The
Belgian horseThe horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
,
Belgian Heavy Horse,
Brabançon, or
Brabant is a
draftA draft horse , draught horse or dray horse is a large horse bred for hard, heavy tasks such as ploughing and farm labour...
horse breedHorse breed is a broad term with no clear consensus as to definition, but most commonly refers to selectively bred populations of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a very broad sense to define landrace animals, or...
which comes from the West-Brabantian region of
BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
. They are one of the strongest of the heavy breeds.
Colors normally are a type of light
chestnutChestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...
sometimes called a "
sorrelSorrel is one of the most common equine coat colors in horses. While it is usually used to refer to a copper-red shade of chestnut horse, in some places it is used generically in place of the term "chestnut" to describe any reddish horse with a same-color or lighter mane and tail, ranging from...
," with a flaxen
maneThe mane is the hair that grows from the top of the neck of a horse or other equine, reaching from the poll to the withers, and includes the forelock or foretop. It is thicker and coarser than the rest of the horse's coat, and naturally grows to roughly cover the neck...
and tail.
On average the Belgian will grow to weigh slightly over 1 ton or 2,000 pounds.
The
Belgian horseThe horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
,
Belgian Heavy Horse,
Brabançon, or
Brabant is a
draftA draft horse , draught horse or dray horse is a large horse bred for hard, heavy tasks such as ploughing and farm labour...
horse breedHorse breed is a broad term with no clear consensus as to definition, but most commonly refers to selectively bred populations of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a very broad sense to define landrace animals, or...
which comes from the West-Brabantian region of
BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
. They are one of the strongest of the heavy breeds.
Characteristics
Colors normally are a type of light
chestnutChestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...
sometimes called a "
sorrelSorrel is one of the most common equine coat colors in horses. While it is usually used to refer to a copper-red shade of chestnut horse, in some places it is used generically in place of the term "chestnut" to describe any reddish horse with a same-color or lighter mane and tail, ranging from...
," with a flaxen
maneThe mane is the hair that grows from the top of the neck of a horse or other equine, reaching from the poll to the withers, and includes the forelock or foretop. It is thicker and coarser than the rest of the horse's coat, and naturally grows to roughly cover the neck...
and tail.
On average the Belgian will grow to weigh slightly over 1 ton or 2,000 pounds. Currently, the world's tallest Belgian Draft is Radar, a
geldingA gelding is a castrated animal — in English, the term specifically refers to a castrated male horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. As a verb, it also refers to the castration procedure itself. The word comes from the Old Norse geldr...
foaled in 1998 in
IowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland." It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of...
. He stands at 19.3½
handsA hand is a unit of measurement of length equal to {[convert|4|in|cm}}.It was originally based on the breadth of a male human hand, and is now standardized at {[convert|4|in|cm}}...
high, which means he is 6 feet 7½ inches (2.02 metres) tall at the
withersThe withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of a four-legged animal. In many species it is the tallest point of the body, and in horses and dogs it is the standard place to measure the animal's height .-Horses:The withers in horses are formed by the dorsal spinal processes of roughly the...
, and weighs over 2,400 lb (1,090 kg).
The world's largest Belgian Horse was named Brooklyn Supreme, who weighed 3,200 pounds (1,450 kg) and stood at 19.2 hands (1.98 m).
Belgian horses are able to pull tremendous weights. At the
National Western Stock ShowThe National Western Stock Show is held every January at the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado. First held in 1906, it is the world's largest stock show by number of animals and offers the world’s only carload and pen cattle show in the historic Denver Union Stockyards.The stock show is...
in Denver,
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”...
, a team of two horses in the Heavyweight class pulled 17,000 pounds a distance of 7 ft 2 in (7,700 kg a distance of 2.18 m). The team of Belgians weighed 4,800 pounds (2,200 kg). At the Iowa State fair, the heavyweight champions in the pulling contest pulled 14,600 pounds the complete distance of 15 ft (6,690 kg, 4.6 m). The team consisted of one Belgian and one
PercheronThe Percheron is a breed of powerful rugged draft horses that originated in the Perche valley in northern France.-History:Like many old breeds, the Percheron ancestors were crossbred between the "Forest Horse" native to northern Europe and the Arabians brought to Europe by the Moors...
and weighed 3,600 pounds (1,600 kg).
Breed history
Historically, though it is possible they may have had ancestors who were
destrierThe destrier is the best-known war horse of the medieval era. It carried knights in battles, tournaments, and jousts. It was described by contemporary sources as the Great Horse, due to its size and reputation....
s in the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
, their main use was as a
farmA farm is an area of land, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibers and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single individual, family, community, corporation...
horse.
Importation of Belgians to the USA ended in bulk after the beginning of the Second World War with
Erwin F. DygertErwin F. Dygert was an importer of horses into the United States. He brought the last Belgian horses out of Europe before the beginning of the second world war....
transporting the last Belgians out of Europe as the war was beginning.
Although the overall percentage of draft breeds among American horses has declined, the number of Belgians has increased.
Uses
Belgians are still used as
working animalA working animal is an animal that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks. They may be close members of the family, such as guide dogs, or semi-domesticated animals such as logging elephants...
s, but have also become popular as
show horsesDraft horse showing refers to horse shows exclusively for horses of the draft horse breeds. In North America, though a small number of draft horses are also shown under saddle, the term "Draft horse showing" refers to a specific horse show competition that primarily features driving exhibitors...
, gaming horses, and even as
trail ridingTrail riding is riding outdoors on natural trails and roads as opposed to riding in an enclosed area such as a riding arena. The term may encompass those who travel on horses, on mountain bikes, or on motorcycles and other motorized all-terrain vehicles. Trail rides may be informal activities of...
horses.
Other meanings
In
BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, "Belgian Black" is a
colloquialismA colloquialism is an expression not used in formal speech, writing or paralinguistics. Colloquialisms are also sometimes referred to collectively as "colloquial language". Colloquialisms or colloquial language is considered to be characteristic of or only appropriate for casual, ordinary,...
used to describe a
Friesian horseThe Friesian is a horse breed originating in Friesland, a province of the Netherlands. Although the breed's conformation resembles that of a light draft horse, Friesians are graceful and nimble for their size. During the Middle Ages, it is believed that the ancestors of Friesian horses were in...
.
External links
- http://equisearch.com/breeds/belgianprofile/