18th century types of horses

American Cream Draft Horse

Horses bred “for the turf”-the Thoroughbreds responsible for Virginia’s reputation as the cradle of horse racing in the United States-were the only horses considered a breed in the Middle Colonies. Yet, they were owned by less than 2 to 3 percent of the population. Horses “for the road or the coach” were less costly but were trained for a specific purpose. Their equipage reflected the wealth of the owner. Horses bred “for the field,” the work or draft horses, were preferred to oxen because of their speed while pulling a plow and their versatility.

When Colonial Williamsburg looked for a breed to represent eighteenth-century horses, racehorses with well-documented pedigrees were plentiful. However, the temperament of a Thoroughbred was not suitable for use in the Historic Area, neither would their selection accurately reflect how most horses were used in colonial times. The agricultural economy of Virginia required a draft horse capable of performing fieldwork and pulling heavily loaded wagons. Owning a draft horse often meant the difference between success and failure for the small farmer, even though the cost of a harness and proper fodder added to the expense of owning one of these hard-working animals.

In 1989, Colonial Williamsburg’s choice of the American Cream Draft Horse introduced the rarest, and the only modern American breed, into the Rare Breeds program. Because of its friendly disposition, impressive appearance, alertness, good work habits, and strength, the American Cream is ideal for wagon, cart, and fieldwork throughout the Historic Area and at Carter’s Grove. These horses are of a rich cream color and are medium sized with pink skin, amber eyes, white manes and tails, and occasional white markings.

The breed originated in Iowa in the early 1900s with a cream-colored draft mare of unknown ancestry known as Old Granny. She consistently produced cream offspring and her great-greatgrandson, Silver Lace, an impressive stallion, attracted Iowa breeders to the Cream bloodline. Clarence T. Rierson bought all the mares sired by Silver Lace, researched the ancestry of each Cream horse, and recorded their pedigrees. He was one of the founders of the American Cream Draft Horse Association, and by the time of his death in 1957, association members had registered almost two hundred horses. The market for draft horses collapsed with the mechanization of agriculture just as the American Cream breed was being established. For fourteen years, the association was inactive, but a few breeders held onto their Creams thus preserving a slender genetic base, which provided the foundation for the breed’s survival.

In 1982, when the association was reorganized, breeders worked with the University of Kentucky’s Equine Blood Typing Lab to determine the breed’s genetic parameters. Their research determined that American Creams were a distinct population within a group of draft breeds, refuting the perception of them as only a color breed. The American Cream Draft Horse Association recognizes that a primary obstacle to the preservation of this still critically rare breed is that it is largely unknown. Increased promotional efforts, aided by the presence of these horses at Colonial Williamsburg, will help to alleviate this problem. Four of the six Creams owned by the Foundation were born here. Three of them are the offspring of Mary, one of Colonial Williamsburg’s original brood mares. To prevent inbreeding, Sir Thomas, bred in Iowa, was acquired in 1999 as the stud horse for Mary and her daughter Sarah. Their foals will increase the genetic base as well as add to the number of registrations recorded with the American Cream Draft Horse Association.

The frustration of knowing so little about specific breed characteristics of eighteenth-century draft horses has been replaced by the satisfaction that comes from preserving American Creams whose beauty and strength match the horses described by J.F.D. Smyth in 1770.

Canadian Horse

The Canadian horses described by historian Etienne Faillon played a vital role in the settlement of Canada and the eastern coastal regions of the United States. The foundation stock came to Acadia and New France early in the seventeenth century and was carried back to Virginia by Samuel Argall’s 1616 expedition. The horses later sent to Quebec by King Louis XIV were believed to have Arab, Andalusian, and Barb ancestry, traits that can be found in Canadian horses of today. Because of the geographical isolation of Quebec, the horses were bred for years with little or no influence from outside breeds. The harsh weather and sparse food supply, combined with the hard work expected of the horses, produced a tough, sturdy animal that was affectionately known as “the little iron horse”. Canadian horses excelled in every area in which a horse was needed-racing, riding, pulling carriages, and working in the field-making them a truly versatile breed.

By 1800, Canadian horses were well known in the United States and were famous for their use on stagecoach routes in New England. Their strength and hardiness were traits desired for crossbreeding. Their genes can be found in other North American breeds such as the Morgan, Tennessee Walking Horse, Standardbred, and American Saddlebred. The popularity of the Canadian horse as a general utility animal led to its exportation in large numbers for use as cavalry horses in the American Civil War and for working on sugar plantations in the West Indies. Exportation, the loss of great numbers of horses as casualties of war, and the mechanization of agriculture resulted in the near extinction of the Canadian horse. Like the American Cream, a few concerned breeders determined to preserve the breed and produced their first stud book in 1886. In spite of breeding programs sponsored by the federal government of Canada and the provincial government of Quebec, fewer than four hundred horses remained in 1976. The numbers have increased since then, but the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy still lists the Canadian as critically endangered.

Canadian horses came to Colonial Williamsburg’s Rare Breed program to fulfill the need for carriage and riding horses. This decision was based on the Canadian’s size and physical characteristics along with the documentation of their importation into the colonies during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Canadian, a horse of medium build, is usually black, but can also be dark brown, bay, or chestnut in color. The mane and tail are full, long, and wavy, evidence of their Barb and Andalusian ancestry. Their calm, docile dispositions and adaptability recommend them for use in the Historic Area. Ads in the Virginia Gazette and personal diaries and letters from the eighteenth century described horses by their size and color. One of George Washington’s carriage horses was a bay mare, and other owners described their lost horses as “a dark bay horse” or “a black horse, a large star in his forehead, and his two Hind Feet white.” No evidence exists that these horses were Canadians, but these descriptions closely match the Canadians owned by Colonial Williamsburg today.

All nine of the Canadians owned by the Foundation are black, six of them marked with white stars, and two of them with white socks. Matched carriage horses became a status symbol in the eighteenth century, and the two colts born here in 1999, with their similar markings, have the potential to grow into a matched pair worthy of ownership by George Washington. The colts’ names are Ranger and Captain commemorating those long ago horses who ranged from Canada to Virginia and and led the way in bringing the best traits of European breeds to this new world.