Special Considerations for Draft Horses

We are often asked what special consideration draft horses need to be happy and healthy and to have a successful relationship with such a gentle giant. The answers are many, with special dietary needs, tack and equipment, housing, farrier, and mental stimulation there is a lot to consider when a draft is a possible new family member.

A draft horse will consume up to 20 gallons of water in a 12 hour period when at rest. This can be a challenge for horses who are stall kept as all horses should have available fresh clean water at all times. We suggest auto water-er in each stall to ensure your draft is never without fresh clean water, otherwise you will have to place a container into the stall that will accommodate adequate water for the time the horse will be stalled. Large troughs are recommended for all pastures or paddocks in hot weather 4 drafts can drink down a 250 gallon tank in 5 hours, so nice deep troughs with float valves will keep them happy and well hydrated.

The nutritional requirements of Draft Breed horses is very different from saddle horses. Drafts are considered “Cold blooded” horses but that by no means is a indication of thier energy level. A well fed happy, healthy draft has plenty of energy to run, buck and play just like any other horse. There has been extensive research done on the nutritional requirements needs for the health and well being of these grand creatures and we recommend the high fat, high protein, no starch diet outlined by Dr. Beth Valentine a Equine Veterinarian who specializes in draft horses. This diet can be found on our “Recommended Diet For Draft Horses” page.

Many people think they have a saddle that will properly fit a draft even though it is a saddle designed for a saddle horse. The average draft horse requires a 8″ gullet on a saddle to ensure room to move without discomfort or pinching. A draft tree saddle normally has very little pitch and little rocking. You can follow the link to download templates to see what size tree or gullet your horse would need http://www.horsesaddleshop.com/howshoulifit.html .  The main goal to a proper saddle fit is to ensure as much contact between the saddle and the horses back as possible without pinching or rubbing. We recommend all of our drafts have custom saddles done to ensure a good fit, this will include either bringing the horse to the saddle maker to get the proper measurements or doing a series of wither tracings and tracings along the back to ensure the proper curve to the tree for a good fit. Here in Florida we work with Ruffs Saddle Shop in Umatilla and they do wonderful handcrafed custom saddles at a very very affordable rate  http://local.yahoo.com/info-14095979-ruff-s-saddle-shop-umatilla?tab=webreviews#webrev .