Glossary

Glossary of Terms

blagdon - A solid black or brown Vanner with possibly a splash of white underneath, white face marking, and/or white feathers.

Chronic Progressive Lymphedema – A condition of feathered draft breeds marked by ulcerative bleeding sores on the lower legs.

Cob – The term the Gypsy Horse's British breeders use to refer to the breed. A good example of the breed is referred to as a Proper Cob. In the U.S., the term cob used in reference to the GH designates a GH registered with the Gypsy Cob Society of America, Inc. or the Gypsy Cob and Drum Horse Association.

Colored/coloured – A coat pattern containing white and one or more colors on the horse’s body.

Conformation – The physical makeup of a horse. Conformation analysis involves looking at a horse’s body parts individually and as a whole. How certain body parts are configured determines what sort of work a horse will be good at. For instance, a long back lends a horse speed and so is desirable in a racehorse. Conformation also involves how the parts of the horse fit together and how relatively well proportioned they are.

Dales Pony – A breed of small British pony from which the Gypsy Horse is believed to be bred, along with the Shire, Clydesdale, and Fells Pony.

Drum Horse – The Drum Horse is a strictly American breed. It is named for and patterned after the large, docile horses attached to British regiments to carry the huge, silver kettle drums beaten to mark march time during regimental parades. Because the rider used his hands to beat the drums, he controlled the Drum Horse with reins attached to his stirrups. Although the Drum is not considered a breed in Great Britain, the Queen of England does maintain some breeding stock, typically Clydesdales, with which to produce the Drum Horses attached to her Household guard. These horses usually do not contain any Gypsy Horse breeding.

There are two American registries for the Drum, and their definitions of the breed are somewhat different.

According to the Gypsy Cob and Drum Horse Association (GCDHA), a regular registered Drum Horse must be pinto colored and a minimum of 16 hands on or before its fifth birthday. It must also be a minimum of 7/8ths Gypsy Horse, and the remainder of its bloodlines must be taken from the Clydesdale, Shire, Friesian, or some combination thereof. Horses having a solid coat pattern and meeting the other criteria are accepted as breeding stock only. The GCDHA will not permit dual registry of the horse with any Gypsy Horse breed registry including its own.

The American Drum Horse Association (ADHA) employs a slightly different definition of a Drum. No Friesian influence is allowed in the pure Drum breed, but the ADHA does maintain a partbred studbook. The ADHA also allows horses having a solid coat pattern to be registered in its main Drum Horse studbook.

Please see the web sites of the two registries for further details.

feathers/feathering - The long hairs on a Gypsy Horse’s legs which begin below the knee on the front legs and the hocks on the hind legs and extend down the legs to fall over the hooves.

genotype – A classification of individuals having a similar genetic structure.

heterozygous – An individual whose two copies of a gene control for different values of a physical characteristic. For instance, a Gypsy Horse may have one copy of the color gene which produces a solid coat pattern and another which produces a tobiano coat pattern. Such an individual is said to be heterozygous for the gene which determines whether a horse displays a tobiano pattern. .

homozygous – An individual whose two copies of a gene control for the same value of a physical characteristic. For instance, if a Gypsy Horse’s two copies of the color gene are for tobiano, then that GH is homozygous for tobiano.

odd colored (American). odd coloured (British) - Adjective used to describe a color combination of white and any other color except brown and white and black and white. Thus, a gray and white Vanner is "odd coloured." A tricolor black, brown, and white is "odd coloured." See piebald and skewbald.

overo - In a horse which has color, that is, has white and one or more other colors on his body arranged in a spotted pattern, an overo has a preponderance of the darker color or colors.

phenotype – A classification of individuals sharing a particular physical characteristic caused by their sharing the same genotype.

piebald - Black and white coloring of a horse. Can also be used as a noun to mean a black and white horse.

Romany Grai – A lighter-framed Gypsy-bred horse.

skewbald - A horse whose coat displays spotting of white and some other color which is not black. Skewbalds are white and any other color but black (i.e., bay and whites, chestnut and whites, gray and white, palomino and white).

sweet head - Term used to describe a dainty or refined head on a Gypsy Horse.

tobiano - In a horse which has color, that is, has white and one or more other colors on his body arranged in a spotting pattern, a tobiano's color pattern has white crossing the spine as if white paint were poured on the horse's back and allowed to run down his sides.

Vanner – A Gypsy Horse registered with the Gypsy Vanner Horse Society.

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423.538.7966
317 Sharps Hollow Road | Bluff City TN 37618