A draft horse, draught horse or dray horse (from the Anglo-Saxon dragan meaning to draw or haul) is a large horse bred for hard, heavy tasks such as ploughing and farm labour. Draught horses are versatile breeds used today for a multitude of purposes, including draft horse showing, farming, and for pleasure, but all share the traits of strength, stamina, health, longevity, patience and a docile temperament which made them indispensable to generations of pre-industrial farmers. They are also commonly used for cross-breeding, especially to breeds such as the Thoroughbred.
Conformation
Draft horses are recognizable by their tall stature and extremely muscular build. In general, they tend to have a more upright shoulder, producing more upright movement and conformation that is better-suited for pulling. They tend to have short backs with very powerful hindquarters, again best suited for the purpose of pulling. Additionally, the draft breeds usually have very thick bone, and a good deal of feathering on their lower legs. Many have a "Roman nose" (a convex profile) as well, although this Roman nosed trait is not wanted in the draft horse breeds.
World Record
The Shire horse holds the record for the world's biggest horse; Sampson, foaled in 1846 in Bedfordshire, England, stood 21.2½ hands high (i.e. 7ft 2½in or approx 2.2m at his withers) and weighed approx 3,300lb or over 1.5 tonnes.
Breeds
A number of horse breeds are used as draft horses with the variation being largely geographic. Examples include:
Harness Horse
The terms harness horse and light harness horse refer to horses of a lighter build, such as the traditional carriage horses, and are not generally used in the UK to denote "heavy" or draught horses. Harness horse breeds include Oldenburg, Friesian, Cleveland Bay, the Hackney horse, some warmbloods and in some disciplines even Thoroughbred horses. They are used in carriage driving activities, pulling coaches, traditional and modern carriages, marathon vehicles, carts and gigs etc.
The vast majority of horses used in harness racing are of yet another breed, the Standardbred.
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