But it does…well maybe not in your world.
It’s about as confusing as the word pony.
[QUOTE=gothedistance;5473230]
A small scale draft horse, generally pinto colored, but not always. They are pretty, personable, sweet, and generous. Lofty trot, not Hackney, but lots of upwards without losing forward. They do tend to land “heavy”.[/QUOTE]
YEP!
Its a DRAFT horse, a DRAFT horse, a DRAFT horse, usually of small stature. If you want to hitch and PULL or travel by caravan then it’s a great kind of horse for what you want to do. If you want to keep up with Thoroughbreds and other long legged light lean breeds while chasing down hounds…get a light lean running breed, lols. There is no reason to intentionally go out and BUY a drafting breed to go cross country riding…just like there is no reason to INTENTIONALLY go out and buy a racing breed to hitch and pull a milk cart :eek:
[QUOTE=Huntin’Fool;5472482]
Hey,
Anyone here hunt or know someone who’s hunted a Gypsy Vanner? I have a friend who’s thinking of buying one.
Regards,
Huntin’ Fool[/QUOTE]
There’s one in the Grand Canyon Hunt that the Delaney’s own. He is adorable! Love him to death!
Matthew Lawson in TN breeds them, and I think has hunted them a few times; what field, I don’t know. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=476442092189&set=a.429290917189.211754.508077189&theater
His website is: http://www.adamoeq.com/home.cfm.
I personally wouldn’t unless one was in a VERY slow hunt (and I HATE feathers, so I would clip them off, too…).
The success of a “non-purpose bred” horse in the hunt field does depend on a couple of things.
-
The hunt and the territory - is it slow or fast?
-
The rider goals - not evey hunter aspires to ride up front following the pack at full speed. Not every hunter wants to jump every fence either. There is nothing wrong with a “non-purpose bred” horse in the hunt field as long as they are well mannered and well placed in the field with regards to their fittness level and ability.
So why be so critical of them? The OP never mentioned that the friend in question wanted to hunt first flight. Maybe they are a hilltopper or like hanging back in 2nd flight?
Questomatic, though not directed at me, I take your statement "I’m so tired of people on the dressage board complaining about their Friesian not being able to get fit enough for the canter tour of a dressage test. Its a cart horse. It was bred to trot. Get an OTTB or Warmblood and move on with your life. " quite personally. Just because someone isn’t skilled enough or patient enough to develop a canter on their Friesian doesn’t mean they’d do any better with an OTTB or a WB. My Friesian has a kick-ass canter but she wasn’t born with it, we had to work hard on it. Her fittness too. She now prefers her canter over her trot and trust me, so do I.
I’ve been told to “get an OTTB and move on with my life” but I couldn’t say goodbye to the best horse I’ve ever owned just because she wasn’t “purpose bred” for a sport I ended up participating in 10 years after I bought her. So we work hard, accept that we have limitations in the hunt field, and place ourselves where we are a good fit. I wouldn’t sell her if my life depended on it.
[QUOTE=Huntin’Fool;5472482]
Hey,
Anyone here hunt or know someone who’s hunted a Gypsy Vanner? I have a friend who’s thinking of buying one.
Regards,
Huntin’ Fool[/QUOTE]
Oh, I think it would be a great little hunt horse. I personally feel Gypsies/Tinkers are quite versatile. I knew/rode one that taught beginner lessons one day, traversed the trails the next, and then pulled a sporty little carraige in Combined Driving events.
Totally go for it. They have great minds and I think you (or your friend) will have a lot of FUN!! 
I ride an American cob
Half american paint horse half Thoroughbred. I have three mares bred like this that I hunt. Similar to an appendix quarter.
I would be intrigued to know exactly how the act of entering a horse’s name in to a “book” magically turns all horses, similarly entered, into a breed. The motivation is clear, but the actual mechanics of the transition are a mystery. (Maybe magical butterflies have something to do with it ?)
Dear All,
Thanks for your input! My buddy is a 2nd flight rider. I do wonder if a Vanner could keep up when they hit a good gallop-but I imagine if the horse was fit it’d be ok. I personally ride in 1st flight and love my OTTB-imho there is nothing like a TB for hunting.
Having said that I totally agree it also depends on the individual. I’ve known a 1/2 draft who was a great 1st flight horse with a lot of bottom. A girl rides a draft/quarter horse cross in 2nd flight in our hunt who is everything a draft cross should be. She is fabulous to start a young horse jumping behind-1. she always always jumps, 2. she maintains the steady pace, 3. can’t get around her large behind! She’s also very ‘boss mare’ which I think gives a baby confidence. Her owner clips her feathers-I think she’s a Clyde X?
Thanks for the help,
Huntin’ Fool
Suitability
Hi Everyone,
Im Matthew Lawson and SideSaddleRider was partially correct.
I have a client here in TN that breeds Gypsy Vanners and I have occasionally taken them in for training to hunt or jump.
In my opinion they are well suited to 3rd flight and prove to be super horses for older adults or kids who need something that is quiet bombproof and dependable. With proper conditioning they can do most hunting territory and are in fact very surefooted.
Unfortunately they were not bred to travel long distances or be particularly fast. In my experience the horses I have worked with have been fairly snappy with their front end and have jumped pretty clean but just simply don’t have the motor for first flight.
In the fall i went to the farm and did an evaluation of about 80 horses and found about 10 of them that I thought were suitable conformation wise to do this job. Most of the smaller “cob” types in my opinion were excellent candidates for pony club as they were cute flat kneed movers.
I have a friend who drives them and they are absolutely perfect driving horses. You have to know that in Wales and the UK the Gypsy Vanner was essentially the all-purpose vehicle. They were the mini-van, the riding horse and occasionally a hunt horse.
An earlier poster did say that in any breed there are exceptions and I agree completely.
On youtube there is also a video of a gypsy competing in Novice level eventing.
If anyone has questions about the gypsy vanner’s or would like more info id be happy to speak with them.
btw- as a collector of oddities I have a Friesian Sporthorse by the recently deceased stallion Nico that is absolutely stunning and I think would make a great foxhunter. 5 yo, 17.2h, puppy dog personality,has some light feathering and is painted like the gypsies. VERY SWEET HORSE! and for SALE! lol
I really think that the butterflies and rainbows would be very distracting to the hounds. All of that “majic” mane wafting in the breeze…
Face it, you could hunt a moose if it could keep up. It’s not about the horses.
The previous statement was made by someone who’s daughter used a Clydesdale as a whip’s horse (neatly clipped and roached)
[QUOTE=AGRHJRider;5484211]
Hi Everyone,
Im Matthew Lawson and SideSaddleRider was partially correct.
l[/QUOTE]
well I wondered when you’d get here :lol:
DITTO what Megaladon said…
Why are folks so critical? Cobs can do quite well foxhunting. They are good all-arounders.
And yes, I’m using the generic term “COB”, like folks in the UK. And BTW, in the UK a “Gypsy Cob” is called a “Cob” (Coloured Cob, usually)
Anyhoo - one of the best tempered, easiest horse to ride, that did FANTASTIC at RamTap last month was a GYPSY COB. She kicked butt. Albeit, it was at Beginner Novice. But she was a jumping machine, was so easy-going and put in a lovely dressage test.
For the lower levels and for the not-as-demanding hunts…Cobs can do fine. The temperament and hardiness count for alot
EDITED TO ADD: I know they aren’t galloping machines, like TBs. And they lack the scope of the purpose-bred/built horses…but again…at the FUN/LOWER levels, they are GREAT!
[QUOTE=Megaladon;5473890]
Oh, I think it would be a great little hunt horse. I personally feel Gypsies/Tinkers are quite versatile. I knew/rode one that taught beginner lessons one day, traversed the trails the next, and then pulled a sporty little carraige in Combined Driving events.
Totally go for it. They have great minds and I think you (or your friend) will have a lot of FUN!! :D[/QUOTE]
I think the answer to your first question lies in the promotion of the “Gypsy Vanner” “breed” in the US, and particularly the assertions here on COTH of one of the founders of the US registry.
My impression is that many posters think cob type horses (colored or not) can be good foxhunters (depending on individual horse and type and pace of hunt), but have both a negative reaction to the way in which “Gypsy Vanners” have been promoted and some (imo valid) concerns about the type of horse that is usually given the “Gypsy Vanner” label (e.g. drafty conformation, hard to get fit, landing “heavy”, etc.).
Yep, I hear ya You’re talking about the political/drama stuff surrounding how they are promoted here in the USA as the “majikal colorful hairy fairy-tale horses”
I try to keep out of all that drama we have with them here, and look at them as a whole. Again, in the UK, the coulored cobs are quite handy/versatile and you’ll find them in many riding schools, out hunting, hacking, packing around kids/adults, driving, you name it!
Unfortunately the reputation here in the USA is tarnished due to how they are promoted (and bred)
I think if you look to the Gypsy Cob Breed Associations (I know there are a couple here), they ARE touted as being good family/pleasure/low-level/fun type horses that are game to do anything.
It’s too bad there arent’ more breeders/enthusiasts HERE that go out and really PROMOTE them as USING horses. Instead of all the “lead and feed” stuff that’s going on 
[QUOTE=Grasshopper;5488484]
I think the answer to your first question lies in the promotion of the “Gypsy Vanner” “breed” in the US, and particularly the assertions here on COTH of one of the founders of the US registry.
My impression is that many posters think cob type horses (colored or not) can be good foxhunters (depending on individual horse and type and pace of hunt), but have both a negative reaction to the way in which “Gypsy Vanners” have been promoted and some (imo valid) concerns about the type of horse that is usually given the “Gypsy Vanner” label (e.g. drafty conformation, hard to get fit, landing “heavy”, etc.).[/QUOTE]
Gypsies Tally Ho Too
Hi All,
I hunt my Gypsy Vanner 3X/week. He is not the fastest horse in the field and not the biggest jumper, but we do just fine. They are not the right breed if you’re with a hunt that rides only thoroughbreds and gallops to every 3-rail fence they see. But if you’re with a hunt where people ride draft-crosses and other breeds, the jumps are medium-size and if you don’t mind riding second field when the runs get really fast, they’re perfecty fine. They are generally good-natured and enjoy hunting for hours as much as their rider does. They’re Irish, after all, and I think it’s in their blood.
Is it as cute as Stephania’s cob? Because if so then I have a quandry as to which one to sneak into empty side of horse trailer at some opportune moment…
I would like to publically state that IF I was going to take up riding again, for their versatility and sensibility I would consider, yea actually seek out, a colored cob. I’ve known for years that as AGRHJRider said the cob is the mini-van of horses in the British Isles. That’s what they were bred for and I’m (obviously) all in favor of people using horses for the purposes they’ve been bred for hundreds of years.
If someone has the time and know how to condition their draft horse to be fit enough to hunt, mazel tov! But to go out and buy something that will take that much effort to prep for the huntfield, and more work with each year of age boggles my mind.
Once upon a time, my fabulous college trainer got on a 4 yo TB who had never jumped before under saddle. He trotted two cross rails then jumped twice around the outside, little 2’ verticals. A bunch of us watched breathless as the colt effortlessly cantered around snapping his knees up easily clearing 3’. At the end the trainer rode over to us and said, "THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is the difference between BREEDING for it and training for it.
