Percheron – Draft Horse
Equus Ferus Caballus
The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that was developed in the Perche province of France as far back as the 17th century. They were originally bred as war horses, but then they started to be used for farming and pulling heavy loads. Percheron can be either grey or black, and can have white markings on their head and feet. The average American Percheron is 16.2 hands to 17.3 hands tall (66 to 71 inches) and their average weight is 1900 lbs. Percheron horses live all over the world and are used primarily as a working horse
Flash and Lane are just 2 of the many Percheron draft horses to live at Charmingfare Farm. They each way over 2000 lbs and are over 18 hands tall. If you ever see them out in the field, they are very difficult to tell apart, but Flash is just a little bit taller and likes to hold his head much higher than Lane. When working together in a team, Lane is on the left and Flash is on the right. Flash and Lane have been in many parades, pulled both hay rides and sleigh rides, have pulled wedding carriages, and have even worked in fields pulling gardening equipment. All this hard work means that they must eat at least 50 lbs of hay each day and another almost 6 lbs of grain just to stay in shape. They eat even more during the winter. Flash and Lane love pulling rides and showing off for all of the farm guests, and they especially love when they get an apple or carrot after work.