Vlaamperd for sale

The Vlaamperd breed of horses is essentially as a draft animal. A ‘draft’ animal is one that has been used and bred particularly for its utility as a working aid to man. Their muscular power renders them useful for haulage, ploughing in fields, to draw vehicles with the harnessing power of one or a team or horses, and as a beast of burden like the mule. Vlaamperd horses are called draft animals because they are used for riding and for drawing carriages. This breed of horses was originally bred in South Africa. The interbreeding was primarily done with blood from breeds such as the Friesians, Cape Harness, Thoroughbreds and Hackneys. Vlaamperds originally were developed in Western Cape and the breed was known as ‘Vlaamperde’. Vlaamperds are finer than the Friesians and have a stamina that can be attributed to the Hackney genes. Unlike the Friesians, they have neither feathers on their legs nor flowing manes. They have well developed necks and excellent knee action, both qualities that help in drawing carriages .

The origins of the Vlaamperd can be traced to Arabian stallions, Thoroughbreds and the locally bred Cape mares that resulted in the Hantam horse, which was later used to develop the Vlaamperd. It had its origins in a 19th century horse, called the Hantam horse that was developed in Western Cape. South Africa imported Friesian stallions at the beginning of the last century and these were crossed with Hantam mares. Some of the distinctive features of the modern Vlaamperd have their roots in the East-Friesian, Oldenburg and Cleveland stallions. Though the Dutch government framed legal measures that prohibited the export of Friesian horses from the Netherlands, those who were interested in breeding soon found a way to jump the law and ship the Friesian horses to South Africa from the Belgian port of Antwerp in Flanders. In South Africa Friesians horses gained popularity as ‘Vlaamse perde’, a name that the Vlaamperd Breed Society later adopted. Originally the Vlaamperd was bred as a riding horse, but it soon excelled as a carriage driving horse, because of its good nature, graceful conduct and high stopping action that it could accomplish with a sense of immediacy, finesse and swiftness.

Today this wonderful breed is almost extinct, probably because faster mechanized vehicles have replaced horse carriages, and because people pursue riding more as a sport rather than to transport themselves from place to place. Breeders probably breed those that still exist more because of their high action and ‘show horse’ presence that they display.