A 2,000-pound Belgian team doesn’t look fast. They don’t scramble. At the Old Farmer’s Day pulling competition in Loranger, Louisiana, I watched a pair move a loaded sled that would have stalled a pickup truck — steady rhythm, no wasted effort, the kind of power that doesn’t need to announce itself. I’ve spent 30 years …
Draft horses (also spelled “draught horses”) are large, heavy-boned breeds developed for pulling and heavy farm work, typically standing 13–19 hands with calm, steady “cold-blooded” temperaments. The smallest draft horse breeds in common use include compact workers like the Haflinger and Gypsy Vanner, both under 16 hands, while the largest draft horse breeds, such as …
On a cool morning, my grandson and I watched our horses play when we noticed his cousins’ Belgian approach the group of smaller Thoroughbreds and calmly looked around. Seeing these horses together prompted us to discuss the different types of horses. The primary types of horses you should know are draft horses, warmbloods, and hot-blooded …