Estonian Draft

Also known as the Eston-Arden, the Estonian Draft horse is the result of the crossbreeding that took places between the native breeds of Estonia and purebred Swedish Ardennes. The native Estonian horses possessed some features that survived centuries. Some of these were passed onto the Estonian Draft Horse. The aim of the crossbreeding was to create a working horse that was tough and diligent. The horse would meet the demands of the area and be a hard worker. Emphasis was placed on selecting a few important traits like leanness of body, a good food conversion rate, a calm nature, and alert and quick movement. The Estonian Draft resulted. This lean and bony horse is of harness type. It is very efficient in agricultural work. Even though this breed is in high demand because of its work ethic and capabilities, the population is rather low today. The breeding is performed at forty farms, with twelve of them doing much of the work. Further, eight lines of Estonian Draft horses are involved in the breeding.