History
Selection for what eventually became the Italian Heavy Draft was begun in 1860 at the Deposito Cavalli Stalloni (military stud) of Ferrara, Italy. The breed was originally developed by crossing native stock with large Brabant horses. While the resulting horses were strong, they were not light or fast enough for the farm work required of them by the Italians. To make the breed lighter and faster, Percheron and Boulonnais blood were added. However, the resulting horse was still not exactly what its creators were looking for, and in the 19th century they added more Breton blood to the mix, bringing the breed to its current conformation and gaits. In 1926, a stud book was begun, and selection processes were developed to select horses for use in draft capacities. The breeding programs suffered during World War II, but a careful crossbreeding program with Ardennes, Percheron and Breton horses after the war brought the Italian Heavy Draft to its current state.
Despite the Italian Heavy Draft's early popularity as a strong but fast draft horse, increasing mechanization in the farming and military sectors reduced the need for all draft horses, and population numbers declined. In the 1970s, selection processes were changed to focus on the production of animals for horse meat, and that has continued to be the primary focus through the present time. In 1976, a breed association was formed in Italy to preserve and promote the Italian Heavy Draft. The association is charged with maintaining the stud book, evaluating breeding stock, granting equine passports, maintaining genetic databases, and exhibiting the breed. The main breeding areas for the Italian Heavy Draft are in the plains and hills around Verona, Padova, Vicenza, Venice, Treviso and Udine. In 2005, it was estimated that there were just under 6,500 Italian Heavy Drafts, about half of which were mares. The registered population at the end of 2010 was 6304, with the largest numbers in Lazio and Umbria; the number of unregistered Heavy Drafts is not reported.
No modern trace remains of the slower Italian Slow Heavy Draft Horse, the Cavallo Italiano da Tiro Pesante Lento, subject of a biometric and morphological study in 1939.
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