The Lithuanian Heavy Draught is a

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 ...

breed created in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. 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 is currently near extinction..

History

The Lithuanian Heavy Draught was created during the late 19th century by crossing local Zhmud mares with

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

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 ...

Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...

, and other heavy breeds. The breeding was overseen by the Lithuanian Society for Breeding Work and Driving Horses beginning in 1894. In 1923 additional heavy horses were imported from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to re-establish the breed following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and in 1925, 2000, and 2001 additional Ardennes horses were imported from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

."Lithuanian Heavy"
. ''AgroWeb Lithuania''. Referenced February 4, 2008. Initially, Lithuanian Heavy Draughts were included into herd books as Ardennes crossbreds. A breed-specific herd book was issued from 1951 to 1996. The herd books for Lithuanian Heavy Draughts are now issued by the Lithuanian Horse Breeders Association, with purebred Lithuanian Draughts identified by their colour, conformation, and markings. In 1964 there were 62,000 Lithuanian Heavy Draughts in Lithuania. Recently, there has been a dramatic decrease in the breed population, with stallion numbers declining and breeding and working conditions deteriorating. Currently, the breed is close to extinction, with less than 1000 horses thought to exist as of 2003."Lithuanian Heavy Draft/Lithuania"
''Domestic Animal Diversity Information System''. Referenced February 4, 2008.

Characteristics

The Lithuanian Heavy Draught generally stands 15 to 16 hands high, and may be

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 ...

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

or roan. Overall the breed is large and solid. The head is well-proportioned with a straight profile and heavy jaw. The neck is short, muscular, and arched, the

withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...

broad and moderately pronounced and the chest wide, deep and muscular. The back is long, and generally straight, although it can be slightly dipped, and the

croup Croup, also known as laryngotracheobronchitis, is a type of respiratory infection that is usually caused by a virus. The infection leads to swelling inside the trachea, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classic symptoms o ...

rounded, long and muscled. The legs are short, solid, and muscular with broad, strong joints and well-formed hooves. Defects occasionally shown include a coarse head and an excessively dipped back."Lithuanian Heavy Draught"
. ''Oklahoma State University''. Referenced February 4, 2008.Bongianni, Maurizio. ''Simon & Schuster's Guide to Horses and Ponies''. 1988, pg. 114.

Uses

The Lithuanian Heavy Draught is used mainly for heavy draught and farm work. In Lithuania draught capacity testing began in 1857, and since 2002 the Lithuanian Horse Breeders Association has taken over the responsibility of heavy horse testing. Recently, more have begun to be exported for meat. They are also used to improve other breeds. When crossed with native Altai horses, they improved the meat and milk yield and also increased the weight, growth rate, and ability to withstand year-round grazing conditions.

References

{{Equine, state=collapsed Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Lithuania