The Original Traditional Cob Breeders

The Irish Cob was developed in Ireland by Irish Travellers as their perfect caravan/wagon horse and the Gypsy Cob was developed in England (the UK) by Romani people (Romany Gypsies) who used the Irish Cob as the foundation breed to develop the Gypsy Cob as their perfect caravan/wagon horse. Although it is true that the Traditional Cob (Irish Cob and Gypsy Cob) was originally bred by Irish Travellers and Romai people in the Ireland and Britain (the UK), the narrative established in England that the ‘Traditional Cob’ or ‘Gypsy Cob’ was originally bred by Irish Travellers and Romai people in the Ireland and Britain (the UK) is incorrect and misleading and has caused confusion and dispute over what an Irish Cob is. The narrative needs to be corrected so as to recognise Irish Travellers in Ireland for developing the unique Traditional Cob of Ireland (Irish Cob) and to recognise the unique Traditional Cob of the UK (Gypsy Cob) developed in England by Romani people.

Many Traditional Cob owners in the UK know that the foundation breed for the Gypsy Cob is the Irish Cob. However, because of strong marketing in the UK of the name Gypsy Cob for all Traditional Cobs, most owners in the UK understandably want to continue to use the name Gypsy Cob as the trading name for Irish Cobs as well as for Gypsy Cobs. However, although using the name Gypsy Cob as the trading name for Irish Cobs as well as for Gypsy Cobs may be good in the UK it is not right, not only because it fails to recognise (and therefore discriminates against) Irish Travellers who are the original breeders of the Irish Cob (the original Traditional Cob) and gives all credit to Romai people for being the original breeders of all Traditional Cobs (Irish Cobs and Gypsy Cobs), but also because it fails to recognise Ireland and the country of origin of the breed (of the original Traditional Cob/Irish Cob).

It should also be pointed out, that in the 1990s there was a ‘rush’ by countries outside Ireland and the UK (including Holland and the USA) to open registries for a breed they believed to have been an unrecognised breed. The narrative that the Traditional Cob was originally developed by Gypsies in Britain (the UK) was created in September 1996 by the Gypsy Vanner Horse Society in the USA who not only believe the narrative they created to be true, but also that Irish Cob is just another name given in Ireland after 1996 for the same breed. In 1999 a Tinker studbook was officially founded in Holland because the breed society in Holland believed they were the first to name the breed developed in Ireland by Irish Travellers (Tinker is a historical name for Irish Travellers). However, the fact is that the Irish Cob Studbook was already officially recognised in Ireland in June 1996. It was not until the early 2000s that the first Gypsy Cob Studbook was officially founded in England (the UK) which should therefore have been for the Gypsy Cob (one Traditional Cob breed type). 

TCR is making the following statement:

“Although the Irish Cob and Gypsy Cob are the same breed (Traditional Cob), they are different Traditional Cob breed types and therefore need their own separate breed standards. However, because the Irish Cob and Gypsy Cob are the same breed, TCR could not accuse any registry of being wrong for registering Irish Cobs and Gypsy Cobs as the same breed. It was not until the last 10 years or so that the Gypsy Cob has been strongly promoted by the Romani people in England (the UK) as their own unique Traditional Cob breed type, so separating the Irish Cob and Gypsy Cob would not have seemed necessary to Traditional Cob registries founded before then. However, since separating the Irish Cob and Gypsy Cob has become necessary, TCR not only separates the Irish Cob and Gypsy Cob by registering them separately as two distinctive Traditional Cob breed types, but TCR also recognises Irish Travellers and Romani people individually for having developed their own unique Traditional Cob breed types.”

IRISH TRAVELLERS

It is not appropriate to call Irish Cobs Gypsy Cobs because Irish Travellers are not related to Romani people (Romany Gypsies). Irish Travellers share ancestors with the rest of the Irish population and are a recognised blood group genetically from at least 350 years ago.