Welsh Section D

What is a Welsh Section D?

The Welsh Cob: the largest of the four Welsh sections, exceeding 13.2 hands with no upper limit, though most stand 14.2 to 15.2. Powerful, deep-bodied and short-legged relative to their bulk, with a high knee action and a bold, workmanlike head.

They are among the most useful horses bred in Britain and the section that has kept the Welsh stud book commercially alive.

History and origins

The Welsh Cob is old - referenced in medieval Welsh law - and was the militia horse, the farm horse and the trap horse of Wales for centuries. They were selected for the ability to trot fast under weight over rough ground, which is where the action comes from.

The Welsh Pony and Cob Society was founded in 1901 and the sections were formalised through the following decades.

Appearance and size

137-160cm, 450-600kg. Deep through the girth, with powerful hindquarters, strong limbs, silky feather and an abundant mane and tail. The head is quality rather than heavy, with a bold eye.

Any solid colour; never piebald or skewbald.

Temperament and personality

Bold, honest and full of presence. Welsh Cobs are forward-going and courageous - they hunt all day, go first across country, and have a trot that turns heads.

They are also strong-minded. A Cob that has decided something takes real riding to talk out of it, and they are not a horse for a nervous rider.

Intelligence and trainability

Very trainable and very quick. They take to driving, jumping, dressage and hunting, and they hold their work well. They get bored with repetition and will invent variations.

They mature slowly and are often not fully developed until six or seven.

Children and other pets

An adult's horse in most cases. Confident older teenagers manage them well, and many families keep a Cob as the one horse everybody can ride, but a novice child is not the right partner for one.

Live out well in company.

Health problems

Laminitis, and it is the main one - a good doer of this size on good grazing is at real risk. Weight management is the daily job.

Equine Metabolic Syndrome and PPID, both blood-testable.

Mud fever and feather mites, every winter, from the feather.

Sweet itch. Sarcoids, common in the British population generally.

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

Daily care routine

Daily checks, feet out daily, and winter checks under the feather. Farrier every six to eight weeks, teeth annually, vaccinations annually, worm counts through the season.

Weight-taped or condition-scored fortnightly.

Grooming and coat care

Substantial mane, tail and feather, all traditionally left long for showing and all needing real attention through a wet winter. Thick winter coat that sheds heavily.

Clipping for a horse in hard winter work, with rugging to match.

Exercise needs

Real work four to six days a week for a horse in regular use. They have stamina, they enjoy a job, and an under-worked Cob becomes both fat and opinionated.

Feeding and diet

Forage first and very little else unless in hard work. Soaked hay if weight is an issue, a balancer, and a hard look at the grazing.

Price

£3,000-£8,000 for a well-schooled riding or driving horse, and £10,000-£30,000 for a proven show animal or a licensed stallion. Unbroken three-year-olds from £1,500.

Keeping one costs £3,000-£8,000 a year depending on livery.

Buying advice

Passport and microchip first. Ride it away from home, in traffic, and on a second visit.

Ask its age and have the vet age it from its teeth at the vetting - Cobs are frequently advertised younger than they are.

Get a five-stage vetting, ask about laminitis, and if the breeding is unknown add a PSSM1 test. It is about £40 and it explains a great many "lazy" cobs.