[QUOTE=elysianfieldsfarm;4730670]
What a beautiful young mare. But as someone with very limited Percheron or draft of any kind experience, I have an honest question.
Are the Percherons being bred for show at this time “different” from older Percherons in their conformation or sheer “mass”?
I’m asking because I have an older registered mare now around16 who was a broodmare for 10 years at a big Ohio farm where she was bred-- but she looks nothing like the mare in this video.
Lou Lou is much more stocky looking and bulkier. I think her legs are shorter, too. I have been told that she comes from decent bloodlines and that some of the horses in her pedigree were sucessful show horses, so I am just wondering if the Percheron is evolving into a “lighter” heavy horse, or if there are two body styles-- the show Percheron and the work Percheron?:)[/QUOTE]
OK…you asked.
If you ask a farmer, they will tell you there have always been one kind of Percheron (the kind you have).
If you ask a hitch (show) person, those who know their breed’s history will remember that there have always been two kinds of Percherons (The French historical records even lists three-with one being inbetween). A lighter type and a heavier, drafty type. People used to call the lighter Percherons “fast drafts,” or “light” Percherons. I recommend a book called the "The Percheron Horse in America and in France by MC Weld (America part) and Charles Du Hays (French part). Written in 1886, this book really goes into detail over the two kinds. Copies can be picked up from Abes books for about $10.
After the early 1900s, most Percherons were heavied up for plow but the show animals retained a lot of the lighter blood in the USA. After WWII, there was a severe meat shortage and in France, the French breed standard was written to include them as a meat animal (which screwed up a lot of their lines -which is why they now keep importing our animals into France).
This PHAOA has NO BREED STANDARD (partly in reaction to the above -if you ask the old timers). Their reason is that the Percheron is a versatile animal, with many uses. One standard would not define all types.
The PHAOA association is a closed registry, no animal have been added the the stud book since 1904? except those imported from CA or France. In the 1950/60s, Percherons were down to 500 animals in the USA with very few in other countries too. So, genes are limited. A horse named Justemere Showtime (show animal) was breed to about half the horses left in the USA during this period (he was very popular), he is in almost every pedigree in the USA.
If you show seriously ub hitch, you need a hitch animal. A old fashioned plow animal just is not what one sees doing well in hitch shows. However, there are also lots of farm shows in the USA -most of draft horse farm days or plow matches, etc. Both for competition and for exhibition. The type of animal you have does very well. They make great riding and driving horses too but they do look different from most of my animals -note that the mare you were viewing weighs 1700 pounds at 18 hands! They aren’t that light.
Finally, people will argue this way or that about the types but I collect old Percheron stuff and the historical record really does show that there have been two types of Percherons since forever (early 1800s). I used to have pages on my website that had photos but when I redid my site, I never finished that part. Maybe I need to go back and finish it.
Here is a little section from the book above:
“THE ENDURANCE ON THE PERCHERON HORSE”
A gray mare bred by M. Bealavoris, at Almeneschus, in 1845, …performed the following match: -Harnessed to a traveling-tilbury, she started from Bernay at the same time as the mail courier …,and arrived before it at Alengon, having made 56 miles over a hilly and difficult road, in 4 hours and 24 minutes. This mare is still living."
A gray mare 7 years old, belonging to M. Construer, …in 1865 harnessed to a tilbury travelled 58 miles and back on two consecutive days, going at a trot and without being touched with the whip. This was over the road from…, a difficult and hilly way. The following time was made: The first day the distance was trotted in 4 hours, 1 minute, and 35 seconds; the second day, in 4 hours, 1 minute and 30 seconds. The 13 3/4 last miles were made in one hour, although at about the 41 mile the mare was obliged to pass her stable to finish the distance." (and that is the last sentence in the book).
The book also listed a number of mounted, timed trotting events with 160 horses to determine speed. They also did the same in harness. They were ridden way back when as well as driven and there is a reason they called them “fast drafts.”
Long story short, most Percherons were heavied up to work the plow but not all. Those old, lighter genes have been the backbone of the Percheron hitch horse for forever and a day.
Also, in France and Canada, many of the shows are broken up into heavy draft and coaching or light draft categories for their halter classes to accomodate both types of horses.
