DID YOU KNOW . . . THAT BELGIAN DRAFT HORSES OUTNUMBER ALL OTHER DRAFT BREEDS COMBINED IN THE UNITED STATES?

   We would like to better acquaint you with the reasons why Americans have accepted this breed so completely that it is the overwhelming national favorite among the draft breeds. The belgian is no "overnight success." Its popularity has been hard won over the last century on thousands of farms and ranches, in countless pulling contests and show rings, and on the streets of America with hitches such as the one the Adolf Coors Company uses to promote its products.

   The Belgian, as the name implies, is native to the country of Belgium. This little country is blessed with fertile soil and abundant rainfall providing the thrifty farmers of Belgium with the excellent pastures and the hay and grain necessary to develop a heavy, powerful breed of horses.
   Belgium lies in the very center of that area of Western Europe which gave rise to great black horses known as Flemish horses and were referred to as the "great horses" by medieval writers. They are the horses that carried armored knights into battle. Such horses were known to exist in that part of Europe in the time of Caesar. They provided the genetic material from which nearly all the modern draft breeds were fashioned.
   Stallions from Belgium were exported to many other parts of Europe as the need to produce larger animals of draft type for industrial and farm use was recognized. There was no need to import into Belgium for she was the "Mother Lode." It remained only for this ancestral home of the "great horse," by whatever name, to refine and fix the type of the genetic material she already had at hand.
   The government of Belgium played a very energetic role in doing just that. A system of district shows culminating in the great national show in Brussels, which served as an international showcase for the breed, was established. The prizes were generous. Inspection committees for stallions standing for public service were established.
   The result was a rapid improvement into a fixed breed type as the draft horses of Belgium came to be regarded as both a national heritage and, quite literally, a treasure. In 1891, for example, Belgium exported stallions for use in the government stables of Russia, Italy, Germany, France, and the old Austria-Hungary empire. The movement of horses out of Belgium for breeding purposes was tremendous in scope and financially rewarding for her breeders decade after decade.
   The American Association was officially founded in February of 1887 in Wabash, Indiana. The breed offices are still in Wabash. It was slow going for the Belgian until after the turn of the century. In Terms of promotion the Percheron, Clydesdale, and Shire all enjoyed a substantial head start in this country.
   In 1903 the government of Belgium sent an exhibit of horses to the St. Louis World's Fair and the International Livestock Exposition in Chicago. While this effort was attended by plenty of controversy over which type of horse best suited Americans, it also generated a great deal of interest in the breed.
   From that point forward the breed's acceptance grew steadily. The year 1910 shows a total of 1,773 registrations with virtually every major importer in the country including Belgians in his offering. That figure was closely approached again in 1913. New memberships which ranged from 4 to 25 in the early years of the century took off dramatically in 1910 with 83 new members, 92 in 1911, 125 in 1912, and 135 in 1913. In terms of importing seed stock and establishing new breeders, it was none to soon, for the onset of World War I in 1914 brought all importations to a halt.
   Suddenly, American Belgian breeders were on their own. Fortunately, they had plenty of the "right kind" with which to develop their own style of Belgian horse.
   The post war depression in agriculture retarded the purebred Belgian business in this country for a few years but by 1925 the total of annual registrations again passed the 1,000 mark. A record high for the pre-World War II period was hit in 1937, the golden anniversary of the association, when 3,196 Belgians were recorded.

   1. A growing ecological awareness that some of the tools and methods of modern agriculture are destructive, causing many to seek alternatives, among which is the draft horse as a source of power.
   2. An economic crunch that makes home grown power, that runs on home raised fuel, which in turn enriches the soil in the form of manure, reproduces itself plus providing surplus for sale, and appreciates rather than depreciates for the first half of its life, look better and better.
   3. Their beauty. The draft horse at his best is a spectacular beast. Once booted out at some fairs for being behind the times, they are now welcomed back as croud pleasers. More and more big commercial firms are also looking to the Belgian hitch as an advertising vehicle.
   4. Nostalgia plays a role, albeit a minor one. Increasing numbers of horse-minded people are finding their pleasure horse in the form of a team of Belgians. Their good disposition and willingness to work make them great favorites on some of the small, part-time "sun downer and weekend" type farms that continue to increase in number.

   Many of the breed's first imports were roundly criticized for being too thick, too low headed, straight shouldered, and round boned. There was even an expression for it . . . "the Dutchman's Type." But even with his faults, those early Belgians made friends because they were easy keepers and willing workers with an amiable disposition. The American farmer decided that the breed's assets far outweighed its faults and the American breeders set out to retain what was right and remedy what was wrong.
   The success of the effort has been one of the great success stories in animal breeding. Today's Belgian is a big, powerful fellow that retains the drafty middle, a deep, strong foot, a lot of bone, the heavy muscling and amiable disposition possessed by early Belgians. His qualities as an easy keeper, a good shipper, and a willing worker are intact.
   What then have the American breeders done to change him?
   They have developed a horse with far more style, particularly in the head and neck, with more slope to both shoulder and pastern, and the good clean, flat bone that goes hand in hand with such qualities.
   The modern Belgian is still a great worker . . . and has become a great wagon horse. The fact that Belgians are equally effective in pulling competition as in hitch competition says it all.