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Suffolks For Sale
History of the Suffolk Punch
Today's best-known breeds of draft horses are said to date back to the great war horses of Medieval times. But while these great titans clashed in mortal combat, the quiet farmers of eastern England went about developing their own breed of heavy horse, the Suffolk Punch. This one breed is today the least known to Americans, and yet perhaps has more qualities appealing to the American breeder and draft horse employer than any of the better-known breeds of draft horses.
Mowing with a team in Montana
The Suffolk farmer used his horses to till and harvest his own land, so seldom did he have horses to sell. This not only kept the Suffolk relatively unknown but also pure, remaining unchanged and true to his original purpose: to be a strong and faithful worker for his master. Of all the draft breeds, the Suffolk is one of the oldest in existence with records dating back to 1880. Crisp's Horse of Ufford, the foundation stallion of the breed was foaled in 1768.
Discing with Suffolk gelding,
mares and stallion
The homeland of the Suffolk horses is Norfolk and Suffolk counties. It is bordered on the north, east and south by the North Sea and on the west by the Fens. Isolated from their neighbors, the farmers of Suffolk independently developed breeds of livestock to fit their special way of life. To plow the heavy clay soil they needed an agricultural horse with power, but also stamina, health, longevity, and docility. So these fine husbandmen produced the Suffolk horse and bred him for the attributes that fulfilled their needs.
Logging with geldings in Oregon
Three Year Old Suffolk stallion
Suffolks are large, symmetrical and uniform in color and type. Their frames are supported by clean, dense bone. Due to their extreme draftiness, the legs of the Suffolk appear short and are strongly muscled in forearms and gaskins. They are placed well under the horse and are free of long hair. Their excellent feet are round, of fair size and wear extremely well, shod or unshod.
Suffolks possess intelligent heads with active ears, powerful and arching necks that are clean cut at the throat. The shoulders are inclined to be upright, suitable for power rather than action. The back is short and strong, the ribs springing high from the backbone. The quarters are long and smooth to the root of the tail, which springs higher up than in other breeds. The hipbones are wide apart but smoothly covered, the croup usually level.
Depth and thickness from the withers to the leg are essential and a Suffolk should be as deep in the flank as over the heart.
Disposition
Characteristically the whole appearance of the Suffolk is a pleasant, roundly modeled whole that pertains, like the singleness of color, to no other breed.
The average height of a Suffolk horse is 16.1 hands, but many stallions may stand up to 17 hands and more.
plowing with four Suffolks
Suffolk Stallion Ransom 2354-S
Color
Their color is chestnut, ranging in shade from light golden to dark liver. White markings occur, but in general are not as prominent as in other breeds, most of them being confined to a star or snip and white ankles or fetlocks. No other color is tolerated or is admissible to registry in the Stud Book. The beauty of the Suffolk is best summed up in the words of the writer, Marguerite Henry, when she said: "His color is bright chestnut--like a tongue of fire against black field furrows, against green corn blades, against yellow wheat, against blue horizons. Never is he any other color."
Address
North American Suffolk Horse Association
Zelda Gagliardi , Secretary
4170 NE 43rd AVE
High Springs FL 32643-5678
Contact Us
Office Hours:
Tuesday-Thursday 9am-5pm Central
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Phone: (386) 965-2758.
