The Italian Heavy Draft, or Rapid Heavy Draft, is an Italian draft horse. They were developed in the 19th and 20th centuries using both draft and light horse breeds, and are used mainly for heavy draft work and meat.
The Italian Heavy Draft was begun in 1860 at the Deposito Cavalli Stalloni stud in Ferrara, Italy. The breed was developed from crossing native Po Delta stallions with Thoroughbred, Hackney, and Arabian horses. Around 1900, weight wa...
more
The Italian Heavy Draft, or Rapid Heavy Draft, is an Italian draft horse. They were developed in the 19th and 20th centuries using both draft and light horse breeds, and are used mainly for heavy draft work and meat.
The Italian Heavy Draft was begun in 1860 at the Deposito Cavalli Stalloni stud in Ferrara, Italy. The breed was developed from crossing native Po Delta stallions with Thoroughbred, Hackney, and Arabian horses. Around 1900, weight was added to the breed with the addition of Boulonnais, Ardennes and Norfolk-Breton blood. The breeding programs suffered during World War II, but a careful crossbreeding program with Ardennes, Percheron and Breton horses after the war brought the Italian Heavy Draft to its current state. The studbook for the breed was begun in 1926.
The main breeding areas for the Italian Heavy Draft are in the plains and hills around Verona, Padova, Vicenza, Venice, Treviso and Udine. Breed numbers have been decreasing over the past two decades, with less than...
less
