Horse sharing
The breeds of horse described as “cold bloods” are the largest and strongest horses in the world. They are the draught breeds that have for centuries carried out the heaviest work that humans needed horses to do. They have ploughed the land, logged the forests, and drawn vehicles of every kind in city streets. Cold blood horses worked on railway yards, drew brewery drays and moved artillery. They even bore the massive drums in military bands - and still do today. Often called “gentle giants”, they are good-natured, willing to work and enjoy the company of humans. Although they are no longer vitally important for farming or transporting goods to keep cities functioning, many people love to see these charismatic horses at work. They still have an important part to play in heritage and in maintaining precious landscapes where motorised vehicles would cause damage.
Features and character of cold bloods
The most obvious characteristic of a cold blood breed is sheer size. Cold bloods can easily be 18 hands in height (72 inches/183 cm). Some are as tall as 20 hands 2 inches (82 inches/208 cm). For farm work, a cold blood with shorter legs and a low centre of gravity is often preferred, while for moving large vehicles, such as brewers’ drays loaded with barrels, somewhat taller horses with powerful quarters and specialist leg conformation are often preferred. The legs of cold bloods are big and powerful. They have amiable but alert faces to go with their hard-working, willing natures. Cold bloods have large feet and lift their legs with an impressive, measured action.
Many of the draught horse breeds originated in Europe. The ancestors of the modern cold bloods were not as tall as the modern draught horse breeds, but they were stronger than the little light horses, such as palfreys, which were used for everyday riding. On the whole, they did not move as quickly, but were slower and steadier. They came to be called “cold bloods” in contrast to the faster, more agile light breeds, such as the Turkoman, Arabian and Barb, which were considered to be “hot bloods”. The cold bloods were also believed to have steady temperaments, which made them reliable workers. When transporting goods or ploughing, they did not need to trot, so steadiness, power and hard-working qualities were required. Some had long hairs on their fetlocks called feathers and they often had long manes and tails.
It wasn’t until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that the draught horses seriously increased in size. Then, the development of breeds such as the English Shire, the Scottish Clydesdale and the French Percheron through selective breeding began to produce animals that were larger and stronger than ever before. The increase in the size of these breeds was paralleled by agricultural improvement and growing industrialisation. Eventually, many nations had their own type of cold blood draught horse breed, or even breeds, from Brittany to Russia. They remained largely a product of Europe and many of the breeds of Western Europe were sold elsewhere in the world as workhorses. More recently, cold bloods have been used to create the modern warmblood sports horse breeds.
Cold bloods - the breeds that belong to them
The world’s best-known cold blood breeds are probably the Clydesdale, Shire and Belgian Draught Horse. Belgian Draughts and Percherons have always been very popular in North America, particularly the USA. Clydesdales contributed immensely to the economies of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and many were bred in Scotland and sold overseas for record-breaking prices. At one time, strong, sturdy Suffolk Punches were also used widely to improve European breeds. They are very similar to the Schleswig and Jutland cold bloods. French breeds, such as the Percheron and Boulonnais, are not only immensely powerful but also extremely beautiful and can be used as crosses to create successful warmblood horses, particularly for use in a harness. The Ardennes and Brabant horse breeds are popular in Belgium, France and Sweden. The USA may only have one home-bred cold blood - the American Cream Draft – but it is a very beautiful breed, which is also used for riding. Some pony-sized equines that are also used for draught, such as the Haflinger, are sometimes called cold bloods, though technically, they are a warmblood as they have some Arabian in them. Less well-known cold bloods include the stunning Noriker, the Breton, and the French Mulassier, which is used to produce mules by breeding to Poitou jack donkeys. Black Forest Horses and Friesians are excellent examples of horses that are officially cold bloods, and both combine great strength with beauty. Today many cold blood breeds are used for riding as well as their traditional roles.