Brabant / Belgian Draft
calm, powerful, even-tempered
Origin
Brabant, Belgium
Withers height
160–175 cm
Draught workDrivingForestry
Traits & strengths
- ✦one of the most massive and powerful draft horses of all
- ✦founding breed of numerous European and American draft studbooks
- ✦calm temperament despite enormous body mass
- ✦early-maturing and fertile
Breed-typical predispositions
JEB (junctional epidermolysis bullosa)
Disease →recessive (LAMC2) — homozygous foals lose skin and hooves after birth and do not survive; carriers are healthy, carrier test before mating
Chronic progressive lymphoedema (CPL)
Disease →described in the heavy Belgian lines — regular checks of the lower legs, keep feathering short
PSSM1 (GYS1)
Disease →increased frequency in Belgian draft lines; low-starch management
Latest findings
Cause of JEB (LAMC2)
2002A deletion in the LAMC2 gene was identified as causal for junctional epidermolysis bullosa in Belgian draft horses — carrier status has been reliably determinable ever since.
Source · Spirito et al. — LAMC2 in Belgian draft horses