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A draft horse is generally a large, heavy horse suitable for farm labor, like this Shire 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 plowing. There are a number of breeds ...
When fully grown, these English draft horses can measure up to 19.2 hands high. One hand equals 4 inches, so that makes Shire horses 76.8 inches, or 6 and a half feet tall!
The mechanization of farming in the mid-20th century led to a decrease in the overall draft horse population, [5] and with Rierson's death in 1957, American Cream Draft numbers began to decline. [2] By the late 1950s there were only 200 living American Creams registered, owned by only 41 breeders. [ 5 ]
Horse pulling competition (2017) Horse pull, with dynamometer (2022) Horse pulling is a draft horse competition where horses in harness, usually two animals, pull a stone-boat or weighted sled and the winner is the team or animal that can pull the most weight for a short distance. There are different weight classes and strict rules to avoid ...
Draft horses today are used on a few small farms, but today are seen mainly for pulling and plowing competitions rather than farm work. Heavy harness horses are now used as an outcross with lighter breeds, such as the Thoroughbred, to produce the modern warmblood breeds popular in sport horse disciplines, particularly at the Olympic level.
The horses have been used throughout history as war horses, both as cavalry mounts and to draw artillery, and are used today mainly for heavy draft and farm work, meat production and competitive driving events. They have also been used to influence or create several other horse breeds throughout Europe and Asia.
Ardennes draft horses during haymaking in July 1972 at Forrières. Its origins date back to the 1960s in Europe, and particularly in France. Breeders of draft horses were no longer able to sell their livestock for farm work, and are left with animals with no commercial value, rendered obsolete by the tractor. [2]
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