The Hippogriff that I speak of today has even more of the horse like body and is native to Europe. I also shared a house with one for a short period of time. I can tell you that they are noisy and annoying although when you are seriously depressed you really don't care that much. Padfoot took care of feeding it so I rarely saw it much. I would still put it in the winged horse category, perhaps even more than a griffin.
Don't be fooled the Ministry of Magic have rated Hippogriffs lower than griffins but they should still be treated with the same amount of respect.