.

PSSM1. A muscle glycogen storage disorder found in cob and draught-type populations, causing tying-up and reluctance to work. There is a simple DNA test and it is worth doing on a horse of unknown breeding.

Sarcoids and sweet itch are both common.

Daily care routine

Daily checks, feet out daily, and through winter a hands-on check of every heel and pastern under the feather. Farrier every six to eight weeks. Dentist, vaccinations and worm counts as standard. Most live out with a shelter and come in only for work or bad weather.

Grooming and coat care

The feather is the work. Kept long, it needs to be dried and checked constantly through a wet winter; clipped off, the horse is easier to keep sound and no longer looks like a traditional cob. Manes and tails are thick and grow enormously. Show cobs are hogged and trimmed, which is a different regime entirely.

Exercise needs

Moderate but essential for weight control. Three to five sessions a week of hacking, riding club work or driving suits most. They are not built for speed or big fences and asking for either is how cobs get injured.

Feeding and diet

Very little hard feed. Soaked hay in winter, a vitamin and mineral balancer, and a realistic look at the grazing. This is the type most often killed with kindness.

Price

£1,500-£5,000 for a sound, sensible riding cob with a passport and a history; £6,000-£15,000 for a proven show cob or an exceptional coloured animal. Below about £1,200 you are usually looking at an unbroken, unregistered or unpassported horse.

Keeping one costs £3,000-£7,000 a year, less if you have your own land.

Buying advice

This is the market where the buying advice matters most.

The passport is a legal requirement and a hard stop. Every horse in Great Britain must have an identification document and a microchip that matches it. No passport means you cannot legally move or sell the horse, and it very often means nobody can tell you its age or history either. Walk away.

Ride it away from home, in traffic if that is what you will be doing, and on a second visit. Ask to see it caught, shod, loaded and clipped. Ask its age and then have the vet age it from its teeth at the vetting; a great many cobs are advertised younger than they are.

Get a five-stage vetting from your own vet. Ask them to check under the feather, look for laminitic rings, and take a blood sample. If the breeding is unknown, add a PSSM1 test - it is about £40 and it explains a great many "lazy" cobs.