Could anyone give me information on how hard or easy it is to raise a belgian? We would love to own one but are concerned with the cost to feed them, keeping them in a fence and how gentle they are with kids and other farm animals. We already have beef cattle and see the amount of hay they go through. Thanks !!

-- Patricia M. Mikul (pmikul@pcpros.net), February 09, 2000

Answers

Patricia, what do you want the horse for? Belgians are great horses [gentle,easy to handle ect]for the most part[there are bad ones in every breed]. But they take a lot of feed, and you will need to run hot wire to keep them were you want them. There are draft poneys that wouldnt need as much feed that can do a good days work.Two that come to mind shetland,fjord[just saw my first fjord at a driving clinic they look like they could pull a mountain ] also welsh are nice to, and if you are looking for a light draft morgans are great and none of these eats near as much as a belgian.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), February 09, 2000.

Hi - this is Pat. I was at a farmers place last fall and he had a young one which was huge! It seemed so gentle. I guess we could use one for disking a garden, any heavy hauling,etc.. Maybe more of a hobby. We're just beginning to think seriously of getting one. I was hoping a 4 strand of barb wire would be sufficient to keep them in. Is that being nieve? Thanks for any info.

-- Patricia M. Mikul (pmikul@pcpros.net), February 09, 2000.

Hi, Pat, I have never owned a belgian but had a good friend that did. They go through about a bale of hay a day. A local man here with lots of draft horses feed them about half a bale of straw or poor hay and a fat flake of alfalfa. That would be a lot chheaper than just feeding alfalfa or expensive hay and they don't get antsy and high strung as they would on straight alfalfa. Fjiord horses are very practical and a nice size while still being big enough to work well. The problem with them is that they are a rare breed and the breeders do not encourage cross breeding at all, so you can only buy full fjiord horses and they are EXPENSIVE! I don't know how a homesteader could afford to buy a work horse that is going to run into thousands of dollars- 5,000- 7,000 are standard prices around here and people here are not rich.A belgian can be had for much less- in Indiana they are routinely sold for $500-$600 for functional working animals that are already trained. I had a welsh mare once, she was cute and pretty, downright angelic looking. But when it came to doing anything besides looking cute, she was worthless- the stubbornest,laziest thing you could ever meet! I have spoken to others who use work horses and they say that their experiences with welsh have been similar, so I don't think it was only our pony. There is a big draft horse show in our area every year where they compete and see which teams are more obedient and dexterous, and I have consistently been impressed with the belgian mules! They turn quickly, watch their step, they are smart and obedient, and many other breeds spooked , kicked, etc, but never those mules. They were big,gentle like the belgians but had a more intelligent face. But plain belgians are nice too.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@transport.com), February 09, 2000.

Hi again, I meant to write before that barb wire really is not the best choice for a horse. If a neighbors or a stray dog came by and chased or spooked your horse it could panic and cut itself trying to run through the fence. I have had to nurse a horse that had something like that happen and it was a mess- took all summer before we could use him again. I would use hot wire or a log corral with about2 1/2 - 3" rails is what my friend kept his belgian in.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@transport.com), February 09, 2000.

Hi all! I believe that my experience with draft horses might help. We also got the bug to buy a belgian a few years ago and then looked in to the pony breeds because we only have ten acres. We went to a 4 h farm tour a couple of years ago and saw a beatiful chestnut draft horse there called a Suffolk. After investigating the breed further we were able to locate a broke team in Iowa that we bought in '98.they are about 16 hands and around 1800 pounds each but they are very easy keepers and are known in there home land of England as the "farmers horse",they are very sweet and have lots of heart. We feed about 3 flakes of grassy hay and half a gallon of oats each per day, a little more when working. We have mowed hay, plowed , disced, hauled silage, and driven on a wagon just for fun. They are a rare breed and are shorter than the average belgian or percheron around here but most of the teamsters around here that spend any time around them are impressed with there disposition and willingness to work. We love our boys and have since bought another 6 month old colt to raise up and train. The price is not bad at all if you are patient. We paid no more for our geldings than you would pay for belgians, maybe even a little less. The American Suffolk Horse Association has a very good web site, just do a web search to find it.

-- mike (mstydale@aeroinc.net), February 09, 2000.

We have Belgians. In fact we have 5 Belgians, a half crazy half Arab, and a mentally challenged Paint. If you've not had experiance with horses, you're nuts if you start off with a draft horse. As for feed - we feed no grain when they aren't working. We feed about 6 bales of hay a day for the whole lot. They are fat and heads up. When it is cold (0 or below) we feed grain with the hay. Our system must work, the old team of mares is 27 & 28.

-- BROOM MAKER (elmjem@aeroinc.net), February 09, 2000.

I'm curious, how much would a bale of hay weigh, feeding 6 bales to 7 horses? My grass hay bales weigh about 120 pounds, I feed half a bale a day to 3 Baldy steers, plus what they get on winter pasture.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), February 10, 2000.

I don't have any Belgians or other draft horses, but I'm going to throw in my 2 cents worth anyway. I have a Welsh gelding. Gentle, sweet, loving--until you put a bit in his mouth. He was already named Bullet. Now we know why. He thinks he is a Welsh race horse. We keep him anyway because he really doesn't eat much. I view it as not being any worse than keeping a large dog. Bullet would follow you anywhere, through anything. Just not with a bit in his mouth. I also have a half Arabian/half quarter horse. Her nickname begins with a B and rhymes with witch. She earns the name anew almost every day. The other horses are quarter horses. You can use quarter horses as draft animals or for saddle. They are generally know for their quite, gentle dispositions. They are often so gentle that they never buck when being broken to ride. They grow to weight about 1000- 1200 lbs. whereas a Belgian will weigh more in the neighborhood of 2000 lbs. Belgians are beautiful horses, but expensive to feed. These 7 horses I have cost more to feed than it does for me and 3 teenage boys. I have 7 horses weighting an estimated 6500 pounds total. They eat 2 round rolls of good quality hay, 5.5 foot rolls, every 10 days in mild weather. The hay, delivered, costs $45/roll. That's $270/month in hay alone. Then there is the sack feed. If you plan to ride a horse, you really need to give them grain to keep their bodies firm. We feed 1/2 of a "3 pound" coffee can of corn/day as well as 1/2 can of 9% sweet feed for each horse. Most people feed oats, but oats are more expensive here in Texas so I feed corn. It seems to give the horses much better hooves and virtually eliminates sand cracks. I don't mean to be discouraging about buying a horse. If you want a horse, by all means get one. They are wonderful. But I just wanted you to have an idea of the expenses. Ava

-- A.C. Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), February 10, 2000.

Hi - this is Pat again- I see I better think more than twice about purchasing a horse. I sure do appreciate all your input on this!

-- Patricia M. Mikul (pmikul@pcpros.net), February 10, 2000.

Hi- I grew up on a farm, & we used our quarter horses for pasture work. My Dad, brothers, & myself rodeoed, for several years, & then for many yrs. my Dad raised beligians. Cap & Belle was his main team he had for years. He raised many teams of colts, out of Belle, broke & sold them. I've many times seen 6 to 8 of the "city", grandkids, crawling all over Belle, & she be afraid to put a foot down cause she couldn't see where all the kids were. Dad would give her a verbal command as to when it was safe to lower that foot & not step on anyone. Those horses were members of our family!

-- Sonda Bruce (2bruce@netzero.net), February 11, 2000.

to Hendo - around here a square bale is 50 - 80 lbs. Grass can weigh more, but has much less nutritional value.

to Pat - we have drafts and barb wire does not hold them if they want to go into another field. Don't give up on a horse, but definitely choose something smaller.

-- beckie (sunshine_horses@yahoo.com), February 12, 2000.

Hi Pat: Just read your query on Belgians. Well we had two Belgians, a mare and a gelding. Our best friend had 17 Belgians. We worked them, showed them, loved them and lastly sold them. Why.. Well, first of all if you are not going to use them every day or at least 3 times a week, it's not really good for them. They need to be used. They are wonderful horses, sweet disposition (most I know) but they are still 1500 to 2500 lbs. of animal to control. They need a steady hand, discipline and love as well as shelter from the elements. We fed one bale per day and 2 scoops of grain (per horse) when not working because we have bermuda grasses here naturally and not some of the fancy (alfalfa) pastures. We found that they preferred the cheap stuff over the fancy hay. We had limited pasture but rotated them and that worked well. We purchased them in Upstate New York at the draft horse sale. We also tried to buy more in Dover Ohio and Columbus and Indiana and found the sales to be expensive for a poor farm couple. You also have to be very careful about buying from the Amish since they are principal users of this breed and they work them awful hard so that by the time they sell them, they are pretty pooped out. One of ours came out of a Vermont Farm where she produced 3 foals (with good bloodlines -- which is also very important) and the other one came out of Canada where he pulled a wagon for tourists, etc. and worked on a small farm. There is a book called DRAFT HORSE JOURNAL (copies are in the library) that would tell you lots of info on them. Watch their feet as this is very important and they tend to have bad feet -- that's mostly why they are sold. Another thing is they can be spirited and you have to be able to speak horse language. Several back to the land groups have workshops and people who can help you learn how to work with these great animals. That is part of how we got hooked. But please if you have it in your heart to give them a try, investigate, take along someone that really knows about Belgian horses and buy a matched pair.. this is important too as you don't want a brown one and a blonde one.. or a short and fat (stocky type and tall lean). Health is always an issue to be checked carefully and temperment too. Well ask the Belanger's don't they have Draft horses!! Take care and feel free to ask for advice. PS we sold our this past fall as we no longer farm (organic) for veggies and we were not using them enough. Not fair to the animal to waste such beauty. We loved them and it was sad, but they are working nearby and we can visit. Carmen

-- Carmen Pape (sunridge@dmv.com), October 02, 2000.

PPS Horses.. We used electric fence and often she (the dominant one) would roll right through it if she was in heat or felt like this was a good day for a walk...

-- Carmen Pape (sunridge@dmv.com), October 02, 2000.

We've also been considering what to do for power on our farm when we get it, and have about concluded that oxen are the best way for us to go. I would love to have Fjords, and breed them as well as use them, but they are still dreadfully expensive. But another thing to consider, feed having been pretty thoroughly discussed already, is that the working harness for horses is a lot more expensive than ox yokes. You can fairly easily make ox yokes yourself, if you can come up with a big enough piece of wood. Whereas harness for horses could cost more than the horses!! I figure we will buy a trained team of oxen to start with, as we will need them to get the place going and bring in the logs to build the cabin, etc. Then it is pretty easy to pick up dairy bull calves cheap, and we'll just have to learn to train them ourselves. And maybe someday, if our farm does well (castles in the air, here!!) I will be able to get Fjords!

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), October 04, 2000.

Hi Iam thinking about getting a belgian draft horse. I am 13 and we have 2 acres. I want him for riding. Will it be okay to have him alone?

-- Whitney (whitneyh06@yahoo.com), May 15, 2001.

I hope you have lots of money to feed this draft horse if you just want a rideing horse----Draft horses don't usually make good rideing horses----you might want to read up on different breeds of horses before you would consider such a thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As far as I'm consirned way too many people buy horses they don't know anything about & then blame the horse!!!!!!!!! Best wishes --but I think you need a lot more knowledge about draft horses before you would consider one for rideing!!!!! Just my personal opinion!! Know as much as you can before you buy anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-- Sonda in Ks. (sgbruce@birch.net), May 16, 2001.

My experience with draft horses is different .They are built for strength not speed .There fore a well trained one is a great kid horse .They have a wide back which is hard to fall off .They are slower and most are bomb proof. I no have a belgian standbred cross which i like alot.If Amish are near by , maybe you could purchase one of there old work horses and have it trained to ride before you bring it home .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), May 16, 2001.

We have 2 Belgian geldings for our farm and we love them. We bought them instead of a tractor and have never regretted it. Ours came from an Amish farm and were broke very well. We had to introduce them to lights and traffic because we wanted to use them for hay rides ect. to help pay for their feed. We can now take them anywhere and do anything with them. Our children also ride them. hey are very gentle. We feed each one about a bale of hay (cheap grass mix) and 1/2 gallon of grain a day. The grain mix comes from the local elevator and is cheap. Our local vet tought me to give shots so we just buy the vaccinations from him once a year and do the work ourselves. Much cheaper. YOur horses also give wonderful manure - something a tractor doesn't do. We are currently looking for another team of Belgains, it takes a little time to find the right pair, but they are well worth it. Quite often you can buy a teenage pair from the Amish cheap. They will still be able to work hard for several years and are dead broke. Good luck, Joanie

-- Joanie (ber-gust@prodigy.net), May 16, 2001.

My first horse was a draft and it was the best thing that I have ever done. she was a foal even, she was very easy to train and I was only 16 when I got her. I think if you can afford it a draft or draft cross would be the perfect horse for a beginner or a 4 h project.

-- ml (choiceboxerclub@yahoo.com), January 28, 2002.