Heavy horse breeds
Powerful and hardy horses, heavy draft horses have become indispensable helpers in the household. They were widely used in plowing, when transporting bulky goods and in other types of agricultural work.
Heavy horses
Uniqueness
A heavy draft horse has a powerful neck, muscular body and limbs, due to which it stands out against the background of other breeds. In addition, large horses have a good-natured character.
Exterior differences
Cold-blooded heavy draft horse breeds look very massive outwardly, because their strong, large stocky constitution does not give them the opportunity to have graceful and flexible movements as much as warm-blooded relatives of other breeds can, therefore they are infrequent participants in equestrian sports.
A heavy draft horse in the Middle Ages among Europeans was known as a knightly horse. Only after the lapse of time did she move to the detachment of heavy-harness farm animals.
The average weight category of horses is in the range from 0.8 to 1.0 tons, however, sometimes there are heavy representatives weighing more. In height, a heavy draft foal grows from 1.7 to 2.0 m. Such growth and body weight in aggregate outwardly add up to a large animal capable of dragging a heavy load behind it, which is immediately noticeable in the photo and video.
Among the disadvantages of heavy horse breeds, their lack of endurance is noted when overcoming long distances due to too much weight.
The exterior characteristics of heavy draft horse breeds are not the initial quality required for them. In the foreground, heavyweight workhorses have a power description, because most of the stud farms, including horse breeding in Russia, breed heavyweight horses exclusively for agricultural work, and not for participation in spectacular competitions.
Some breeders in Russia and foreign countries send their heavy draft pets to various events that reveal their strength characteristics, including checks for the transportation of weights at speed, endurance at a distance with obstacles.
Gait
Heavyweight horse breeds cannot move quickly because of their impressive dimensions: such an animal weighs a lot. They are not able to perform graceful exit elements, they cannot jump high. All this is hampered by a massive physique and thick limbs, but nevertheless their gait is comfortable enough for riders without the characteristic shaking in the saddle and lifting in height when moving. There are those that stand out for their ability to overcome tall obstacles, such as the Irish Heavy Draft.
European heavy trucks
Among the European breeds of heavy draft horses, there are several that have gained particular popularity.
Shire
The aristocratic Shire breed from England is described as a tall and massive animal.Among the ancestors of the Englishman are the war horses of the knights, famous in the old days for their size. The weight of stallions can be up to 1.3 tons, and at the withers they reach 1.9 m. Among the frequently encountered Shire suits are gray and bay.
Today, the Shire breed has become known thanks to the timely decree of the English king Henry on the intensification of horse breeding in England to provide English agriculture with draft power.
Brabancon
A heavy-duty breed of Belgian horses called Brabancon, otherwise called Flanders, became known in the Middle Ages. The Brabancons are considered one of the ancestors of the Shire. In addition, the Belgians gave blood to German heavy horses. The Belgian breed is considered an ideal animal to help in agricultural work due to its simplicity in the care process and high performance. The advantage of the breed is longevity among other heavy horses.
Compared to Shires in height, they are slightly lower, up to 1.7 m. The color of the Brabancons can be bay with shades of roan or red.
Suffolk Heavy Trucks
The Suffolk heavy draft horse breed is one of the oldest in the east of England, first mentioned in the 16th century. The description of the Suffolk horses distinguishes them from other heavy draft horses with thick legs with rounded hooves. In growth, they reach from 1 m 63 centimeters to 1.7 meters, and gain weight up to 1.0 tons. The most common Suffolk colors are light and dark shades of red, in some cases chestnut colors of horses are found.
Percherons
French giants Percherons began to be bred in the 19th century, after which the breed gained wide popularity in a short time. These are one of the most dimensional representatives, standing out from the total mass in weight and height. Some individuals are known, the height of which is more than 2.0 m.
The description of the Percherons characterizes these horses as aristocraticly built. They owe their constitution to the Arab representatives, who took from them small ears and expressive eyes, ease of movement, gray in apples and black color. Unlike most draft horses, the so-called "brushes" are rarely present on the limbs of the Percherons.
The Shire, Suffolk and Percherons, together with the Scottish Drafts, were the progenitors of a new breed: the Australian Draft Truck appeared.
Russian heavy trucks
Among the domestic heavy-duty breeds, such heavy draft horses of Russia are known as the Bityugi, the horse from Vladimir, the Russian heavy horse and the Soviet.
Bityugi
The disappeared Russian heavy truck Bityug, which has not survived to the present day, was at one time an indispensable assistant for the peasant and worked as a draft horse. Small in size, stocky pet was no more than 1 m 60 cm in height.
Heavy truck from Vladimir
The large Vladimir breed of heavy-harness horses in Russia began to be bred since 1935. Its progenitors were heavy trucks from Europe. As a result of crossing, a heavy-harness representative with a height of up to 1.67 m with a weight of up to 0.7-0.75 tons appeared. However, the new breed differed from others in high power characteristics and increased endurance.
The description of the appearance refers the Vladimir horses to massive animals with their inherent plasticity in movements, which is not typical for many breeds of heavy trucks.
Among the frequently encountered colors of the Vladimir breed are red and bay, but there are also black horses from Vladimir.
Soviet horse
Calm in character, a beautiful horse of the Soviet breed of heavy trucks took genetic roots from the Bityugs when crossed with the Belgian Brabancons, English Percherons and Ardens and began to breed in 3 directions of Russian horses:
- standard Soviet heavy truck, which acts as the main type,
- weighted type, characterized by greater massiveness,
- lightweight type with a dry build.
The Soviet stallion grows at the withers to 1.65-1.7 m.The average weight of a Soviet stallion is up to 0.7-1.0 tons. Most often it is either red or brown. Less often you can see a Soviet heavy truck of a black and bay suit.
Russian heavy-duty
The Russian breed of heavy-harness horses appeared as a result of crossing with the Belgian Ardennes, small in size. The emerging Russian Arden smoothed out the disharmonious constitution of the ancestors and acquired a good exterior appearance.
The description of Russian heavy trucks registered in the middle of the last century classifies them as small animals, up to 1.5 m in height, but rather strong.
Purpose
Modern breeds of Russian and European heavy trucks have retained those exterior qualities in the description that their ancestors had. They have not lost their main purpose, developed over the centuries. The main task of each heavy-harness horse is to help a person transport heavy loads. They were often used by gypsy nomads when moving.
The main indicators of the breed of a heavy truck are its power characteristics, endurance and speed capabilities with cargo pulls. All this is evaluated in equestrian competitions, coupled with the exterior characteristics and behavior of the horse in relationships with people.
Heavy breeds today are often used in role-playing productions of artificial recreation of the medieval era, when knightly tournaments were known.
The best examples of heavy-harness horse breeds act as genetic material in breeding and selection in order to improve the indicators of strength qualities.
Despite the reduction in the breeding of heavy horses due to their replacement with modern agricultural technology, the heavy truck still acts as an assistant in agriculture and, slightly less often, as rental horses or for grazing livestock. A heavy draft horse is worth buying.