Team of Percheron Draft Horses, Indiana Stock Farm
Draft horses are needed to pull heavy loads. There are some half dozen standard draft breeds in the United States. These are the Percheron, the Belgian, the Clydesdale, the Shire, the French Draft, and the Suffolk. The best known of these is the Percheron. All these breeds have come to us from Europe. Their names in every case tell where their native homes are. The Percheron gets its name from the province of La Perche, France. Heavy horses have long been raised in France, Germany, and Belgium. But these lowland horses lacked speed and style. During the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries the Moors and Arabs came into France through Spain. They brought with them the fine Arabian horse. Finally the French drove the Moors out of France, and took the great numbers of their horses. These were crossed with the native heavy breeds so that the Percheron type of draft horse came into being. The Arabian horses are graceful, well-formed, and stylish animals. The offspring of these and the heavy European horses had grace, style, weight, and strength. The horsemen of La Perche fancied grays and blacks. Percherons are therefore usually one or the there of these colors. The Percheron is a stocky horse, with powerful neck and shoulders, and heavy legs. He has a short back and a long body below. But in spite of his size and weight, he has fine style and action. The Percheron is an intelligent breed. The team here shown are thoroughbred Percherons that have won many prizes at horse fairs. What breeds of horses do you know? Keystone ID: 21576 Note: All titles, descriptions, and location coordinates are from the original Keystone Slide documentation as supplied by the Keystone View Company. No text has been edited or changed.