It all began with a need. The Traveller’s of Great Britain needed a small heavy horse to pull the house wagon known as a vardo. Prior to a movable house, the need was different. To make a long story short, given the native breeds of the British Isles, the horse we know as the Gypsy’s horse is representative of those which include the Clydesdale and Shire horses, and Dales, and Fell ponies. The resulting horse was smaller than the large draft horses and bigger than the ponies. Extremely smart and easy to work with, an ideal caravan horse was created. Due to the loss of their horses during WW1 (horses were confiscated for the war effort, especially the solid colors) the Traveller’s bred for color as insurance; however, today we see all color and color patterns.

So where does that leave us today? It is a very different world for certain. The breed is here in the states, horses are registered, there are breed shows, and breeders have come and gone,for better or worse. Conformation and disposition are the two most important factors, and when given the proper attention, the breed standard prevails. When color and hair are the primary elements, a lot can be lost that produces a good example of the breed standard. We are at a stage many breeds have been at when the horse is changed in some way by breeders looking to put their stamp on their produce. We see very few of this excellent driving horse in shows which saddens this breeder. Having determined driving to be a better start in a horse’s training, we found the use of words and tone to be extremely effective tools that carried over into the ridding disciplines. And so, at this point, I would highly recommend an interesting book for those that may not embrace or even consider this. The book by Mim Eichler Rivas titled…

BEAUTIFUL JIM KEY

Is a must read. “True saga of a truly exceptional animal, and the no less exceptional man that led him to greatness.”