Gypsy Vanner Horses: Gentle Beauty
Tinker Horses Make the Transition to World-Class Horse Breed
Used by Romany travelers throughout Britain and Ireland, Gypsy Vanners are versatile horses that offer good temperament and gorgeous color for riders of many sorts.
Gypsy Vanners is the modern term for the piebald horses one could see all over Britain and Ireland drawing caravans of ‘wanderers,’ also known in Ireland as tinkers, in days gone by. The horses, like the people, lived more or less off the land and the kindness of strangers…until the vanners became a fashionable horse in many equine worlds. Notably, dressage riders seem to appreciate the Gypsy Vanners’ finer points. Perhaps its because of the feathering on its feet, or the lovely markings on the often black-and-white steeds that they appeal to those who dance with horses. Or maybe it is their temperament.
Gypsy Vanners Are Docile, But Flashy
In addition to these attributes, according to several breeders including Mary Graybeal of Silver Feather Gypsy Vanners of Bluff City, Tennessee, Gypsy Vanners offer refinement with a lot of ‘bone,’ as well as a willing and people-oriented temperament. Graybeal is quick to point out that, despite the fact that some in Britain consider the breed “Golden Retrievers with hooves,” vanners are still horses, and, as such, must be respected for their size and power. But they are kind, generally, and they are certainly flashy.
Much of what is known about Gypsy Vanner breeding, before the most recent generation or two, is anecdotal. This is not surprising; the horse was a working ‘breed,’ if one wants to call it that, paired up on the fly with other, similarly used horses to provide power for ‘traveler’ transport.
A Fashionable Horse With Great Names
When the vanner became a ‘breed,’ sought and prized by riders with money and the means to keep the horses in fancy stalls rather than between the traces of a caravan, the foundation horses often experienced a change of name, Graybeal notes. Her own great horse, Belle, was sired by The Buck Horse, or at least, a horse that was called by that name for a time. Today, The Buck Horse is known in the U.K. as The Producer. But Graybeal was told, by Michael Vine, a U.K. breeder involved in Vanners, that Belle’s line includes stallions such as The Old Coal Horse, The Mine Sweeper, The Paddy Horse and The Trolley Cob. In today's vanner world, these are all foundation stallions with cachet, and a history of producing excellent progeny. However, there is a pony in Belle’s background, as well, albeit a vanner pony of some repute.
While Graybeal notes that docility is a particularly treasured trait in Gypsy Vanners, breeder Sue Rathbone of El Brio of Pennsylvania notes that the ability to handle the big, wide world is also a desirable trait in a pleasure horse, offered in spades by vanners. This ability to handle events of all sorts has been evident since 1685, at least, when the boisterous Appleby Fair began.
Gypsy Vanners Are a Very "English Horse"
King James II, in 1685, chartered the Appleby Fair. Although it was meant to showcase agriculture of all sorts, as well as to offer other merchandise for the populace, a vast number of gypsies attended. Because of this overabundance of Romany travelers, and their abiding love of horses, eventually, the event was known as the Appleby Horse Fair. Today, in all likelihood, it is the prime venue for buying and selling Gypsy Vanners. This makes Gypsy vanners, in a strange way, a very English horse.
Sources
Original interviews with Mary Graybeal and Sue Rathbone, and the websites,
http://www.elbriovanner.com/index2.htm and http://www.silverfeathergypsies.com/
