The Belgian Draught, , , is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

draught horse A draft horse (US) or draught horse (UK), also known as dray horse, carthorse, work horse or heavy horse, is a large horse bred to be a working animal hauling freight and doing heavy agricultural tasks such as plough, plowing. There are a nu ...

. It originates in the region of the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

that is now central Belgium, and may also be called the Brabant after the former

Province of Brabant The Province of Brabant (, ; ) was a province in Belgium from 1830 to 1995. It was created in 1815 as South Brabant, part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1995, it was split into the Dutch-speaking Flemish Brabant, the French-speaki ...

in that area. The American Belgian Draught derives from the same original stock, but has developed differently.

History

The Belgian Draught descends from the heavy farm horses of the region of the

that is now central Belgium: the from the valley of the Méhaigne in the area of Namur; the , named for Hainaut region and for the city of

Nivelles Nivelles (; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux. The Nivelles arrondissement ...

, now in

Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant ( ; ; ) is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region) and the provinces of Liège, Namur and Hainaut. Walloon Br ...

; and the , named for the

Dender The Dender () or Dendre () is a long river in Belgium, the right tributary of the river Scheldt. The confluence of the two rivers is in the Belgian town of Dendermonde. The Western or Little Dender is long and begins in Barry near Leuze-en-Hain ...

river, from

East Flanders East Flanders ( ; ; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (province), Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut (provinc ...

and the area that is now

Flemish Brabant Flemish Brabant ( ; ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also ...

. Documented breeding was recorded in the seventeenth century, with the first studbook founded in 1886. The first known imported Belgian to America was in the late nineteenth century. Closely related breeds include the Ardennais,

Flemish Horse The Flemish Horse, , , is a Belgian list of horse breeds, breed of heavy draught horse. It originates in – and is named for – Flanders, the northern part of Belgium, where its history goes back to Mediaeval times. In the late nineteent ...

, Nederlands Trekpaard, and

Trait du Nord The Trait du Nord, previously also known as Ardennais du Nord or Ardennais de type Nord, is a horse breed, breed of heavy draft horse developed and bred in the area of Hainaut (province), Hainaut in western Belgium and in northeastern France. Or ...

. The American Belgian Draught derives from the same original stock, but has developed differently. It is generally taller and less heavily built, and has a very different distribution of coat colours.

Characteristics

The Belgian Draught is a tall, powerful and massive horse. Heights at the

withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...

are usually in the range , with an average height of for

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...

s and for

stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

s. Average weights are approximately for mares and for stallions, but weights of over are not uncommon. The roan coat colour predominates, accounting for about 80% of all of the horses; some 12% are

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

, and the remainder

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

, black or

grey Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

Genetic diversity

The Belgian Draught horse has been identified as having an intermediate level of genetic diversity, and found to have relatively low levels of inbreeding. However, due to low founder diversity, the breed is identified as likely to have a potential compromise of genetic diversity in future generations.

Notes

References

{{Horse breeds of Belgium and Luxembourg Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Belgium Draft horses Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy