A brief history about the Belgian Draft

In the mid 1700s, in the northern lowlands of what is now Belgium a heavy war horse, known as the Flemish horse, predominated. This horse was in great demand for both mounted warfare and for a carriage horse. These horses were exported all over Europe and are thought to be one of the foundation horses for the Clydesdale, Shire and Suffolk breeds in England an the Percheron in France.

In what is now central Belgium, a heavier horse more suited to agriculture, called the Brabant, was the dominant type. In the southern, forested hills along the modern Franco-Belgian border the Ardennes horse was predominant.

The Ardennes horse is likely the most ancient of the strains or types of horses that went into creating the European Belgian. The Ardennes is thought to be directly descended from the Forest horse that survived the last ice age. This horse, mentioned in the writings of Julius Caesar, was originally a short (about 13.2 hh), stout, hairy pony. In about 740 CE, it is thought that the Barb was crossed into the Ardennes horse to create a slightly taller, lighter bodied horse better suited to agricultural work.

By 1860, the Belgian horse had developed three types based primarily on bloodlines and size rather than conformational differences.

The three types were :
1. the Gros de la Dendre (Dikken van de Dendervallei)
2. the Gris de Nivelles et du Hainaut (de Grijzen van Nijvel-Henegouwen)
3. the Colosses de la Mehaigne (Kolossen van de Mehaigne)
The Gros de la Dendre were Flemish horses and the other two types, Gris de Nivelles et du Hainaut and Colosses de la Mehaigne, were Brabants.

Orange I a grand-grand-son of François 'de Oude Dikke van Wijnhuyze'.

Bayard a chestnut roan and the best known sire of 'the grey'.

In 1841 the Ardennes studbook was created in Neufchateau (Belgium) and is possibly the oldest studbook in Belgium. In 1879, a group of French speaking breeders in Liege (Belgium) decided to start a studbook for their Brabant horses as well as some Flemish horses they imported and bred into the local Brabants. In 1884, a group of Dutch speaking Flemish breeders decided to start their own studbook. Then in 1885, five influential breeders started a national studbook in which the Flemish horse and Brabant horse were incorporated into one breed, the Belgian Draft Horse.

Interestingly, the Ardennes horse was included in the studbook, but remained separate to some degree. Small Belgians were often registered as Ardennes, however, relatively few Ardennes were registered as Belgians.