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Percheron
The Percheron is a heavy draft breed. This breed can weigh as much as 2,400 pounds (1,090 kg)!
Historically, the powerful Percheron has worked many jobs. They pulled plows across fields, streetcars through cities, and cannons over battlefields.
Height: 15-19 hh (horse hands)
Color: Gray, Black
Body Type: Heavy
This breed comes from...
La Perche, France
Explore the traits of this breed!
SIDE VIEW
The straight profile, large eyes, and long ears reflect this breed's Arabian ancestry. Arabians were crossbred with heavy French breeds to develop the Percheron.
Look at its crested neck. This is a typical trait of draft horses.
The Percheron is one of the tallest breeds. It reaches 18 hands (6 ft, 163 cm) and higher at the withers.
It has thick and muscular legs and a thick body. These traits are tell-tale signs that the Percheron is a draft horse!
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FRONT and BACK VIEW
Look at its big, round feet and hoofs. They help carry the horse's large frame.
It has a broad back and heavily muscled abdomen. These traits give the Percheron great strength.
The front legs of draft horses are spaced wider than those of riding horses. This makes room for powerful shoulder muscles, used for pulling against a harness.
The hocks of draft horses are set close together. This trait creates maximum leverage for pulling.
Most Percherons are gray or black. As this horse ages, the gray in its coat will fade to white.
Percherons have tremendous pulling power. The enormous muscles of the hindquarters provide most of the "thrust" for pulling. They can pull 3,400 pounds of dead weight over a short distance!
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The Percheron Story
The ancestors of the modern Percheron were said to be warhorses that carried armored knights into heavy battle during the Middle Ages. In the early 1800s, the heavy horses of LaPerche were crossbred with Arabian horses. The resulting Percheron breed was a heavy horse with an "elegant" gait. It was frequently used to pull stagecoaches.
In the late 1800s, Americans became aware of the Percheron's pulling power. Thousands of Percherons were imported to the United States to be used on farms and to haul goods. During World War I, teams of Percherons and Percheron mixes served in the British Army. They pulled heavy artillery to the frontlines. Sadly, thousands of these horses died in battle.
Today, Percherons pull sleighs and carriages and are used to haul heavy loads.
Appaloosa | Arabian | Belgian Draft | Connemara | Dutch Warmblood | Friesian | Haflinger | Hanoverian | Icelandic Horse | Lusitano | Miniature Horse | Morgan | Oldenburg | Paint | Percheron | Quarter Horse | Selle Français | Thoroughbred
Credits:
All images, © AMNH