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23 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Without the development of certain breeds of horses, life in 17th and 18th century Europe would have been much more difficult. These horses were used for transportation, war, farming and much more.
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Although there are many breeds that originated and helped during this period of time, there are some that stand out. Some horse breeds helped more than others and are still very well known in Europe and around the world.
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Some of them are known for heavy duty farm work and war such as, the Belgian and the Shire. Others are known for transportation, and cavalry, like the Cleveland Bay and the Holsteiner.
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Then there where breeds like the Orlov Trotter that were used for hauling and long trips. These horses are some of the many breeds that helped during this time period, and helped revolutionize Europe.
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The Brabant, commonly known as today’s Belgian, had a huge impact on European history. The Belgian originated in the 18th century, from Belgium.
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Belgium is very proud of their success in this horse, and is a part of this country’s national heritage, and even more so, as a treasure.
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It is considered one of the great ancient breeds, and wasn’t one of the horses that was an “overnight success”.
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This breed took years to prefect, to look like the descriptions of the well known breed today. The little country of Belgium has fertile soil and a lot of rainfall, which made it prefect for farmers to own heavy draft horses.
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The endless fields provided pastures, hay and grain, for the farmers and horses. To the people that didn’t have the land and other essentials to own this horse, Belgians were very expensive, to the average person, considering the amount of land that this breed needs to have and the food needed for proper nutrition.
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) The average farm family back in the 18th century would have anywhere from two through eight Belgians. Weather is be for riding, plowing and/or hauling, or war.
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Throughout time this breed has had many different names. In the Middle Ages, it was known as the “Flemish Horse” or the “Flanders Horse” and referred to as the “great horse”.
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This horse was prefect for war considering its rough and intimidating appearance, and ability to carry heavy loads over long distances. In fact, in the Middle Ages, the Belgian was used for war.
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This horse had the job of carrying knights into battle. Dates marking back to the time of Ceaser, show breed genetics very similar to the Belgian, and other draft horses.
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As time went on Belgium shipped horses out to different parts of Europe to get bred. Belgian helped in the process of creating breeds like the, Shires, German Rhinelands, also known as the almost extinct Rhenish, the Ardennias, and the Gorkis in the USSR.
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. The reason for this was to better the breed even more. This brought money and a lot of publicity into Belgium.
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In the 20’s and 30’s, there was a tremendous decline in draft horse breeds everywhere. But there was barely a decline in the Belgians at all.
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During this time period, the breed grew dramatically, while other breeds stood at a stand still or when backwards. An outcome to this growth in the population was that there was very little importation of the breed to Belgium.
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In fact the last importation recorded on January 15th, 1940. In World War II the introduction of small, rubber tired row-crop tractors put all draft horses under tremendous pressure, caused by the labor shortage.
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People lost interest in the breed and started using more modern ways of farming. It was recorded in the early 50’s for a couple years that the annual registrations dropped to under the 200 mark.
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Although other breeds were in even worse condition, and some even closed up their shops, the Belgians were still declining. Over time, as the cost of horses got cheaper, more people went back to breeding and using horses.
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The Belgians were finally starting to recover. In a 5 year period of time there was 4,056 registrations and 5,920 transfers.
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When the breed first started getting imported, they were known for being too thick, too low headed, straight shouldered, and round boned. The expression, “The Dutchman’s Type” was given to them.
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But even with the faults of this breed, people were still a fan because they are easy keepers, good shipper and willing worker with great temperaments. Overtime these flaws were bred out, and they are also known for their beauty too.
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In today’s breed of Belgian, they are known more for the style of their head and neck, with more slope to both the shoulder and the pastern, and the good clean flat bone that goes hand and hand with other good qualities.
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. Their coloring is commonly known as the “Cadillac colors”, being a chestnut or sorrel with a snow-white mane and tail, with a strip of white on their face, and four white socks with feathering
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It is easy to say that this breed has left its mark in European history, and will continue to make history in Europe and America, for years to come.
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The Shire has a tremendous impact on European history. The Shire originated in the 18th century, from Great Britain.
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But there are records dating back to the pre 15th century. In the 18th century is when the Shire had accomplished its description of what it is known to look like as today’s Shires.
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Shires are known for their weight, which is similar to the Belgians, dark coat coloring, and long feathering, like most other daft horses. Shires are also known for their massive heads, and cool and calm personality that often attracts women and kids
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Shires come in mostly bay, it is uncommon to see a gray or black but, it does happen every once in a while. Shires are no harder to breed then any other breeds, just because of most colors.
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It is commonly known as the “gentle giant” or the “English Thoroughbred”. Like the Belgian they were used by farmers for plowing and/or hauling back in the 18th century and even into today’s farming methods.
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Considering their size they needed large amounts of land and feed to survive, they were very expensive and still are today. They were owned mostly for heavy duty farm work.
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Back in the Middle Ages when they were used as war horses, they were referred to as the “tank on legs”. They managed to get this name from their contribution to war in this time period.
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Like the Belgians, they had the job of carrying knights into battle. They were perfect for this job, because of their rough and intimidating appearance, and ability to carry heavy loads over long distances
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The ability to carry heavy loads came in handy when they were carrying the heavy armor for themselves, and the men. A knight in shinning armor wouldn’t have gotten very far back then without their horse in shinning armor too.
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Knights in armor were too heavy to for British horses to carry, so in the 1500’s different horses needed to be shipped from different parts of Europe. King Henry VIII was determined to increase the size of British horses in 1541.
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He banned all stallions from grazing in or on public places unless they met certain requirements. He had an interest in breeding strong horses for the army, since his own waistline ballooned after injury that the once-athletic monarch suffered while jousting.
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“There is no other beast which so befits a knight as a good horse… A brave man mounted on a good horse may do more in an hour of fighting then ten or maybe a hundred could have done afoot.” Said Spanish knight, Gutierre Diaz de Games, in the 1400’s
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The Cleveland Bay originated from Great Britain in the 16th century for a great number of reasons. This breed was used for transportation and the cavalry the most.
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But was also known for some farm work and as a good riding/coach horse.
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Theses horses were not as expensive to own as the heavy draft horses but they are considered a form of light draft. These horses had a limit of only two per family.
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But anyone that wanted one could own one. Great Britain was and still is very proud of this horse. To this day they still use them in their annual parades. Such parades include the Pimlico, Independence Day, and Olympic Medalist parades
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They are known for their characteristics of longevity and fertility. The Cleveland Bay is always a shade of bay with a black mane and tail.
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This horse many have only a star or a couple gray hairs around its hooves to legally register as a Cleveland Bay
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When people first look at this breed they notice their strong and muscular legs and their large head, followed by a smooth neck.
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They were bred so that is have a free and smooth action in all of their different gaits, that make then good for riding.
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