import / export horses

[simon lenihan]

There are a few suffolks up in scotland along with ardennes, comtois, percheron, etc, i know it is clyde country but you would be surprised in what has been imported over the past few years. The most common logging horse in ireland for many years was the irish draft x clyde, i owned a few myself. The feather was reduced significantly along with the greasy heels. It might be worth considering one of these suffolks. malachite and master apple jack.
simon lenihan

[jac]

I had no idea such a variety of horses had been brought in Simon !. thats what comes with having only Clyde friends that only show i suppose. Where about is the apple jack horse standing ? Thanks for the info on that. Im trying to get a fone number for the percheron horse thats not far from me at Moffat but I thinkhe may be outon loan down south..
John

[henkdemink]

@jac 17283 wrote:

Simon am I right in saying that the Dutch draft is the modern name for what was known as the Flanders horse ?? If so then these were the horses that the Duke of Hamilton imported to Scotland to effectively start the Clydesdale breed in the 1700’s. The Friesian played a part to.. I ask because I am considering an out cross and wondered if CPL is an issue on the continent ? also we have a friend interested in bringing a quarter horse into Scotland..
John

If you want to get off the cpl issue you most certainly don’t want to use any Brabant, dutch draft or Trait du Nord. You will hardly find a draft with in the herdbook older that 10 caused by CPL.
The usa and canadian belgians are from importations before 1913 when the europian ones still had little or no feathers.

Henk.

[cousin jack]

Just looking at the Suffolk pictures, can anyone tell me why “our English” Suffolks seem to be so long in the back, I have always liked a medium or short coupled horse, I can’t help but think a long back would/could be a weak point. Am I right or wrong to be thinking this way?

[jac]

CPL is a real curse Henk.. The fact it sort of lies dormant for the 1st 10 or so years means the horses have been bred and thus start a new generation. Our American cousins be warned !!! ….. I suspect that the showing world has had a hand in altering breeds over the years away from the ideal for farm work and towards a more “hitchy” type.I hear many older people at the ringside of shows bemoaning the exrta daylight below a modern Clyde…. Market forces i suppose… I know that anyone presenting a Clyde of less than 17hands at a show stands down the line..regardless of conformation.. and told their horse is “too small”.. My own personal gripe with the Suffolk Society in England is their refusal to recognise any American import. If a Suffolk is pure bred, its pure bred no matter what side of the pond its from…
John

[Gabe Ayers]

The style of horses being just tall may be changing. I was at the National Shire Show in England and the Grand Champion was a shorter stouter looking horse than what I expected. Maybe that was just a choice by those particular judges, one of which was a Suffolk person. But just the fact that a reasonable height horse was presented was worth noting and that it won was remarkable.

I think the longer coupling came from the attempt to get the Suffolk taller. I think the top line is important regardless of the comparative coupling. We have several stout Suffolk horses in the US that are longer backed and have stood up to a lifetime of heavy work in the woods.

The English will have to fully accept importations eventually, they are running out of genes in the old country to continue the breed without new blood. These associations and societies are a bit full of themselves on both sides of the pond.

Some believe that the survival of all the draft breeds will eventually be based upon their ability to work. The hybrids do have hybrid vigor. But you can’t get that without purebreds, so we need all of them to have our best opportunities to produce serviceable, durable, tractable working animals.

Both the horses Simon posted photos of are substantial animals, weighing in the ton range. He would know what they look like across the U.K. since we saw over 160 during the 12 days touring under his guidance. He does have his favorite Suffolk Punches too, just ask him…

[mitchmaine]

hey jason, in my memory, back when men cut and piled pulp and handled wood, the successful ones were short and wide. like their horses.

[Gabe Ayers]

Yep, I think the shorter, wider ones eat less and keep easier too. Maybe even less likely to colic? Sometimes they can drink more beer too! Oops, I’m getting horses and men confused again…

[simon lenihan]

Boat from holland to canada cancelled, not enough intrest according to willy mertens, pity.
simon lenihan

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