My favorite breeds of horses (Irish cob)

A little history
Cob Gypsy, known as Irish Cob in Ireland, Gypsy Cob in England, Gypsy Vanner in North America, and Tinker in Continental Europe, is a breed of Cob type horses from the British Isles. It was originally selected by nomadic communities, Travelers from Ireland and Gypsies from England, from horses of various races. Its function is to tow their heavy caravans, the verdines. The use of this horse spread in the late nineteenth century. The breed is set by crosses after the Second World War. Its international recognition is recent, these horses have never been considered a true breed until the establishment of studbooks and genealogies in writing, after 1996. The two parent associations are the Gypsy Cob Society in the United Kingdom and the Irish Cob Society in Ireland, who are competing for paternity.
The Cob Gypsy is one of the most recognizable breeds of horses, thanks to its stocky appearance, cob size, generally pie-like dress, raised and proud head-dress, top line and above all its hair and baleen, very abundant. It also has a sweet and friendly character towards man and other animals, which makes for much its success. However, this recent popularity also exposes her to questionable breeding practices. Two genetic diseases have been identified in the breed.
Now a family-friendly horse, the Cob Gypsy is now very popular for recreational and show riding. It is acclaimed in equitherapy, and adapts to most riding disciplines. It remains traditionally high by British nomads, who exchange hundreds of horses at major fairs, particularly those of Ballinasloe in Ireland and Appleby-in-Westmorland in England. The presence and charisma of the breed have led to a widespread distribution of its breeding in much of the western world, as well as Europe, North America and Australasia. This horse is the subject of many cultural representations.

Characteristics

Chance of the valley in photo (breeding in France)
Cut
1.35 m to 1.55 m on average
Dress
All are possible, most often in version pie.
Head
Straight profile, broad front
feet
Very abundant fanons
Character
Sweet, brave and peaceful

Description

This horse is unambiguously recognizable thanks to its long hair particularly abundant and often wavy, his baleen very provided, his dress usually pie, his raised head and proud and his size of cob, intermediate between horse and pony. It is "an impressive horse, powerful, compact, stocky, harmonious, majestic and well built, proportionate, balanced and full of goodness". The Cob Gypsy owes a good deal of its characteristics to the influence of the draft horse. It has a strong skeleton and abundant baleen. It exudes a global impression of intelligence, kindness, strength and agility.

Temperament, maintenance and paces

Temperament, maintenance and whether it is Gypsy Cob or Irish Cob, this horse is renowned for its excellent temperament, great gentleness, frankness and affection for humans. It is a cold-blooded horse, rather calm, but it can deploy energy under the saddle. Sweet and kind, to the point of being nicknamed the "dog-horse", he is very friendly with other animal species. He is reputed to be one of the sweetest breed horses, the result of a strong selection on the character from his breeders. By its selection, it is also a very rustic breed, able to live outside in all weathers.
Attention is paid to the pace. The general movement must be flexible and powerful, functional and regular with a good range of stride, and to presuppose a great riding comfort. At trot, the movement is bright and full, the action of the forelegs can be raised, with a slight blow to the outside. The amble is allowed. The looks are sought as natural as possible, but some horses have more knee actions than others. The breed was the subject of a study to determine the presence of the mutation of the DMRT3 gene causing the additional gait: this study confirmed the absence of this mutation in Cob Gypsy, as well as the absence of ambleur horses among raceallures.

Dresses
All dress colors are allowed, plain or spotted. A Gypsy proverb says "A good horse never comes in a bad color" (in French: "a good horse never comes with a bad color"). No breed registry includes any particular requirement, but it is not a colored horse. Nevertheless, this cob is widely known for its pie dress, especially black and white, which is common and characteristic. The tobiano pie dress is named "Piebald" (on a black base) or "skewbald" (on a bay or chestnut base).
Solid black is also widespread, particularly sought after with four tall balzanes ("sabino" dress). Because of the original cradle of these horses, the British Isles, the names of the dresses are in British English. Another typical dress of the breed is called Blagdon, and corresponds to the Balzan (English, Splashed White). It is described as a plain dress with white under the body.
We commonly find kisses and chestnut. The rarer dresses, called odd colors, are mainly sought for export in countries outside the cradle, scarcity causing prices to rise. Horses can be isabelle, palomino, carriers of the silver gene, pearl, and even (very rarely) gene dun. All markings are common, with the exception of the overo (in English, frame overo), which does not exist in the race. Gray, rouan and spotted are also existing dresses.

Pie black tobiano

Pie bay tobiano

Pie chestnut tobiano

Pie blue roan tobiano

blue roan sabino

silver dapple

silver dapple snowflakes

And much more! There are so many that I will not put everything.

Uses

This horse has the appearance of a draft horse and his selection is based on an animal endowed with good endurance, suitable for hitching as well as being mounted. Over time, he became sought after for recreational riding (walking and hiking), TREC and equestrian show, as well as all kinds of disciplines under saddle. It is a family horse, which can be ridden by all. His qualities make him sought after and his future as a family and show horse seems assured.