Gypsy Horses A Hot Commodity

Gypsy Horses A Hot Commodity LIVESTOCK Horses/Mules The centuries old Gypsy Horse breed has silky feathered legs long flowing manes and often bold color patterns The horses are built like small draft horses and bred to be graceful with an extremely gentle and willing temperament     According to breeder Kim Swaisgood of Evenstar Farms at Conesus N Y Gypsy Horses originated in Ireland and Great Britain and descended from English Shires Clydesdales Irish Draughts Dales Ponies and Fell Ponies They range in size from 12H to over 16H and come in a variety of colors In the U S however they are more commonly black and white with a tobiano pattern or solid black     They re also called Irish Tinkers Gypsy Vanners Gypsy Cobs Irish Cobs Romany Cobs Drums and Travelers Horses just to name a few     The breed s history is colorful as it was developed by travelers gypsies who needed hardy athletic and reliable horses to pull the caravan homes used in their nomadic lifestyle Gypsy Horses also had to be patient and gentle with children as they often kept the family s youngsters amused     Swaisgood says today s Gypsy Horses are ideal for many purposes:      Whether you re looking for a child s horse a trail buddy a beautiful dressage horse or an athletic jumper this is the horse of your dreams she says For our own needs we found that it s perfect for the medieval gaming competitions we re involved in and for our medieval education program We had researched several breeds and although each breed had traits that would fill our horse order none of them seemed to have everything we wanted This breed has beauty brains build stamina ability a willing temperament and is great with children     People began importing Gypsy Horses into the U S in recent years and in 2003 the Gypsy Cob Society of America Inc was founded Other American groups dedicated to this breed include the Gypsy Cob and Drum Horse Association the Gypsy Vanner Horse Society and the American Drum Horse Association     In all Swaisgood estimates there are probably about 800 registered Gypsy horses in the U S today The majority of these horses were imported from overseas and it s only in the last couple of years that foals have been produced here for sale     Breeding quality fillies or colts sell for $10 000 to $15 000 mares for $18 000 to $20 000 and proven breeding stallions for $30 000 to $40 000 These prices are for animals with little to no training     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Kim and Bob Swaisgood Evenstar Farm 6156 McGinty Rd Conesus N Y 14435 ph 585 346-6105 585 943-0960 cell ; kbswaiz@aol com; http://www even starfarm com

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