HGG Community Forums

What makes a good reference photo? Images should have:

-Bright, clear lighting, without overly dark shadows
-Be side-on shots with the photo taken square to the shoulder, like the current images in the game.
-Be good examples of the breed type.
-Show as much of the horse as possible, tall grass hides a lot of leg details.
-Bonus if we can clearly see at least some of each leg.
-Limited, or ideally no tack at all.


-In addition to the nice square on body shots if you have an image of a body part (like a head, mane, tail etc.) that you think is particularly nice feel free to share it, including the reason you are sharing, but we need square full body shots more than anything. The body part in question should be clearly labeled and must STILL be square to the camera. We can't use the images otherwise.

We need adult horses AND foal images.

Please don't share images of "pretty horses" that do not fit what is outlined above. It bogs things down and makes it harder on us.

______

We ALSO need a discussion about the name of this breed.

"Gypsy Vanner" is a US-specific term for cobs bred in the UK by the Travelers/Gypsy/Romani people. It is very important to note that "Gypsy" is considered a very offensive racist term any many parts of the world, but nomadic people are not a monolith and different cultures of nomadic people call themselves different things. The ones I have met in the US call themselves Romani. In Bulgaria, the posters for their festivals use the word Romanai in English but they mostly go by Tsiganin in Bulgarian. As I understand in the UK Gypsy is often the preferred word. The Traveler people have their own cultural identity and heritage that is completely unique from the Roma people, and they are not interchangeable groups despite sharing horse genetics.

I am not here to shame anyone for saying "gypsy" but we are also not going to use that word in the game out of respect for my personal friends in the US and Bulgaria who are Romani.

Up to now, I have been using the word Vanner as it is easily identifiable what breed I am speaking about. I am however very open to calling them something else. I have seen Irish Cob and Galineers Cob suggested.