BREEDS OP DRAFT HORSES 



125 



The Belgian horse originated in Belgium, where it has 

 been bred for several centuries. This is a very compact, wide, 

 deep, short-legged kind of draft horse. In Belgium one 

 sees three types of this breed ; the larger type, common in 

 Flanders, shows more length and is more upstanding than 

 the medium type of Brabant or the smaller sort of Arden- 

 nais. American importers have brought the larger or 



Fig. 66. — A Belgian mare. (Courtesy American Agriculturist.) 



medium type to this country. Weights of from 1,600 to 

 2,000 pounds, and even more for the larger stallions are 

 acceptable, with a height of about 16 hands. Chestnut is 

 the most popular color, though brown of various shades, 

 and roans, are quite common. Compactness and muscu- 

 larity are Belgian attributes, and so the neck appears short 

 and thick; the body wide, deep and closely coupled; the 

 croup often steep, and the legs commonly short. Bel- 

 gians are frequently somewhat refined in bone for weight 



