Dr Linda Dykes

PC/RC all-rounder - Dressage - Show- Hack 

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Location: North Herefordshire 

Coblet (Widgeon Hill Antonia) is a delightful, versatile and very sensible  8-year old 14.1hh Traditional/Gypsy Cob mare. 

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I bought her as a spring/summer project whilst my main riding mare Chip was on maternity leave. What on earth I was doing buying a 14.1hh pony that I am am quite obviously too big for is a jolly good question, but I viewed her only hours after my dad died... it's entirely true that I fell for her striking looks, lovely movement and quality conformation. But what made me overlook her (lack of) size and not ask for a measuring stick when I realised she was smaller than advertised, was that I thought she was terribly cute, and she gave me lovely gentle nuzzles which, in my tear-befuddled state, obviously made my heart rule my head and home she came. 

I have had enormous fun producing Coblet over the last six months, but her maternity cover job is now concluded. It was always the plan to sell her in late summer. Nevertheless it is with sadness that I am looking for lovely new home for her, now she has returned from a very successful Ludlow Pony Club Camp where she had a great time with her 14 year old jockey, whose summer holidays are sadly over. 

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Coblet arrived with me at the very start of February. She spent a month at schooling livery with my trainer on Anglesey, and as spring turned to summer, her saddle was away being adjusted, and the weather ridiculously hot, we spent a couple of months going right back to basics and re-training Coblet in mind and body with groundwork, lungeing, long-reining, and the core/suppleness exercises recommended by our equine physio. As a former driving pony who had limited ridden experience when I bought her, Coblet has had to learned to bend and flex, work with her core engaged and hindquarters beneath her, step under laterally, and accept leg aids without rushing or tensing. These foundations are now consolidated on the ground, and being transferred to her ridden work, but we have already seen a huge development in her ridden work since February.  More recently  have spent the summer building Coblet's experience, confidence and CV, mainly with a 14-year old rider aboard. She is now a happy equine partner to her rider. 

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Coblet is as sane, sensible pony. She has the worldly-wise calmness and traffic experience of an ex-driving pony and - whilst still low mileage under saddle - is a safe, fun ride for a capable teenager or smaller adult. She is progressing rapidly in her ridden work, and just needs further schooling now to consolidate her dressage and ridden showing potential for the 2024 season. 

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Great to hack alone or in company, sensible in open spaces and chaotic warm-up arenas, good in traffic (huge advantage of a reschooled former driving pony!), easy to do, loads/travels/stands on lorry (no fuss to take out by oneself), and just as calm and easy away from home or at competitions. Not mare-ish: the only time I can tell if she is in season is if she is near stallions when she will wee a bit more frequently than normal.   

Jumping: Coblet loves jumping, is making a lovely shape over fences despite limited jumping experience, enjoyed her first clear round competition, and has been happily tackling 75cm+ courses at Pony Club camp last month, including spreads, fillers etc. She has jumped 90cm at home. 

Cross country: keen, genuine, and loves it! In only her 3rd XC session (again, at PC camp) she has been comfortably tackling 70 and 80cm fences, including water, corners, ditches and steps.

Hacking: sensible alone and in company, on roads/lanes, open spaces and orchards. Stands quietly whilst other horses canter up to her or walk away; ok with dogs accompanying. Good with all traffic seen to date - she is certainly happy with vans whizzing past, she used to be stabled down the road from an Amazon warehouse!

Showing: already a County-level traditional cob, winning her in-hand class at the 2023 Three Counties Show, and Reserve Champion Traditional Cob under saddle at Kington Show 2023,  with great potential for TGCA classes. Coblet will be ready to show seriously in ridden classes next year, if desired, once schooled over winter. She is registered with CHAPS-UK and TGCA (passport overstamped). Wonderful, active, eye-catching mover.

​​Dressage: Coblet is only just starting her dressage career: she has had four dressage outings to date, including the Regional RC Championships 19/8/23 in Hartpury (junior prelim team) . She also qualified as an individual for the National RC Championships at only her second dressage outing, the first having been the day before!  She is scoring in the low 60s at Prelim, with some 7s starting to appear in her test sheets. She is obedient with active rhythmical paces, tracks up effortlessly in trot, and just needs more education to build her strength, balance, flexibility and self carriage. For example, she is starting to get the correct bend in canter, but can't yet maintain it for long without help from her rider. Nevertheless she is ready to go out, compete and have fun with at Prelim, although serious affiliated competition will require further training. ​

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What kind of ride is Coblet?: Coblet is a responsive ride with a lovely light snaffle mouth and is not strong, even when cantering to fences. She goes in a natural outline in walk & trot when asked to do so correctly, with her canter still developing. She is willing and active and forward, without being intimidating.

Coblet does need a balanced, quiet, capable rider: if her rider is unbalanced, she gets anxious and tense. For this reason, and as she is still green to ride having had limited ridden work before coming to me, she is not yet suitable for a novice rider: if you aren't sure you have an independent seat and soft hands, you're probably not the right new owner for Coblet. She would be totally bewildered by pony-club kicks or being forced into a faux outline from the bit, rather than ridden correctly from behind. She is, however, totally genuine, and has been ridden by an experienced Grade 5 Visually Impaired para dressage rider. If you read this paragraph and aren't sure if your riding ability would be suitable please do discuss this advert with your riding instructor, and if you book a viewing, bring them with you! 

A maximum rider weight of  around 11 stone (i.e. in region of 15% of her bodyweight with tack) would be appropriate at this point in Coblet's training - I don't think it is fair to expect a horse still developing its strength and balance under saddle to carry a full 20% of her bodyweight yet, at least for arena work. She will also benefit from continued regular work at this stage in her ridden training: she has progressed rapidly over my jockey's summer school holidays when she has been ridden several times a week. I do give her a quick spin on the lunge if she hasn't been ridden for a few days. 

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Easy on the ground, herd-savvy in the field (I have had her in my small all-mare herd), a delight to load/travel, take on outings and stable away from home, and of course good to groom and bath, with a sweet, gentle temperament, Coblet is a pleasure to have around... she is even clean in her stable!  The only fault we have found with this practically-perfect pony is that she doesn't like being ridden with her tail in long plaits smacking her back legs, which is ridiculously easy to fix by just brushing her tail out before riding. 

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• Coblet is fully vaccinated, dentist/physio to date and wormed on a test-based regime. 

• Barefoot - I don't know if she has ever been shod, but she does well barefoot. 

• She hasn't been clipped since living with me, but stands motionless to have her jawline trimmed with clippers so I can't imagine she would object to body clipping. 

• Loads/travels/stands on lorry perfectly

• Easy when stabled away from home

• Good to catch (occasionally needs a tit-bit)

• Registered with CHAPS-UK and TGCA (passport over-stamped) 

• Believed to have bred a foal in the past - she definitely doesn't have virgin teats!  

• Good with all traffic seen to date.

• Happy to go out hacking, work in the arena, or go out to a field by herself 

• No stable vices

• Happy to live in or out - but I would like a home for Coblet where she can have daily turnout at least, simply because that is the most welfare-friendly way to keep equines. She has lived out 24/7 here except before events or if the weather is truly disgusting, when she has very happily stayed in her stable, marching up to the filled Hay Bar with a delighted expression on her face. 

• Passed 5-stage vetting Jan 2023 

• The only health problem she has experienced with me was a foot abscess (she was angelic to poultice!) that quickly resolved.

• Coblet has very mild mallanders (a small area of excess keratin production - extremely common in cobs) behind her right knee and sometimes her left, which is easily managed with emollients if required. She also has a small skin fold in her right fore pastern and a lesser one left hind - whether you know this as "cob ankles" or CPL,  her new owner should expect to actively manage her leg skin health with feather mite control measures (mite eradication as needed, and use of selenium sulphide shampoo, such as Head & Shoulders or Selsun, on feathers regularly to help remove excess keratin that mites feed on)  and regular turnout. This is care that all heavily-feathered cobs require. 

• No history of laminitis disclosed to me, but as a greedy native type and a very good doer, she does need restricted grazing in summer. No sweet itch. 

• Good with dogs and poultry, doesn't worry about pigs or goats, tolerates cats jumping out into the arena, but doesn't like to get closer than 20m from llamas!

• Appears  to be child-mayhem proof based upon impeccable behaviour at Pony Club camp and gentle and careful with children milling around on the ground.  

• Gentle, affectionate mare - loves to be bathed, groomed and faffed with - which is a good job whilst she is fully feathered with a full mane and tail!

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Coblet is a heavily feathered Traditional cob, but she would also look lovely clipped out, i.e. hogged and feathers clipped off. She has 10" of bone (i.e. lightweight cob) and is quite a sporty shape under all the hair! 

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• Location: Hereford/Shrops/Worcs border, HR6 area

• Viewings: generally available Saturday afternoons, and Sundays; for the next week or two we might be able to do 5.30pm viewings on Wednesdays or Fridays, but light may  become too limited to go for a hack after trying her in the arena. 

• Open to vets, trainers etc (she passed a 5-stage vetting when I bought her six months ago).  

• £7995 ovno

• Tack: Coblet's saddle (17.5" ASS/Ava saddles VSD, tree has been adjusted by a Master Saddle to Coblet's template, and it is newly re-flocked too) could possibly be available by separate negotiation... I'm not that keen to part with it (and it's probably worth more to me than anyone else!) but I know it would help give her new owners a flying start.. not many people have lovely comfortable XW saddles with the very useful 4th girth straps hanging round that have a tree already fitted to a typical flat cob back! 

I have started to compile videos of Coblet on Facebook: click here to visit.  

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Email info@lindadykes.org in first instance and I'll get back to you ASAP - or Direct Message me on Twitter @DrLindaDykes 

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