The Norman Cob Horse

The Norman Cob horse comes from Normandy, where it is still used for light draught work on small farms in La Manche, Normandy. Normandy has long been famed for its breeding of horses, especially at the great studs of Le Pin which was founded as the royal stud in the mid-seventh century). Another great stud of theirs is Saint-Lo, where the modern Norman Cob was bred.

The Norman Cob was named after the English Cob. It has a very similar build to the English Cob, but only became an official breed at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It was only at that time that the breeds of half-bred horses realized that there was a need to distinguish between horses to be used for riding, ones for the army and others more suited to light draught work.

The Norman Cob horse was one of the heavier horses more suited for light draught work. It became very popular as a workhorse (especially in the La Manche region). Even the powerful, majestic Percheron failed to supplant here.

There has been a tendency over the years for the Norman Cob to become heavier to help it cope with harder work. However, though the Norman Cob is very sturdy and muscled, it lacks the huge structure of a true draught horse. It also never lost the energetic, active action of the half-bred.

The Norman Cob is not too tall, only standing from 15.3 to 16.3 hands. It is well proportioned overall and comes in the colours of chestnut, bay, brown, red-roan and grey. However, bay and brown are the most common colours for this breed.

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