The Australian Draught is a hardy

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

draught horse A draft horse (US), draught horse (UK) or dray horse (from the Old English ''dragan'' meaning "to draw or haul"; compare Dutch ''dragen'' and German ''tragen'' meaning "to carry" and Danish ''drage'' meaning "to draw" or "to fare"), less often ...

, noted for its strength and a good temperament.

Characteristics

The Australian Draught was developed over the years as a result of the

crossbreeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

of the four recognized pure draught horse breeds which were in Australia since the colonial days. These breeds are the

Clydesdale Clydesdale is an archaic name for Lanarkshire, a traditional county in Scotland. The name may also refer to: Sports * Clydesdale F.C., a former football club in Glasgow * Clydesdale RFC, Glasgow, a former rugby union club * Clydesdale RFC, South ...

Percheron The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in western France, part of the former Perche province from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray or black in color, Percherons are well muscled, and k ...

Shire Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...

Suffolk Punch The Suffolk Horse, also historically known as the Suffolk Punch or Suffolk Sorrel,Dohner, ''Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds'' pp. 349–352 is an English breed of draught horse. The first part of the nam ...

, (plus the later imported

Belgians Belgians ( nl, Belgen; french: Belges; german: Belgier) are people identified with the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe. As Belgium is a multinational state, this connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultur ...

) and occasionally some light horse bloodlines, as seen in the part draughts. The characteristics of these breeds can be found in the Australian Draught, which has produced many colours and types within the breed. All solid colours are accepted, excessive white is not favoured on the face or body, white below the knee is acceptable.

History

The roots of the Australian Draught Horse date back to the ''circa'' 1854 importation of

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

s and

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

s of various English and Flemish cart breeds to Australia.

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

(now

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

) was at the forefront of breeding cart and farm horses with the part played by the Van Diemen's Land Company. This company also imported Shire horses, which were later imported to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in the late 1830s. Bullocks did most of the heavy draught work until the 1850s. The development of the

agricultural industry Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

after the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

es required a ready supply of

draught horses A draft horse (US), draught horse (UK) or dray horse (from the Old English ''dragan'' meaning "to draw or haul"; compare Dutch ''dragen'' and German ''tragen'' meaning "to carry" and Danish ''drage'' meaning "to draw" or "to fare"), less ofte ...

to provide faster load movements. Scottish settlers did much to promote the use of the

Clydesdale horse The Clydesdale is a Scottish breed of draught horse. It is named for its area of origin, the Clydesdale or valley of the River Clyde, much of which is within the county of Lanarkshire. The origins of the breed lie in the eighteenth century, ...

s owing to their familiarity with them. Weinholt Brothers formed a notable draught horse stud at Maryvale, Queensland, in 1885. Most states preferred Shire horses, but in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, the Clydesdale was more popular.

horses were favoured in northern NSW and on the black-soil country. The Clydesdale Stud Book was established in Australia in 1915, prior to which breeding was somewhat haphazard. After 1918, tractors were rapidly replacing draught horses until the 1930s depression, when renewed interest in them was kindled. By 1950, tractors had virtually replaced the draught horse on rural properties in Australia. The Australian Draught Horse Stud Book Society was established around 1979 to promote these horses and breeding programs. Today, the Australian Draught used in

led A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

, novelty, ridden, and draught competitions and is still valued as a working horse on small farms throughout Australia.Horse Breeds: The Australian Draught Horse
Retrieved 2010-6-12

References

External links

Australian Draught Horse
{{Equine, state=collapsed Horse breeds originating in Australia Horse breeds

Characteristics

History

See also

References

External links