Horses
Click on the small picture to open our baby album. We bred our first draft horses in 2007 and were lucky enough to get all fillies in 2008. These are our baby pictures of those girls.
Gidget getting some smooches from her best bud Hannah
Click on "Gidget" to open our horse album. We have pictures of our draft horse mares. They have been wonderful and patient and let us learn without getting upset, frustrated or impatient. If only we could all be a little more like them.
Click here to add text.Click here to add ick here to adWhy draft hor ses, wht breed temperment, goals training etcadd link to eldon page mini purpose, names
mini horses mules We raise and train Belgian draft horses. wht breed temperment, goals training etcadd link to eldon page mini purpose, names
mini horses
mules
A draft horse is a large horse bred for hard, heavy tasks such as plowing and farm labor. There are a number of different breeds, with varying characteristics but all share common traits of strength, patience and a docile temperament which made them indispensable to generations of pre-industrial farmers. Draft horses and draft crossbreds are versatile breeds used today for a multitude of purposes, including farming, show, and other recreational uses. They are also commonly used for crossbreeding, especially to light riding breeds such as the Thoroughbred for the purpose of creating sport horses. While most draft horses are used for driving, they can be ridden and some of the lighter draft breeds are capable performers under saddle.
Draft horses are recognizable by their tall stature and extremely muscular build. In general, they tend to have a more upright shoulder, producing more upright movement and conformation that is well-suited for pulling. They tend to have short backs with very powerful hindquarters, again best suited for the purpose of pulling. Additionally, the draft breeds usually have heavy bone, and a good deal of feathering on their lower legs. Draft breeds range from approximately 16 hands high to 19hh and from 1,400 to 2,000 lb.
Draft horses crossbred on light riding horses adds height and weight to the ensuing offspring, and may increase the power and "scope" of the animal's movement.
the late 19th and early 20th centuries, thousands of draft horses were imported from Western Europe into the United States. Percherons came from France, Belgians from Belgium, Shires from England, Clydesdales from Scotland. Many American draft registries were founded in the late 1800s. The Percheron, with 40,000 broodmares registered as of 1915, was America’s most numerous draft breed at the turn of the century.[1] A breed developed exclusively in the U.S. was the American Cream Draft, which had a stud book established by the 1930s.
Beginning in the late 1800s, and with increasing mechanization in the 20th century, especially following World War I in the USA and after World War II in Europe, the popularity of the internal combustion engine, and particularly the tractor, reduced the need for the draft horse. Many were sold to slaughter for horsemeat and a number of breeds went into significant decline.
Today draft horses are most often seen at shows, pulling competition and entered in competitions called "heavy horse" trials, or as exhibition animals pulling large wagons. However, they are still seen on some smaller farms in the USA and Europe. They are particularly popular with groups such as Amish and Mennonite farmers, as well as those individuals who wish to farm with a renewable source of power. Crossbred draft horses also played a significant role in the development of a number of warmblood breeds, popular today in international FEI competition up to the Olympic Equestrian level.
In America's Upper Midwest, Mackinac Island banned the personal motorized vehicle in order to protect the draft horses in the late 1800's and again in the 1920's. Today, the ban is still in effect and Belgians, Percherons, Hackneys and other large breeds continue to serve the community and the tourists who visit each season. Everything is moved by drays and people get around on horse drawn taxis, elaborate private carriages and also by bicycle.
Colors normally are a type of light chestnut sometimes called a "sorrel," with a flaxen mane and tail.
On average the Belgian will grow to weigh slightly over 1 ton or 2,000 pounds. Currently, the world's tallest Belgian Draft is Radar, a gelding foaled in 1998 in Iowa. He stands at 19.3½ hands high, which means he is 6 feet 7½ inches (2.02 metres) tall at the withers, and weighs over 2,400 lb (1,090 kg).[2]
The world's largest Belgian Horse was named Brooklyn Supreme, who weighed 3,200 pounds (1,450 kg) and stood at 19.2 hands (1.98 m).[3][4]
Belgian horses are able to pull tremendous weights. At the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado, a team of two horses in the Heavyweight class pulled 17,000 pounds a distance of 7 ft 2 in (7,700 kg a distance of 2.18 m). The team of Belgians weighed 4,800 pounds (2,200 kg). At the Iowa State fair, the heavyweight champions in the pulling contest pulled 14,600 pounds the complete distance of 15 ft (6,690 kg, 4.6 m). The team consisted of one Belgian and one Percheron and weighed 3,600 pounds (1,600 kg).[citation needed]
