Lots of cheerful, happy dressage ponies
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/features/cobs-doing-dressage-590006
Those are some very cute cobs. Why aren’t they more popular in the U.S.?
I love that!
[QUOTE=Posting Trot;8851224]
Those are some very cute cobs. Why aren’t they more popular in the U.S.?[/QUOTE]
They are expensive! A lot of them are more than you would pay for an average American bred warmblood 
I have an Irish a Draught/connemara/tb cross that is a stout 15 hands. She’s at third level, and is a blast to ride. I consider her a cob type, and at the a rated shows…she definitely is not the norm with her shorter legs and round body. I love her to pieces though!
[QUOTE=Posting Trot;8851224]
Those are some very cute cobs. Why aren’t they more popular in the U.S.?[/QUOTE]
The term “cob” is used to describe a lot of different breeds and grade horses - in the US, the two we most often think about are Gypsy Cobs and Welsh Cobs. Two VERY different types of horses. But I think if you included the “traditional” Cob, that would include many heavier type, smaller horses, including quite a few draft crosses and large pony/hony crosses. So we DO see them in the US, we just don’t label them all as cobs.
Part of it is marketing, to be honest. If you even MENTION Gypsy Cobs on the Breeders Forum on COTH, be prepared to be laughed at and called a Krazy Color Unicorn rider. If you mention Draft crosses, it might even be worse. In the US, we have been “taught” that if you want to do dressage and do it well, you ride a Warmblood. And that often means you have to keep your horse in full training of course because those aren’t “plunk around, do anything, safe-and-sane trail ride on Friday, kids lessons on Saturday, compete on Sunday” types of horses.
And part of it is reality - Gypsies can be expensive horses, and less of them have the ability to go beyond lower levels. Having said that - I know someone in the US whose Gypsy mare is showing I-1 - some of them are capable of upper level work! A nice Welsh Cob with ability isn’t going to be cheap either - and they are a different type of training type, with many of them being on the hotter side. A few of them have tapped into the upper levels now, so people are starting to look at them (think North Forks Cardi, although there are several others out there too, ask ExVet, or look up a certain Olympian who shows her mothers Welsh Cob on occassion). Just because it isn’t a WB doesn’t mean it should be CHEAP!
I don’t know that they (collectively) are more then a Warmblood - I see them priced more in line with an average quality Warmblood (nowhere near the price of a fancy WB). If you add training into the mix - to find one with a show record for example - you are going to pay for it. They aren’t priced like QHs or Tbreds that are relatively inexpensive horses.
The Gypsies tend to have the best brains - quiet, safe - kind of “born broke”. So they really are great horses for timid riders. I know a trainer who specializes in working with them, so around here, you often see a handful of them at each show.
Fun pictures - I wish more people WOULD realize they might have more fun with this kind of horse!
As was mentioned there are those of us who have cobs, specifically welsh cobs here in N. America. They can be pricey but in all honesty there is a wide range of price points. The greatest challenge is you’re likely going to pay more for one that is trained. There just are not that many. I showed my section C welsh pony of cob type yesterday. We did PSG again and earned a 60. My section C will never be in the 70s at this level but he tries so hard and has allowed me to train P&P on him; so, I’m grateful for the opportunities he’s provided me. HOWEVER, they are not for everyone. They are an acquired taste. Many don’t like the body type (my family has been in morgans for many generations, horse and human alike so to me the body style of the welsh cob is perfect). They do not suffer fools kindly. My guy was given to me for free because he went through 6 trainers, was labeled el loco, and was going to be put down. He simply got into the wrong hands and you cannot unlearn a welsh cob. My barn can only hold so many that ‘didn’t’ make it. This isn’t the first one I’ve taken to FEI levels. I think the cob and of course for me the welsh cob is the best thing around but I’m glad they’re not a fad breed and likely never will be.
Oh, goodness . . . here comes Pocket Pony again, gushing about her Welsh Cob pony!
Love those pictures. What I see are nice amateur riders on appropriately-mounted horses who are having a blast, and horses that are capable of their jobs. Some of them really caught my eye. But the hair! Don’t know if I could handle that - I do trim my pony’s feathers and keep her mane short.
My pony, Annwylid D’Lite, aka Princess Fancy Pants (PFP), aka Pony, is as far as I’m concerned the greatest equine in the world, horse or pony. She is registered 1/2 Welsh Cob; her daddy is exvet’s daughter’s stallion (Welsh Cob - he’s gorgeous!) and her mom is exvet’s Welsh Cob/Morgan mare. [exvet, correct me if I’m wrong, of course!]
When I was horse shopping to buy her, I was not looking specifically for a Cob, but I was looking for something smaller as I enjoy a smaller horse. I actually have never been interested in WBs and never wanted one and wouldn’t even consider them. So I looked at some small horse and pony breeds - Cobs and section C, quarter ponies, Morgans, Connemara. I stumbled across exvet’s two ponies she had for sale and got in touch with her right away because something about my pony caught my eye. She - to me - is stunning. She has quite a presence about her. Everything exvet said about her athletic potential has proven to be true (I bought her when she was two).
I started her lightly and because of an injury I’ve been working through, I haven’t done too much with her until just a couple months ago. I mean, we’ve done w/t work in the arena, been trail riding, been to a clinic, seen cows, worked on ground work and all the basics. I wanted to feel like we were okay at a certain level of work on our own before I went to a trainer. So just two months ago we started with dressage lessons, and we just had our third jumping lesson yesterday.
This pony is SMART! Smart, smart, smart. I feel like her potential exceeds that of any horse I’ve ever had. She is athletic, elastic, forward (yes on the sometimes hot - my plans for Saturday’s ride went out the window when it was windy and she just wanted to gallop!). She is keen to work, and has been good at everything she’s tried.
I understand exvet’s comment “you can’t unlearn a cob.” Last year when I first started more ground work with her, there was a tarp in my arena that I had been working with with my mustang. Pony was curious about it so I picked it up, showed it to her, walked with her and dragged it behind me, etc. All no problem. Then I laid it back on the ground. I didn’t ask her to step on it - but she was curious and did so. OMG, it just freaked her out! It took me a year to get her to walk on the tarp again and on purpose (not like she’d do it by accident, she’s no dummy). A year!
In my dressage lessons, I get lots of “she’s so cute” and “she’s a fancy little thing” and “wow” when we do some lengthenings. In my jumping lessons she has taken to it so well and is very adjustable. I’m amazed at how far she has come since starting lessons. I’m starting to think ahead for shows for next year. 
I feel like for this pony the sky is the limit and I will be the limiting factor. She’s very trainable. She makes me look good, not the other way around! Every time she comes out she’s better than the time before and her progress is faster than any other horse I’ve had.
If my pony is indicative of Welsh Cobs, then I’ve acquired the taste for them. Never have I ever considered breeding a horse. But I want another one just like my pony. I’m not ready for another youngster yet, but if exvet were still breeding and had another one like my pony in a couple years, I’d snap it up in a heartbeat.
Oh, and she made me like mares, too! :lol::love-struck:
ETA: It has been almost a year since I’ve started her. I’ve done all the work myself (but with ground help from pros along the way) - heck, the first time I sat on her I was totally alone; it was on a whim because it just felt like the right time - same with the first time I jumped her. From a “what advice would I give other people” perspective, I wouldn’t say “get out of the arena and set up a jump on the trails and go do it by yourself” but she’s just so good that I wasn’t worried.
Anyway, perhaps for her one-year-since-starting anniversary I’ll post before-and-after videos. I’m sure if a pro had her she’d be farther along. But the point is that for me I wanted a horse I could bring along myself. She has been the perfect amateur’s pony. And I think that’s what you see in the pictures in the OP - amateurs having fun with horses they can ride!
There is a Gypsy Cob farm right near us, I had the opportunity to ride their stallion at a dressage barn party to do the practice jousting, and I have to say, I was impressed! He was a total gentlemen with mares and kids all running around (his owners were always right by to make sure everyone was being safe around him). He was very comfortable, moved nicely, and simply put, was a blast. I do mostly eventing and have my own little warmblood breeding thing going on, but when I’m an old lady, I’m totally planning on getting on of those!
Bit off topic here but there is a breeder here who has bred her Welsh Section D cob stallion to good TB mares and has produced upper level venters with many coming up. This horse was a fairly tall Secton D and not as heavy as some, but he has some striking offspring. Eventing start lists are peppered with the prefix “B.C.” which indicates her breeding. Blugal has one of them.
I have to chime in too - my Welsh Cob gelding and I are showing First right now, and I too have fallen hard for the breed. It’s the best possible adult amateur ride: they’re hardy, smart, love to engage with people, athletic, and have a strong sense of self-preservation both for horse and rider. I’ve had Castleberrys Contender for five years, and he’s never had so much as a scratch in all that time. I’ve been riding all kinds of Welsh Cobs for his breeder (Lisa Brezina of Castleberry Cobs in Indiana) for six years now, and have yet to come off of one, even when I was the first person on their backs. (I’ve said that for years and never knocked on wood!!)
Not to mention they’re competitive too - just to name a couple, Connor’s full sister is doing well at PSG, and another relative does well in CDE’s. Connor and I have won at rated BN eventing and have also been doing well in rated Dressage. And of course there’s North Forks Cardi.
I couldn’t imagine riding anything else now, they’re the perfect combination of safe, competitive, interesting and fun - and although my guy is “fun sized” at 14hh, there’s no upper limit on height: it’s a common misconception that they’re all ponies.
CobJockey, your horse is beautiful!
Thanks, Pocket Pony! That was last month at our first ever rated Dressage show.
I love Warmbloods but I also think that non professionals make up the biggest aspect of the market and Wb’s do not suit everyone. I think the Cob is underutilized and not given enough consideration in the market. Many people should be considering this type of horse.
But then again people have to come to terms with the reality of their level of riding.
I fell in love with the cob type when I was in England. I was there for three years and pretty much all the lesson horses were cobs. After the confidence rattling horse I just sold, I really wanted to get a cob this time around, so a spent a few months hunting. It’s hard to find one! I ended up with a Fjord instead.
So many horses and riders having FUN!! thank you for sharing this link.
Thanks for the post. They are really cute.
I will say that buyers like Cobjockey and Pocket Pony make those like Lisa Brezina and I very happy. Lisa and I have both been very fortunate to have seen our stock into very capable hands. I’m also fortunate that I can ride/back my own; however, that limits my ability, which is good, to produce more than a few. We each, though, have seen the stock of others get into the wrong hands and have had to personally deal with the outcome. They require a leader and a sense of fairness I don’t see all that often. I adore cob type and am obviously owned by the welsh cob breed. I don’t think there is anything better (well Morgan or Arab comes very close though they don’t quite have the same lovable curves lol). I’ve been blessed with much success, ribbons, trophies and of course since this is dressage, medals as an amateur rider/owner/breeder/trainer because of the breed.
Pocket Pony, time will tell if I produce any more. I do hope to put at least two more on the ground and we will be putting the stud pony to the public starting next breeding season. Of course Lisa is likely to have more for the future which you would do well to consider one of hers, either stallion to PFP or one of her youngstock. She and I have discussed crossing our breeding programs in the past. I think we both feel such would make a damn nice welsh cob
TAnother Cob Lover here, and I echo the statements above regarding both the positives and the potential pitfalls regarding cobs.
There are loads of them where I’m based, in the PNW. Some are delightfully easy, some are decidedly not. There is a small but growing movement of riders who are making a foray from the larger warmbloods to something smaller, and they often look to cobs, with varying results.
I have seen a fair number get pretty messed up when ammy riders buy them in a misguided moment of thinking “cute little pony makes me feel like a little girl and won’t hurt me”. Cobs can be on the hot side and they are real thinkers…so inconsistent signals, escalating rough aids and rider’s fear can create anxious, tense leg-flinging horses in a tight, false frame. Riders stick them in double bridles early because they don’t have balance or brakes and they learn to brace that big neck easily. They can be challenging to get truly “through” like many driving-type breeds and Iberians.
I’ve known several who developed explosive behavior as a result of mishandling, and as was mentioned above, they are hard to “unlearn”. I think they are super little horses, and if you find one who has a “riding back”, they are quite easy to bring along.
All in all, they are a great option for some one who wants to- and can - really ride…however they don’t generally suffer fools well, at least until they already have a base of training.
…so inconsistent signals, escalating rough aids and rider’s fear can create anxious, tense leg-flinging horses in a tight, false frame.
To be fair, that is true of any and every horse. Cobs generally have a good nature BUT they do think and can be as clever as a barrel of monkeys. They can use their strength against a rider if they think they can get away with it and just pulling on the reins doesn’t usually work. We sold one, a perfect gentleman, amiable in character, good in the stable, tolerant of poor riders and within three days we had a call from the woman who had been to see the pony with her friend, the new owner, asking if the horse had any stable vices. “None, he is good to handle” “Ah, as I thought, it is my friend then. He has taken three days to get the better of her!”
