The Magnificent Gypsy Horse

Gypsy Gold Does Not Glitter and Clink
It Gleams in the Sun and Neighs in the Dark
----- old gypsy proverb

The Gypsy Horse has a short body, thick neck and a long shoulder, a wide chest, and large and round hindquarters. He has a thick mane and tail, with his hooves covered with thick, long hair known as Feather. This hair starts behind the knee and falls to the ground.

The true Gypsy Horse should be kind, quiet, patient, solid in disposition and be able to travel many miles pulling a full load.

Although the Gypsy people primarily drove their horses, this breed has shown great versatility by participating in many other disciplines in the U.S.

They are fearless and have great endurance for trail riding. They will go through water, over bridges, and take care of their rider.

They love the challenges of ranch work including cutting, roping, reining, and general cow work.

Gypsy horses excel as English and Western pleasure horses, in low-level jumping and obstacle classes, and even in Dressage.

photo by nc_sizemore

The Gypsy horse grows long, thick manes and tails. Sometimes they have double manes, hair that is so thick it parts down the middle and flows on both sides of the neck. And some grow long manes almost reaching the ground and have tails that drag the ground.

The hair that's unique to the Gypsy horse is the feather, which covers the lower leg and hoof. It is always called the feather, and not called feathers. Feather should start at the knee, covering the hoof and often several more inches on the ground. Feather often is silky, but can also be course and woolly.

If a Gypsy Horse does not have feather, he is not considered a good example of the breed.

Some people who use their horses for riding cut the feather along the hoof. But it's easy to tell if the horse does have correct feathering and if it's been cut.

And some horses with fine, silky hair may lose some of their feather during certain seasons of the year.

Both mares and stallions need feather. Purchasing a mare with little feather and breeding it to a heavily feathered stallion rarely produces offspring with feather. Feather is accumulative and can take several generations of careful breeding to get it back once lost.

With young horses, it's difficult to tell if they'll be feathered as adults, even if they have thick manes and tails. Try to see the dam and sire, or at least know the horses close up in the pedigree.

Feathered horses are high maintenance. They can have problems arise under feather. You may suspect a problem if your horse rubs, stamps, or bites at his lower legs.

photo by aconnel73170 on flickr

Nomadic gypsies have traveled throughout Europe and the U.K. for hundreds of years and lived in beautifully decorated wagons known as vardos.

The original Gypsies didn't call themselves gypsies and they didn't call their horses, gypsy horses. The Travellers of Ireland called their horses Coloured Cobs, Cobs, Coloured Horses or sometimes just Piebalds.

Like all horse breeders, they had terms to denote the better equine individuals: Proper Cobs, Good Cobs, Proper Horses, Proper Pibalds. These were the individual animals who would be used as breeding stock.

The Gypsy Horse was created through hundreds of years of selective breeding; most likely with the Friesian, the Clydesdale, the Shire, the Fells Pony and the Dales Pony.

A true Gypsy Horse has a long, well known history that has been passed down by the Gypsies from long ago up until today. Gypsy horse lines are not documented on paper since most of their horses were never given names, and few Gypsies could read or write. The lines of the breed and their ancestry were verbally passed down through generations.

Now with DNA proof of breeding, more serious breeders will keep pedigrees on their own Gypsy horses.

The registration of these great horses begins in the U.S. with the Gypsy Horse Registry of America, Inc. in Springtown, Texas documenting this heritage through DNA.

The first registered Gypsy horses were imported to North America in November 1996.

photo by Bill Strong on flickr

Gyspy horses are known under many different names like Gypsy Horse, Gypsy Cob, Irish Tinker, Gypsy Vanner, and others. They all refer to the same breed.

Up until the late 20th century, the Gypsy horse was not a recognized breed.

There are currently four registries for this breed in the U.S.

~ The Gypsy Horse Registry of America

~ North American Gypsy Horse Association

~ Gypsy Cob and Drum Horse Association

~ Gypsy Vanner Horse Society

The only difference between a Vanner and a Cob is basically their size. Cobs range in sizes between 13.1hh and 15.1hh and Vanners between 15.2hh and 16.2hh.

The different registries in the U.S. don't distinguish between the horse sizes. All registries allow both Gypsy Cobs and Vanners of all sizes.

Due to their popularity at least 4,000 Gypsy stallions and mares reside in the United States. Information from Magic Horse.net

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