Several months ago I went to Gentle Giants specifically to get the horses all pretty and take pictures for a Conformation Clinic-type post. Guess what? It's really hard to take conformation pictures without someone else holding the horse for you! D'oh. I did manage it though, because I know you were all waiting on the edge of your seats.
Percherons, if you haven't heard of them, are a breed of French draft horse. As far as temperament goes, they're kind of the Thoroughbreds of the draft world. They can tend to be...how shall we put it...sensitive? Of course, we are talking about draft horses here so on a scale of hot to cold, they're probably a lukewarm where a Thoroughbred would be boiling. Not to say that ALL TBs are boiling or that ALL drafts are pokey. Is this making any sense?
Here are the horses in no particular order. I'll put up the ranking later with explanations of their strengths/weaknesses for riding and driving. (Disclaimer: This is the first time I've done conformational analysis...bear with me, people! As always, if I'm dead wrong about something, feel free to shine the light of knowledge in the comments section.)
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| Chase was a champ at posing himself! |
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| Martini, not so much. Had to tie her to keep her from following me. |
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| Caladhin, steady-eddy as always. |
- 7 y/o Percheron cross gelding
-Dressage prospect if he stops being a nutcase
Martini
-15 y/o Percheron mare
- Trail Riding Queen
Caladhin
-Older Percheron gelding
-Schoolmaster, Confidence-Builder, and Gentle Giants PR at fundraising events.
"Dressage prospect if he stops being a nutcase." Ha. I absolutely adore drafts, especially Percherons.My dream is to have a gray Perch. and name him Winston. I think I just like my mammals large. Large horses, large dogs, large African animals at the zoo. You know. Also, I love how without anything to create context, these guys look like they stocky ponies.
ReplyDeleteYou might like The Jumping Percheron blog then :) And that's pretty funny; I never thought about the lack of size contrast before but that's true! Chase is about 16.5 hands, Caladhin is probably 17ish (I know his withers are above my head), and Martini is 15 hands.
ReplyDeleteMy future pet dreams are to have a rescued OTTB and a rescued greyhound.Why?
...wait for it...
...because then I'll have fast friends! Hee! It's so bad it's good.