The Estonian Draft or Eston-Arden (

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

: ''Eesti raskeveohobune'') is a

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 ...

of draft horse developed in Estonia. They were developed from a cross of Estonian Native horses and

Swedish Ardennes The Swedish Ardennes is a medium-size, heavyweight draft horse. It was bred in Sweden during the late 19th century to satisfy farmers' demand for horses suitable for agriculture. Characteristics The Swedish Ardennes is and weighs .Reddic ...

and officially recognized by the Estonian government in 1953. Population numbers have decreased since the early 1990s and today inbreeding is of significant concern and the breed is considered to be endangered by the Estonian government. Although originally used for heavy draft work, they are now used mainly for small-scale gardening.

Breed characteristics

Estonian Drafts are generally

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

in color. Through selective breeding, they have become well adapted to the soil in northern Estonia.

History

Estonian Native horses were crossed with

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 to create a draft horse that was an easy keeper that was powerful yet fast. A stud book was established in 1921, and the breed was officially recognized by the Estonian government in 1953. At the same time the Estonian Draft was developed, the

Lithuanian Heavy Draft The Lithuanian Heavy Draught is a draught horse breed created in Lithuania during the 19th and 20th centuries. They are used mainly for heavy draught and farm work, as well as meat production and the improvement of other breeds. The breed i ...

and the Soviet Heavy Draft also came into being in order to serve a demand for heavy draft horses in the Soviet Union. As of 1994, there were approximately 400 Estonian Drafts in existence, including about 15 breeding stallions and 120 breeding mares. At that time, population numbers were reported to be decreasing. Another type developed in the 1990s for use as a harness horse. Although there were originally eight main blood lines, by 2004 the breed had been reduced to four stallion lines, and only 14 purebred foals were born. As of January 1, 2009, there were 233 registered horses, including 84 brood mares and 6 breeding stallions. At that point, concerns were raised about increasing amounts of inbreeding leading to decreased health and reproductive efficiency and increasing amounts of undesirable traits. All six of the breeding stallions were considered inbred, and three were closely related to each other. Because of these low population numbers and limited breeding stock, further inbreeding is almost inevitable. As of 2011, the breed is considered to be endangered and is found mainly in the Lääne-Viru and Ida-Viru counties. The Estonian Draft is one of three recognized horse breeds in Estonia; the others being the Tori and the Estonian Native horse. The Estonian Horse Breeders' Society is responsible for the monitoring and conservation of the breed. Although originally bred for agricultural uses, in the 21st century they are mainly used for small-scale gardening. A few are employed in forestry, while others appear in horse shows and pulling beer wagons. The breed is the least populous of the three Estonian breeds.

References

{{Equine, state=collapsed Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Estonia Animal breeds originating in the Soviet Union