Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm

OUR FARM: ANIMALS
Rabbits - Horses - Chickens - Goats - Cow - Mule - Sheep - Pigs - Turkeys

Horses
Our Belgian Horses, Sherry and Lori, are called "draft" horses; they are used to doing heavy work unlike saddle or riding horses. Draft horses played an important part on the 19th century farmstead. Farmers used their strength to pull plows, harrows, mowers, manure spreaders, ice, logs and, of course, wagons. At Quiet Valley, Sherry and Lori can be seen plowing and harrowing fields in the spring and fall, pulling tons of ice during the winter and giving our visitors wagon rides throughout the summer.

JUMP TO
Quick Facts - Brief History of the Belgian - Resources

Quick Facts:

The female horse is called a mare, the male a stallion, and baby horses are called foals. Horses eat grass, hay, corn, and oats. Our horses are of the Belgian breed (see below), and as mentioned are mare (female) draft horses. They are 15 years old, weigh between 1600-1800 pounds, and measure 16-17 hands high.

Fun Fact: A horse's ears are set high on its head and work separately. A horse can hear what is happening nearby with one ear while listening to sounds far away with the other ear.

Brief History:

The Belgian originated in the west European lowlands of Belgium and are direct lineal descendants of the "Great Horse" of medieval times. They are direct descendants of the "Black Horse of Flanders", which existed prior to the time of Julius Caesar around 200 B.C. In 1866, the first Belgians were imported to the United States by Dr. A.G. Van Hoorebeke. In 1887, "The Belgian Draft Horse Corporation of America" was formed in Wabash, Indiana. Their popularity grew in the 1900's because of the lack of feathering, or long hair, on their lower legs and the preference for their predominant chestnut coloring. After World War I the market for heavy horses went into a steady decline. The reduction in the number of domestic draft horses, an increased demand for American grain exports and the improvements in the gasoline powered tractors combined to accelerate the replacement of the draft horse by machines. During the 1920's and early 1930's the Belgian decline was much less than other breeds. Thus the percentage of draft horses that were Belgians grew dramatically during this period. The Belgian prospered while the other breeds withered, stood still or declined. After World War II, draft horses severely dropped in popularity. Belgians began to make a resurgence starting in the 1970's and are currently the most populous draft horse breed.

Resources:

Here are some books and Web sites to check out for more information about draft horses.

- Work Horse Handbook by Lynn R. Miller
- Training Workhorses, Training Teamsters by L.R. Miller
- A Century of Belgian Horses in America by Maurice Telleen
- Brief History of Belgian Draft Horse Breed (Oklahoma State University)
- Belgian Draft Horse Corporation of America
- American Livestock Breeds Conservatory
- Small Farmer's Journal
- Rural Heritage