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There seem to be more and more horses advertised as "Gypsy Drums", "Gypsy Shires", or even "Gypsy Cobs", "Gypsy Horses" or "Gypsy Vanners" that have no "Gypsy Horse" blood in them.
I have seen people selling Spotted Drafts with varying amount of feather as "Gypsy Drums" & "Gypsy Shires". Please don't get me wrong, The Spotted Draft is a fine horse and I have no idea why some people breeding them feel the need to jump on the Gypsy bandwagon. I have seen smaller paint horses possibly with some Shire or Clydesdale in them, giving them moderate feather advertised as "Gypsy Horses", they may look a little like Gypsy Horses, but that doesn't make them one. The horse known by the above names is called a "Coloured Cob" in the UK, it was originally bred by the Romany people, Gypsies, or Travellers as a smaller draught horse for pulling the family Vardo. Given the close proximity to family life temperament was of huge concern, so the breed became perhaps the most docile horse ever seen. It is not just about looks... so no matter how much some crosses might look like a Gypsy Horse, don't be fooled. |
Don't rush into a purchase, if the advertisment says "registered" check it out. Here are
the contact email addresses for all of the Gypsy Horse and Drum Horse Registries:
Claudette Griffith - Gypsy Horse Association
Jan Easter - Gypsy Horse Registry of America
Gypsy Cob & Drum Horse Association
Laurel Eaton - American Drum Horse Association
Joyce Christian - Gypsy Vanner Society
the contact email addresses for all of the Gypsy Horse and Drum Horse Registries:
Claudette Griffith - Gypsy Horse Association
Jan Easter - Gypsy Horse Registry of America
Gypsy Cob & Drum Horse Association
Laurel Eaton - American Drum Horse Association
Joyce Christian - Gypsy Vanner Society
The American Livestock Breed Conservancy has regrettably changed the status of the Shire Horse from "Watch" to "Critical".
Please think twice before removing a Shire mare with papers from the Shire Horse gene pool, extinction is forever.
