The Rural Voice, 1992-09, Page 25Two
for
the
show
Teams of draft
horses now stars
of local fairs
Story and photos
by Sandra Orr
Fall fairs have been a favourite with
farmers since the 1860s for showing
many breeds of animals useful on the
farm. A big part of the show has
been draught -horses, even though
they are no longer used for the
purposes that they were bred for,
heavy work and conveyance. They
are bred and kept for their own sake,
for show and pleasure.
Farmers such as Arnold Young of
R.R. 5 Goderich, near Carlow, are
interested in preserving the farming
heritage. At Lochmelon Farms, he
has been raising and showing the
heavy draught Belgian for about 20
years.
"We've always had horses," he
said. "My dad had horses. We just
never gave them up and when we
sold the dairy we started showing
them."
In his home are hung about 75
colourful ribbons, denoting prizes
won over the years at fairs at Clinton,
Kincardine, Bayfield, Palmerston,
Mitchell, Brigden, Howick, Ripley,
Lucknow, and New Hamburg.
Arnold Young shows his two pair
of Belgians drawing a home -built
cedar wagon. They are a light bay
colour with paler manes and tails.
The heavier pair are about 2100
pounds each. The other pair are a bit
lighter. They have a blaze or stripe
on their foreheads. They are very
healthy animals, grain -fed from the
farm crops. They are geldings, docile
and easy to get along with.
The two pair are about eight years
old, purchased from breeder Keith
Hobden in Lindsay. Young draws his
horses to Millbank to be shod.
The Belgians make an exciting,
attractive display when, fitted with
black leather harness and chrome
studs, they pull the cedar wagon in
front of the grandstand in the heavy
horse category. Arnold mentioned
that he built the wagon with the help
of a lad in 1974.
The heavy horse represents a way
of farming long past, when they were
used for ploughing, drawing
stoneboats, at mills, and other heavy
work. A heavy horse can work all
day. Since about 1830, with the
advent of industrialization, heavy
draught -horses were bred for size and
stamina. It was widely used on the
farm and to draw buses and delivery
wagons in cities until about 1930. In
pioneer times, the heavy horse
withstood better the hard -going on
poor roads.
The Belgian, from the Brabant
region of Belgium, has a very ancient
lineage, considered possibly to be a
descendant of the Flanders horse, a
medieval war horse. Since the
Arnold Young shows one of his
Belgians al a fair
breeders worked only with Brabant
strains, the result is a magnificent
horse which always breeds true to
type. It has been used to improve
other breeds and has been exported
around the world.
The heavy animals are used for
show purposes and in some countries
for meat. Even though the heavy
horse is no longer used for transport,
they are kept and admired for their
past usefulness.
In 1860, the horse population was
estimated to be at about 300,000 for
the province and were made up of
different types. The entry categories
at the 1860 exhibitions were blood
horses, agricultural horses, carriage
horses, and heavy -draught animals.
In 1860 a horse was worth
between 20 and 50 pounds. Some
farms in the 1880s had quite a few
horses, seven or 10, for field work or
trips to town.
Today, Arnold Young's Belgians
cost about $3500 each. There are
very few horses displayed at the fairs
now. The competition is a little
tough, Arnold says.
"Horses seem to know whether
you're expert or not," said Arnold.
SEPTEMBER 1992 21