How Do You Measure a Horse?

You measure a horse in "hands."  A hand is four inches.  You measure a horse from the ground to the top of the shoulders, or "withers."

Blossom. The Friendly Giant Draft Horse

This is a video I made on Monday evening when Uncle Danny came out to trim the horses hooves. Blossom is really big, but she's very friendly.

How Much Work a Draft Horse Can Do in a Day

One horse can plow an acre a day.


One horse can harrow, cultivate, plant or mow between seven and ten acres a day.


A harrow is used for breaking up and smoothing out the surface of the soil before you plant.  There are four kinds of harrows:  the disc harrow, the chain harrow, the tine harrow or spike harrow and the spring tine harrow.

Breeds of Draft Horses

There are many different breeds of draft horses.  Here are some of the most popular breeds:

Percheron
This is a grownup Percheron and a baby Percheron.  Percherons came from Northern France.  They are intelligent and friendly.  They can live to be over 25 years old.

Clydesdale
This is a grownup Clydesdale and a baby Clydesdale.  Clydesdales came from Scotland. They were used for farming and coal mining. Clydesdales are very intelligent and can live into their 20s.

Belgians
Belgians originally came from Belgium.  They were developed from the War Horses of the Middle Ages.  They are one of the strongest of the draft horses.  They are known to be gentle.  This is a family of Belgians.

Altogether there are about 24 breeds of draft horses.  Some other kinds of draft horses are:

•  Abtenauer
•  Breton 
•  Dutch Draft
•  East Bulgarian 
•  Fjord Horse
•  Friesian
•  Shetland Pony
•  Groningen Horse
•  Haflinger
•  Italian Heavy Draft
•  Jutland
•  Konik
•  Lithuanian Heavy Draft
•  Murgese
•  Nonius
•  Noriker
•  North Swedish Horse
• Orlov Trotter
• Pleven
• Shire Horse

The History of Draft Horses

People think today's draft horses developed from knight's horses.  Knights used horses for riding to war and for jousting.  Horses had to be big and strong to carry knights with heavy armor.

Draft Horses

Draft Horses are work horses.  They work on farms and in the woods.  They pull heavy things and they are usually very big and strong.  This picture shows the parts of harness on a draft horse.