Drum Horses are uniquely eloquent and have abundant manes, tails, and feathering. Stan Phaneuf
Gypsy Cob and Drum Horse Association, Inc.
1812 E. 100 N.
Danville, Indiana 46122
www.gcdha.com
Nearly everyone who has met a Drum Horse has quickly said how wonderful it is. It captures the imagination with its stunning good looks and stately air. Often seen as a larger version of the Gypsy Cob, the Drum Horse stands at 16 hands and taller and utilizes the bloodlines of the Clydesdale, Shire, Friesian, and Gypsy Cob. It is a heavy, tall horse, yet also elegant and unique, with lovely feathering, varied coloring, and an exceptional disposition.
The Drum Horse is fashioned after the great war horses of England, with a beauty, stature, and dignity not found in any other existing breed. It originated with enthusiasts who were inspired by a particular working type of British cavalry horse and wanted to develop it as a breed in the United States.
Recently there has been more interest in the Drum Horse due to the popularity of the Gypsy Cob. Many people love the Gypsy Cob, but prefer a larger horse. That need is met in the wonderful Drum Horse, which follows the pattern of a Gypsy Cob but only in a bigger frame. With its symbiotic relationship to the smaller and popular Gypsy Cob, the Drum Horse is a worthy and complementary counterpart.
There have been conflicting stories and opinions about the two horses, however, adding to the general confusion between them. The facts about the Drum Horse and its job, as well as its future development as a breed, are therefore important to clarify by its registry.
The Drum Horse as a Job Title
The term “drum horse” is used in Britain to describe the horse that carries a rider and two silver kettledrums during certain processions, exhibitions, and ceremonies of state. Throughout history, the preferred type of horse to do this job has varied with the era and the regiment with which it performed. The one common factor is that it has to be a large, strong horse with an even temperament. The size and strength is required because the combined weight of the drums and rider can easily exceed three hundred pounds. It has to have an easy disposition because of the parade type atmosphere where it often performs. Additionally, to make things just a little more difficult, the rider’s hands have to be free to beat the drums, so the reins have to be attached to the rider’s stirrups. The drums are large and ornamental, one on each side of the saddle, straddling the area just in front of the rider. The horse has to be able to walk calmly with the drums playing and not be affected either by that or the cheering crowds.
In 1888, Rudyard Kipling immortalized the Drum Horse and its job in the amusing story The Rout of the White Hussars. In this tale, he writes, “The soul of the Regiment lives in the Drum-Horse who carries the silver kettle-drums. He is nearly always a big piebald Waler. That is a point of honour; and a Regiment will spend anything you please on a piebald.”
Drum Horses are a tall, heavy breed, yet stately. Daniel Johnson
Once a horse graduates from training to become a full-fledged Drum Horse, it stays in service for many years. A good Drum Horse will typically serve from ten to fifteen years, after which it is placed in a retirement home. Many Drum Horses go at least partially deaf by the time they retire, due to the loud sounds of the drum.
In recent times, many of the Drum Horses have been high colored Clydesdales or crosses of Shires and the older, larger bloodlines of Gypsy Cobs, or with Dutch Warmbloods. This is the reason for the extensive feathering now seen in Drum Horses.
Drum Horses have had a long and colorful history in the British military. Some of the earliest regiments documenting Drum Horses were the Royal Scots Greys (1678), the Royal Dragoon Guards and the 3rd Hussars (both in 1685), the 5th Royal Irish Lancers (1689), the 10th Royal Hussars, and 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers (both in 1715). These horses and their successors saw service wherever their regiments were sent, including India, Flanders, Crimea, and Palestine.
The regiments loved their Drum Horses and had their favorites, such as the first black horse used by the Royal Scots Greys, setting a tradition with that regiment of continuing to use black horses as often as possible. In 1832, the Queen’s Royal Lancers were presented with two cream colored colts by the royal couple for use in the band. Thereafter it became customary, whenever possible, for the Queen’s Royal Lancers to have a royal cream as the Drum Horse. By 1934, unable to obtain fresh blood from Germany during the war, the cream horses disappeared from the Royal Mews (stables).
The regiments did, however, use horses of other colors, including a piebald horse named Music Box, which was used at the Delhi Horse Show in 1931. The 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers obtained a splendid skewbald gelding that was the subject of a painting by R. Miltais. Colored reproductions of this painting were used for the regimental Christmas card.
Ireland has always had a reputation for producing magnificent horses and it has been the birthplace of a number of highly respected Drum Horses as well. One of the best known was the much celebrated Plum Duff, which was the Drum Horse for the Royal Scots Greys for more than thirteen years. Another favorite was Mary, a beautiful gray mare belonging to the 3rd Hussars. She was sent from England to join the regiment in India in late 1927. A painting by Trickett was commissioned by the regiment to commemorate her sixteen years as a Drum Horse.
The Drum Horse as a Breed
The trend toward a larger Gypsy Cob horse in North America brought a quicker development of the Drum Horse, thus saving the future of the true Gypsy Cob. The Drum Horse provides a larger Gypsy type horse to fill that need and brings together the Gypsy heritage with the British tradition.
The ideal Drum Horse displays the calm disposition, heavy bone, and profuse feathering of those that serve in the Queen of England’s cavalry. The purpose of the Drum Horse is to be a quintessential heavy riding horse, utilizing the bloodlines of the Gypsy Cob, Shire, Clydesdale, and Friesian. It has the agility, movement, and athleticism to excel in a variety of disciplines, including low-level dressage, eventing, hunting, saddle seat, trail, and pleasure, and of course it makes an excellent driving horse.
Drum Horses have a generous jaw, square muzzle, and well-set ears. Daniel Johnson
The importation of Gypsy Cobs and the breeding of Drum Horses spurred a need for a registry in the United States; thus the Gypsy Cob and Drum Horse Association (GCDHA), Inc., was founded in 2002. Creating a DNA database was its first priority, and this was quickly instituted with the help of the University of Kentucky and Dr. Gus Cothran. Samples are taken from horses internationally, as well as locally, and are recorded in a single, global DNA bank.
The registry needed to verify what a Gypsy Cob or Drum Horse is in relation to all the other names that have been used to describe both these breeds. Names like colored cobs, traditional cobs, Irish Cobs, and Irish Tinkers are used throughout Ireland, the United Kingdom, western Europe, and the United States. The term Vanner was particularly confusing, as it has been used in North America to describe the Gypsy Cob. In Britain, however, a Vanner used to apply to any heavy workhorse of indiscriminate breeding that was used to pull milk floats and heavy drays. Currently the British description of a Vanner has changed to refer to a large pinto colored horse with feathers, which is called a Drum Horse in the United States. Neither is associated with the horses bred by Gypsies.
With such a confusing array of names, many North Americans did not know how to classify Drum Horses. Are they light horse breeds or draft horses? Most breeders wholeheartedly agree they are draft horses that often disguise themselves as a heavy, light horse. Yet the draft horse world has been very slow to accept them as draft breeds, while light horse breeds consider them to be light draft horses and thus do not readily accept them either.
The GCDHA addresses this problem by strongly promoting selective programs that solidify the Drum Horse as a breed and identify it with its proper name. GCDHA requires licensing of all breeding stallions through physical inspection that accurately certifies conformation, movement, quality of hair and bone, disposition and character.
Registration Requirements
All mares and stallions must be DNA tested. Geldings of known parentage are also required to submit DNA results, but geldings of unknown parentage do not have to do so.
Registered Drum Horses are a combination of Gypsy Cob, Clydesdale, Shire, and/or Friesian and must have no less than one-eighth Gypsy Cob breeding, but cannot be full Gypsy Cobs. Shires, Clydesdales, and Friesians being used to produce Drum Horse foals must apply for an Identification Certificate and submit DNA samples.
A non-feathered draft cannot be registered, as feathering is a mark of the Drum Horse breed in the United States. The horse must be a blend of one or more of the Clydesdale, Shire, Friesian, or Gypsy Cob heavily feathered draft breeds. Since feather is a recessive gene, the only way to preserve the heavy feathering of the Drum Horse is to breed two horses that both have the gene. Breeding a smooth legged horse to a feathered horse will result in a smooth legged or lightly feathered horse, which would not meet the Drum Horse registration requirements.
To be registered, horses must meet the physical criteria described in the breed standard, be certified as being a minimum of 16 hands on or before their fifth birthday, and have parents that both are no less than 15 hands. For regular registration status, the smaller of the two parents must be at least 15 hands.
Horses that do not reach 16 hands, have one parent under 15 hands, or fall below the minimum one-eighth Gypsy Cob breeding can be registered as Breeding Stock Drum Horses. The only exceptions are geldings that reach 16 hands but have one parent less than 15 hands. They are eligible for regular registration.
Standards
General appearance: The overall appearance of a Drum Horse should give the impression of intelligence, kindness, strength, and agility. The Drum Horse is considered a heavy riding horse and should display the athleticism for a pleasant day of hunting, hacking, or other ridden discipline. The ideal Drum Horse should also excel at driving. It should be a large well-muscled horse of either medium or heavy weight, with good quality bone, a sturdy body, kind expression, and abundant hair.
Size: It should be a minimum of 16 hands and upward.
Disposition: The Drum Horse should be, above all else, a kind and willing partner. It should display an intelligent character and docile temperament with a calm and sensible attitude.
Hair: Mane and tail should be long and thick. Abundant feather should start at the knees and hocks, preferably with some hair running down the front of the leg as well as the back. Feathers should be soft and silky, but may be straight or curling, and should cover the hoof. Docking of tails is not permissible. Trimming of any mane, tail, or feathering is frowned upon, unless required in a discipline in which the horse competes. A small bridle path is allowed, as is the trimming of facial and belly hair if so desired.
Color: The Drum Horse may be any color: solid, pinto, or appaloosa spotted.
Movement: When in motion, the ideal Drum Horse should move with action, power, grace, and agility. Head carriage and collection should appear natural, not overly exaggerated or forced. Movement should be free, straight, and square with ample impulsion. Knee action should be somewhat snappy, but a long, free moving shoulder should allow the ability to reach forward in a classic extension. The horse should move up under itself with a smooth, powerful stride, be light on the forehand, and exhibit three good gaits. The Drum Horse’s movement should be suitable for a variety of ridden and driven disciplines.
Head: The head should be in proportion to the body, neither too large nor too small, with broad forehead, generous jaw, square muzzle, and even bite. The ears should be cleanly shaped and well set on. The eyes should be large, set well apart, and have an intelligent, kind expression. Eyes can be any color, including blue, which shall not be penalized. Both convex and straight profiles are acceptable. Stallions and geldings should have a masculine appearance to the head, and mares a feminine appearance.
Neck: The neck should be substantial and well muscled with a defined arch. It should be clean through the throat, not too short, and tie in well at the shoulder and withers. Stallions may exhibit a masculine crest in proper relationship to the size and thickness of neck.
Chest: The chest should be broad with ample muscle. The muscle along the bottom of the chest should appear in an inverted “V” shape as it ties into the forearm.
Shoulders: The shoulders should be deep, powerful, and of a correct slope to allow for ample, free movement.
Withers: Withers should be average in height, not too high, with a generous layer of muscle.
Back: The back should be short, supple, and well muscled and should tie in strongly at the loin.
Barrel: The barrel should be deep with well sprung ribs and a solid covering of muscle. The flank should be as deep as the girth. The loin should be strong and tie into the croup with a smooth, well muscled appearance.
Hindquarters: The hindquarters should be smooth and rounded across a long croup with a medium to high tailset, long hip with wide pelvis, and well muscled thighs and buttocks.
Feet and legs: The legs should be set squarely and straight under the body, with clean joints, and should have plenty of dense, flat bone. Forearms and thighs should be well muscled. Hind legs should display clean and well defined hocks that are broad, deep, flat, and wide when viewed from the side. The Drum Horse may or may not exhibit the influence of the draft horse hock set. Pasterns should be long enough to allow a proper slope of about 45 degrees from the hoof head to the fetlock joint. Feet must be sound and substantial, with a generous, open heel.
Inspections
Only breeding stallions are required to be inspected and licensed for breeding. Inspections consist of two divisions: one for horses two years of age and older (Status Testing and Stallion Approval), and one for horses under two years of age (Premium Grading). Height measurements are taken on all mature horses.
Stallions seeking breeding licenses have to undergo a vet exam. The exam includes (as a minimum) an inspection to determine that both testicles are fully descended with no obvious abnormalities, as well as a soundness test (including heart, lungs, and flexion test) and inspection of the mouth/bite and eyes. This exam is to be done prior to the inspection.
Licensing approval for two-year-old stallions is only provisional, and those stallions must be re-inspected by the end of their fourth year before being issued permanent approval. Stallions that pass their inspection at three years of age or older are given permanent approval. Stallion licenses, permanent or provisional, are not issued to any horse less than two years of age. Licensed stallions that have been proven to consistently produce poor quality offspring, or offspring with genetic abnormalities, may have their licenses suspended and/or revoked. Stallions not scoring well can be brought back the following year for re-evaluation. Only one passed inspection is necessary for licensing.
Drum Horse herd. Black pinto spotting is a favorite color. Daniel Johnson
Status levels and stallion licensing: All horses applying for licensing are shown in-hand and are judged on movement, as well as quiet demeanor while being examined. Inspectors touch the legs, check the bite, and perform other inspections.
Level I: Inspection criteria include breed characteristics, conformation, movement, soundness, and temperament. Level I is the minimum requirement for stallions seeking licensing approval. All horses passing the Level I testing are designated as an Approved horse. Horses passing the test with a high enough score are designated as Star status.
Level II: All Level II inspections require the horse to be presented working, either by driving or under saddle. Horses being presented in Level II should be working quietly and safely in the chosen discipline and stand quietly upon request. A simple pattern may be requested, but shall not include lead changes or hand gallops. Scoring includes marks from the Level I inspection, plus additional marks on brilliance of working movement, safety, soundness, willingness, and work ethic.
Horses passing both Level I and II testing are designated as Model. Those horses that were designated as Star from the Level I test and also pass Level II with a high enough score are designated as Preferred Model.
Level III: This highest level of inspection is geared toward breeding mares and stallions, and requires the horses to have first been presented in Levels I and II. Level III is based on the horse’s previous Level I and II scores, plus on the scores of a minimum number of registered offspring (which include Drum Horses and Gypsy Cobs, but no part-breds).
Horses passing Levels I, II, and III are designated as Elite. Horses previously designated as Preferred Model that pass Level III testing with a high enough score are designated as Elite Gold.
Since geldings cannot be judged on offspring, to attain Elite status they must be judged in both ridden and driven disciplines.
Inspections for licensing of stallions are the same for both the Drum Horse and Gypsy Cob.
Credit: Gypsy Cob and Drum Horse Association, Inc.