In love with Dutch Draft / Ardenne

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cobmum

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I have been researching the dutch draft breed and have fallen in love with them, not only are they absolutley stunning but completely fit everything i need and want in a horse.

I have many questions and would love to see any pic's so i can drool :)

What is the difference between a dutch draft and ardenne?
Are there any dealers / breeders in the UK ?
How do you get tack / rugs to fit this size of horse?
Can they go in a trailer ?

Thanks :D
 
I have a dutch draft- he is the definition of a bombproof horse!

One characteristic is that he is stubborn! we have a few "discussions" but I win in the end! No problem going in a trailer (just make sure you have a suitable vehicle to tow with- no lightweight), rugs are fine, mine wears 6ft 6.

Saddle was not the easiest to fit as he has a hell of a shoulder,is still growing at 7 years old so think he will need a couple of saddle changes in the next few years.

All in all I wouldn't swap him though!!

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No just came accross him in the UK, I wasn't looking for a dutch draft in particular, just a really sane happy hacker and I came accross him. That was a couple of years ago and i haven't regretted it since (well apart from the repairs to the post and rail fencing and all the other damage he does just leaning on things!)
 
I had an Ardennes mare on loan last summer, she was amazing fun and totally safe.

She was surprisingly athletic for her build, once I got her fit. I got her as having done nothing, just been in a field. I had her six months and by the end of our time she could hack for hours, and even jump! If the loan was for longer we would have started some dressage schooling!

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Oh, and yeah she fit very nicely in a trailer and wore a standard wintec saddle. She did need xxfull headcollars and bridles though!
 
Just be prepared for very large headcollars, bridles, girths and huge bits :)
There's a dutch draft at my friends yard and he is a proper chunk but very fit, with a 66in girth and 7in mouth ! He's an absolute sweety though but the fences do get wrecked as he doesn't seem to notice they are there lol
 
I have PMed you.
This is Fany Du Champ De La Petite Ville, she is a 15yo Ardennes (trait Ardennais) (There is also Trait Du Nord, Trait Suede and others which are related to the Trait Ardennais) They are a Belgium breed, not Dutch. Fany is 14-2hh and was a show horse and brood mare before being imported into this country.
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Her personality is fairly typical of Trait Ardennais, she is kind, gentle and very steady She is bombproof, we have never found anything she is afraid of, she has never shied even when a strimmer started up on the other side of a tall hedge.But obviously no horse is totally bombproof, we've just never found anything that scares her. They tend to be very good doers and need their weight watching carefully, poor Fany is permanently on a diet! She is easy to rug, although she only really needed it when she was poorly a couple of years ago, she grows an extremely thick winter coat as you can see in this picture

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She is in a Wintec x-wide saddle, bridle was a bit of an issue but I got one off the internet, as someone else said bits can also be an issue she is in a 7 inch. No chance of getting boots for her though!

I would recommend them to anyone who wants a good steady neddy, they are easy to do (if handled properly, they are incredibly stubborn and can be bargy, they know their weight and will throw it around if given the chance, Fany doesn't but I have heard that some do) Farrier can also be an issue when they come over here as we shoe completely differently to Belgium, but Fany quickly learned and is fine now. She is barefoot as are all the Ardennes I have heard of, they have very hard hooves.

Can't really think of anything else, please PM me again of you have any questions or want to chat about them.
FDC
 
This is my 5 year old Appaloosa x Ardennes. He was bred in Belgium for meat but luckily found his way to me. He has the most amazing temperament.

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There was an Ardennes at the RS where I worked - was bought in as a weight carrier for RDA. Her history was that she was 'rescued' from the meat trade in France, bought over here and nothing was done with her until she came to us.

TBH she was very difficult to handle as she was incredibly bargy and knew her own strength. To ride she was 100% bombproof but could be very stubborn and rapidly discovered a hightly effective 'plant' which pretty much finished her riding school career. A lot of time was spent on her and but she hated school work and as soon as a novice got on she knew it and would revert to her planting trick.

They had to part with her in the end as she simply wasn't suitable for the job, too big, too stuborn and not particularly easy to handle. She also struggled with the corners in the school due to her size and she clearly didn't like the school work. She went on to be a driving horse though and she is doing wonderfully.

I suspect a lot of her issues were due to limited handling before she came to us to be fair but she definately wasn't a horse for school work or jumping.

As far as tack went, she had to have a custom made bridle due to the depth of her cheek - no throat lash would fit. That said her head wasn't particularly big, just deep IYSWIM. She was tall but not hugely long so rugs wouldn't have been a great problem - not that she needed them.
 
I've had three Ardennes x and sadly all were totally nutty! They were all related but with varing degrees of Ardennes in them, all from the same breeder.

I sometimes wonder if crossing them with other breeds doesn't always work well as a pure Ardennes is a big, solid but basically quite docile and biddable horse and these three definitely weren't!

Archie (the horse in my avatar) is part Ardennes, his dam was 3/4 Ardennes and his sire was a riding horse type.

I didn't have any trouble getting tack to fit them. Both the boys were in 6'3 rugs, cob bridles and 5 1/2" bits. The only issue I had was with Kenz who was half Ardennes and very wide so he had a Balance saddle.

There were some Dutch Draught horses at the South of England show and they were enormous! They didn't look that much like an Ardenne though, more like a Suffolk punch as their legs were finer and very little feather. They were gorgeous though.
 
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jodie3 said:
I've had three Ardennes x and sadly all were totally nutty! They were all related but with varing degrees of Ardennes in them, all from the same breeder.

I sometimes wonder if crossing them with other breeds doesn't always work well as a pure Ardennes is a big, solid but basically quite docile and biddable horse and these three definitely weren't!
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It could be that the breeder was irresponsible and bred from stock not temperamentally suitable. Unfortunately some breeders don't care what they produce as long as they can sell it, temperamental and physical faults are routinely ignored.


I haven't had any personal dealings with them as a breed but there is something I really like about certain North Swedish's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfZR9eAKS4M
 
team barney said:
It could be that the breeder was irresponsible and bred from stock not temperamentally suitable. Unfortunately some breeders don't care what they produce as long as they can sell it, temperamental and physical faults are routinely ignored.
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I agree. Also, not necessarily the poster's horses, but some are bred for meat and their temperament is not as important as their size, a lot of them are "rescued" from continental markets. I think there have been some excellent cross breeds, eg Pink Panthar and his son Thomas Pink- both dressage horses.

FDC
 
Fany Du Champ said:
I agree. Also, not necessarily the poster's horses, but some are bred for meat and their temperament is not as important as their size, a lot of them are "rescued" from continental markets. I think there have been some excellent cross breeds, eg Pink Panthar and his son Thomas Pink- both dressage horses.

FDC
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[Smug]

The Tank is by Pink Panthar and Thomas Pink's half brother.

Pink Panthar has a lovely temperament - a real gent and a brill hunter.

I totally fell in love with Thomas Pink. Broke my heart when I couldn't take him on.
Then I trotted off to buy his brother - even though I was still at Uni:p
 
Their breeder is quite an authority on the Ardennes breed and has shown and worked them for many years. She was breeding them to be show cobs and I just wonder if the mixing of so many breeds really works? I've still got their details and when you trace their breeding back they have Ardennes, TB, Hanoverian, Arab and New Forest and thats just going back to grandparents!
 
jodie3 said:
Their breeder is quite an authority on the Ardennes breed and has shown and worked them for many years. She was breeding them to be show cobs and I just wonder if the mixing of so many breeds really works? I've still got their details and when you trace their breeding back they have Ardennes, TB, Hanoverian, Arab and New Forest and thats just going back to grandparents!
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Could just be a bad mix then. Pink Panthar is crossed with an Irish Draught. They already have some Arab in them. It is nice to see someone interested in them, like your breeder. However, they are getting to be quite rare and it would be lovely to see them bred purely, so they don't become endangered.

Do you have any piccys of yours?
FDC
 
Oberon said:
Sounds like she was in pain to me?
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Well maybe, but the physio, vet and saddler fitter didn't think so, so I'm not convinced myself.

As another poster has said, the ones bred for meat and then 'rescued' aren't really bred for temperament. She was also virtually unhandled until she was 3.
 
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Fany Du Champ said:
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WOW she is gorgeous literally the most stunning horse that i have ever seen in my 29 years :D. Thank you so much for posting pictures!!

Her colouring, especially the shading around her eyes is just gorgeous and she sounds like such a darling, i am glad that she has got your daughter back in the saddle.

My main priority when i go to buy is that the horse is as bombproof as possible and has a leg in each corner as my OH needs a weight carrier :D
 
cobmum said:
Wow some stunning horses there and great information.

This is one of my favorite videos ever and i thought i would share, enjoy :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJMQv_IfyTw
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Cobmum that is an amazing video!

Despite the problems I had I still think there is something very special about them and would still love to have another one!

Oberon - not jealous at all - she lies!!!!!! I got a video of Pink Panthar as was thinking about using him on my mare and thought he was very lovely.
 
jodie3 said:
Cobmum that is an amazing video!

Despite the problems I had I still think there is something very special about them and would still love to have another one!

Oberon - not jealous at all - she lies!!!!!! I got a video of Pink Panthar as was thinking about using him on my mare and thought he was very lovely.
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If you've still got the video, I'd love it.....
 
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