I raise, breed, show (a little) Belgian draft horses. I also do "color commentary" at a number of draft shows around the country. I am also a part time auctioneer and have workded some of the large breeder sales. In addtion, my parents were Amish until about the time of my birth and still live in the community in ILL. I have done a fair amount of research on this subject.
All of the major breeds were started in other countries
Belgian - Belgium
Perceron-France
Clydesdale - Scotland
Shire - England
There are of course other draft breeds but these are the top 4 by a wide margin. In terms of numbers in this country they are in the order I have placed them. For many years in this country farmers used relatively small wiry horses for all farm work. We all know that George Washington was given a gift of a mammoth Donkey so we could start to breed mules. Some of the biggest and best working draft mules are in the Amish country in Pa. I have seen some awesome animals there.
It was not until the mid to late 1800"s that we began to import draft stallions into this country to cross on those tough farm horses. We needed larger and larger machinery and farmers were increasing acerage as the popluation became less rural. In general there were far more stallions than mares imported and the pure bred stock in general was restricted to relatively few farms. Many of the university's in fact kept breeding barns. Some of the Amish breeders in the Midwest were given some of this stock from the Universities. The tractor had clearly taken over as the preferred means of tilling soil and the big Ag colleges were getting rid of their horses.
The draft industry suffered terribly when the tractor took over. Had it not been for Amish farmers and breeders we would have very few drafts today. The draft horses are changing to be far more leggy and "showy" than the earlier horses
In general (very general) when the purebred horses in early 1900's
on farms and in cities, the percherons and belgians were used on farms and Clyde and Shires ewre used in the cities for hauling freight. The long feather on the Clyde and Shire could create some problems on the farms during mud season. The Suffolk Punch is also an awesome draft horse not as big as the rest, but known for soundness and disposition.
Draft's today are a huge hobby breed as well as used very seriously on Amish farms for farming. The Amish are some of the premier breeders of the Belgian and Percheron horses. I do not know of a serious Amish breeder of either Clyde, Shire or Suffolk. I would imagine they exist I am just not aware of any.
The highest priced Draft stallion to ever sell publicly was a Belgian horse about 4 years ago 105,000 dollars. Just recently at one of the large breeder sales a Percheron mare sold publicly for 84,000. I beleive that is the record for a draft female at public auction.
Hope I have not bored you all with this long post. Draft horses are a real passion of mine
All of the major breeds were started in other countries
Belgian - Belgium
Perceron-France
Clydesdale - Scotland
Shire - England
There are of course other draft breeds but these are the top 4 by a wide margin. In terms of numbers in this country they are in the order I have placed them. For many years in this country farmers used relatively small wiry horses for all farm work. We all know that George Washington was given a gift of a mammoth Donkey so we could start to breed mules. Some of the biggest and best working draft mules are in the Amish country in Pa. I have seen some awesome animals there.
It was not until the mid to late 1800"s that we began to import draft stallions into this country to cross on those tough farm horses. We needed larger and larger machinery and farmers were increasing acerage as the popluation became less rural. In general there were far more stallions than mares imported and the pure bred stock in general was restricted to relatively few farms. Many of the university's in fact kept breeding barns. Some of the Amish breeders in the Midwest were given some of this stock from the Universities. The tractor had clearly taken over as the preferred means of tilling soil and the big Ag colleges were getting rid of their horses.
The draft industry suffered terribly when the tractor took over. Had it not been for Amish farmers and breeders we would have very few drafts today. The draft horses are changing to be far more leggy and "showy" than the earlier horses
In general (very general) when the purebred horses in early 1900's
on farms and in cities, the percherons and belgians were used on farms and Clyde and Shires ewre used in the cities for hauling freight. The long feather on the Clyde and Shire could create some problems on the farms during mud season. The Suffolk Punch is also an awesome draft horse not as big as the rest, but known for soundness and disposition.
Draft's today are a huge hobby breed as well as used very seriously on Amish farms for farming. The Amish are some of the premier breeders of the Belgian and Percheron horses. I do not know of a serious Amish breeder of either Clyde, Shire or Suffolk. I would imagine they exist I am just not aware of any.
The highest priced Draft stallion to ever sell publicly was a Belgian horse about 4 years ago 105,000 dollars. Just recently at one of the large breeder sales a Percheron mare sold publicly for 84,000. I beleive that is the record for a draft female at public auction.
Hope I have not bored you all with this long post. Draft horses are a real passion of mine
