Suffolk Punch horses have a long and well-established history
as a draught animal of English origin. Arthur Young, one of the earliest writers
on British livestock, and who himself came from Suffolk, was the first to refer,
in 1771, to the area’s 'noble breed of horfes', as a distinct breed. He noted that
even in his childhood (he was born in 1741) the Suffolk was referred to as ‘The
Old Breed.’ It is almost certainly the oldest existing pure breed of draught horse
to have originated in England.
William Youatt in 1837, and David Low in 1845, both equally renowned
as recorders of early livestock in Britain, also wrote enthusiastically of the Suffolk,
noting its distinctive 'stout or punchy form', with large head and deep neck, and
particularly its steadiness in draught – 'no horses exerted themselves better at
a dead pull'. The Shiels painting of a Suffolk Punch shown here was commissioned
by David Low in the 1830s, to illustrate his work.
But the two features which at first glance most distinguished
the Suffolk Punch from other British draught horses were its color – generally described
as chesnut (although it could vary from dun to sorrel), and the lack of the ‘feathering’
which is so characteristic of the Clydesdale and Shire, on its heels. Robert Wallace,
writing in 1888, thought the Suffolk’s body looked 'much too heavy' for its 'clean
and fine' legs.
(One interesting historical fact relating to the Suffolk Punch
concerns how its color is spelled. Correctly, and traditionally, it is spelled ‘chesnut’
– with no ‘t’ after the ‘s’ – as this is how the word was always written prior to
1820 and therefore how it appears in original descriptions.)
Today the Suffolk Punch survives in only small numbers in various
countries throughout the world. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust lists the breed as
‘critical’ in Britain.
Content and Photo Source: New Zealand Rare Breeds (
www.rarebreeds.co.nz )
About Suffolk Punch Horses
