Draft Breed Question?

Question

I am very interested in getting a horse from the draft breed. I would like to get a Belgian or a Haflinger. I know that there is a big size difference between the two but i am very interested in getting a Belgian because of there size. But the problem is i cant find very many for sale. Are they becoming a rare breed? Also, the ones that i did find that I like are all older. Do they have a shorter life spend then normal horses?

Answer 1

below are a couple of links to Belgians for sale and just general info on them

Answer 2

you can really find a lot of any horse breed on the market. belgians are not rare but not popular. popular horse breeds are for example the arabian. belgians do not have a shorter life span. i suggest only getting a belgian if you have quite a bit of practise with horses. hafflingers are good horses too and are not as widely spread as the arabian so you might have some trouble finding one too.

  

Answer 3

You didn't say if you wanted a Belgian to ride or drive, it makes a difference on what you might be looking for...also, a Brabant is not a Belgian, it is a relative, but not the same thing.  Belgians do live to ripe old ages if taken care of properly and have wonderful dispositions...just remember, they weigh twice as much, they eat twice as much and they p**p twice as much and it cost more for a farrier for them.  The are listed all over the net on just about every horse for sale site, plus I even see them on Craigslist.

Answer 4

They aren't becoming a rare breed as far as I know, but they are less common than say quarter horses or Arabians.

I am not sure I understand your non sequitur statement that the ones you are find older, and then you ask if they have shorter life spans. Why would finding older ones imply that? Anyway, as far as I know they live as long as any other horse would. But I am sure you could find that out easily by searching on the internet for lifespan + Belgian Horse.

Have some patience--you can find one. Wait until you find one you really want, because a horse is a big commitment that can last many years.

David

http://gentlenaturalhorseman.blogspot.co...

Answer 5

If you live near an Amish community, then this may be a good place to start. If you need a horse for pulling a wagon or working either breed is great- just depends on how big the load will be.  An auction barn can be a great place to look, but just be aware that what you can't always trust what you see or hear, and you usually want get the chance to see the horse in action or work with them before buying.  Once again, a lot of the Amish sales that I have been to are different in that they often have horse pulls before the sale and the auction committee will tell during each lot whether the horse is broke or not (but not whether it is sound- no auctioneer should make that claim).  Two big sales in Ohio that are very good with lots of horses are the Mid Ohio draft sale in October and the Buckeye register sale also in October.  Both let you have an opportunity to check out the horses before the sale.  Hope this helps.

Answer 6

no theres alot of them up by me haflingers and belgins my niehber and best friend has four of them they live the same as a normal horse this fall i bought a prechron dapple gray for 90 dollars witch is realy cheep and he turned out nice i was bidding on a haflinger witch was a 6 yr old gelding he went for 425 and was already broke to drive i live in minnesota try your local action

Answer 7

there are draft horse auctions depending on where you live.

there is also a good site :

http://www.draftsforsale.com/

i go there 1-2 times a week. they are more expensive on that site.

there is also a few draft horse rescues across the country (i know of one in ohio and one in montiana).

the newest thing with the draft breeds is draft crosses. what they do is take any light breed, for example paint, and cross it with a draft.  they're really good horses (i've seen two in person and love them).  then once they have a 50/50 cross in order for it's off spring to be breed and considered draft cross it has to be breed with a draft horse to keep over 50% draft in it's blood.

yeah i had a whole half out conversation about buying and breeding drafts and draft crosses with someone who owns, trains, shows and sells them. i prefer draft horses and draft crosses.

about the life span, most draft horses are still used for work in the fields (another place to look for is the Almish have alot of draft horses they use, breed and sell). it isnt easy for em, and once they're working years are done not many people want to keep that big horse around. so they dump em at auctions or the horses find their ways to draft rescues. If you take care of a horse it will live longer, no matter what breed it is. (and a draft horse is a normal horse, it's a heavy breed not a light breed).

edit: piryte (sp?) about a breeder in sw pa, who are they? i may know them and if i dont i'd like to.  i am currently looking for a draft horse for myself and a cross for my mother. my fav draft is the friesian, but i dont plan on dropping 10,000 for a horse, i've ridden a belgian and loved it, why i'm leaning towards that breed.

Answer 8

Horses of any one breed are relatively rare on the market. The purebreeds tend to be more for higher level competitions and showing etc. A lot of the horses available as all rounders etc. are of indiscriminate breeding, or are crosses. Maybe this is why you're struggling to find one. Unless you want to show in breed specific classes, I suggest looking for a horse that suits your ability and needs rather than basing your search on just a breed.

Answer 9

I think Belgians are very nice horses.  I have a Belgian cross, so Belgians are my favorite draft breed!  I bet the reason you are having trouble finding one is because they aren't as popular as other breeds such as thoroughbreds and quarter horses etc.  I believe they live a good length life.  If you are interested in buying one, I would talk to someone who actually has one, or go through Belgian breed groups.  (I'm not sure what the exact name is, but they must have a group like AQHA or something).  Also look into Belgian crosses.  A lot of PMU foals have some Belgian in them.  So if you're looking for a younger horse.  You could consider rescuing one.

(Also, the technical name for a Belgian is a Brabant, so you may find more info if you google that instead.)

Answer 10

If you are near an Amish community, you might have some luck there...they use Belgians a lot for their farming.  Also you could google PMU barns and horse sales, there are a lot of Belgian foals from that industry.  The horse pulling societies and clubs could possible have some classifieds in one of their websites.   Have you tried googleing the Belgian Draft horse breeders website?  

Answer 11

What state are you in? I know a trainer/breeder in SW PA that has some goregous Belgians!