this month
Horse Search
Navigation
Popular Breeds
More About ...
Percherons
Percheron Horse
The Powerful Percheron Breed
One of the most powerful breeds of horses would have to be the
Percheron breed. They are most well known for being the most powerful
and rugged draft horses in the world. They come from the Perche Valley
that is found in the northern end of France. The Percheron horses, like
so many other old breeds, do not have an exact known origin. However,
they are said to be a crossbred horse. They say that it was a cross
between a Forest horse, that lives in northern Europe, and an Arabian
horse. These are horses that were brought to that area of Europe by the
Moors. As you can guess, Percherons are such big horses. Back in the
Middle Ages they were used as battle mount horses. They stayed battle
mounts for a long time in France. However, during the age of gunpowder,
heavy warhorses were no longer needed. You need fast quick horses, and
the Percherons are not that. So instead, these horses started to pull
around the heavy French stagecoaches. Later on, railroads came about
and the Percheron horses were no longer needed there anymore either.
Thus, they were switched to doing heavy duty farm work and labor.
To give you an idea of how big these horses are, normal horses stand
about 15 or so hands high. The Percheron horses stand well above them
at 19 hands high. They are used for pleasure riding (mostly among
really big men), but they can also be used for logging. Yes, these
horses are big enough to be logging horses. Besides that they are used
in horse shows and, of course, draft horse showings. During this time,
they are noted for their muscles and their big forearms. They have
amazing balance, and they are overall nice horses. These horses are
really big and can weigh up to 2,600 pounds each. Not only that, but
for being such a big animal, they are very long lived horses as well.
Some of them can live well over 25 years!
The colors of these horses are nothing to get up in arms about. They
are usually just a black or gray horse. There are a few that are
chestnut, but that is pretty rare. Some of them will have markings on
their feet and on their head, but that is pretty rare as well. DNA
tests show that a very low parentage will ever have these markings,
although all of them carry the trait for it. If you are looking for a
horse that is going to blow you away and a horse that you can count on
no matter what, then this is the horse for you. People love Percheron
horses mostly because of their size. However, they are pretty nice
animals if you give them a chance. These, of course, are not the idle
horses for ladies to ride on or kids to ride on. They are way too big
for both. Although women would have a better time riding on them than
the kids would.
Example Listing For Animaroo Horses 
