Some of the Best Horse Breeds for a Farm

One of the beautiful things about horses is that they come in a variety of breeds. From an aesthetic standpoint, there are different sizes, colors, and builds, all with varying manes, hooves, and tails. Horses are very versatile animals, and have been bred to specialize in different skill sets. Today there are varying breeds of work horses, show horses, riding horses, and more.
Horses that are optimized for farms often fall into the categories of draft horses or stock horses, meaning that they have been bred to pull carts and perform other tasks or to get along well with cattle and other livestock, respectively. Most farm-bred horses are a good mix of those attributes, and bloodlines with well-mannered dispositions and a good medical history are always favored.

Now let’s get into some examples!

American paint horses. These medium-to-large horses have a distinctive spotting pattern all over their bodies, and as such come in a variety of colors. These amiable horses are easily trained and intelligent, and are generally popular choices for family riding, racing, and farm work.

Belgian draft. One of the most popular work horse breeds, these large, strong horses were developed in Belgium originally. Horse farriers have to make special horse shoes for a horse that big!However, as a result of the war, livestock imports were limited and an American breed developed. Belgian drafts are often chestnut or sorrel colored with white manes, tails, facial markings, and “socks,” but can come in bay or roan with darker accents.

Other Popular Horse Breeds

Clydesdale. Similar to the Belgian drafts, Clydesdales are quite large horses, with great strength and pulling power, but gentle dispositions that make them easy to work with. Clydesdales come in several different colors, mostly bay, but also chestnut, black, brown, or roan, with fluffy “socks” just like the Belgians.

Morgan. Morgans are smaller-sized horses known for their agreeable attitudes and high spirits. They are a popular all-around farm horse, popular for riding and driving as well as their farm work. They are typically bay horses with darker manes and tails, but do come in other colors.

Percheron. Percherons, an originally French breed, are large, strong, well-built horses commonly used by loggers and farmers. They mostly come in black, gray, bay, and roans, and are sometimes seen with “socks.”

Shire. The Shire is particularly versatile British breed, often scoring high in show rings as well as being good workers. These are among the largest draft breeds and are often black with some white markings and “socks.”

Quarter Horse. Popular for their ability to sprint short distances at high speeds, quarter horses are another versatile option. They are taller and heavier than most other breeds, making them good choices for pulling and other farm work. These are docile, intelligent, and easy-to-train horses, and are therefore popular among beginning riders. These are generally sorrel, bay, or dun-colored, with accent marks on their legs and faces.

All of these horses can be hot shoed, cold shoed or have specialty shoe work done by a professional from the National Horse Farriers.

Remember, this is not an exhaustive list, and it takes a great deal of research to fully understand which horse breeds would be best for your particular needs. There are many more popular stock breeds, especially depending on the country, but the most important things to keep in mind are strength, size, and disposition.

Farmers Have Rights Too!

Farmers’ Legal rights are a precondition for the maintenance of a crops genetic diversity, which is the basis of all food and agriculture production in the world. Basically, realizing Farmers’ Rights means enabling farmers to develop and maintain great crops using genetic resources as they have done since the dawn of man. They have made great changes in agriculture, and seeing and rewarding them for this indispensable contribution to the global pool of genetic resources.

The amount of different plants is huge

Plant genetic assortment is probably more important for farming than any other environmental factor, simply because it is the factor that enables adaptation to changing environmental conditions such as plant diseases and climate change. You think all that smog in the air doesn’t alter their genes? Thus, as a precondition for the maintenance of this diversity, certain farmers are crucial for ensuring future and present food security in general, and in the fight against rural poverty in particular. So for this reason we see the benefit of looking further into this.

The International Treaty dealing with Plant Genes

This web page is about those workers who try the best they can to make a difference. They are addressed in the International Treaties on Plant Genetic Resourcess for Food and Agriculture. The agreement recognizes the enormous contributions made by many talented farmers worldwide in conserving and developing diverse crop genetic resources. They have even worked on the benefits of Medical Marijuana.
The International Treaty does, however, not define which of the laws that the farmers need to follow. The following is a working definition developed on the basis of the research of me and can be seen as a lowest common denominator of all people consulted and all documents and literature surveyed:

We all have the right to help the farmers to save, use, exchange and sell farm saved seeds and getting material, and having their rights  be recognized, reward and support for their contributions to the global group of genetic resources as well as to the development of commercial varieties of plants, and to participate in decision making on issues related to crop genetic resources.