Ardennes Breed of Horse:

The Ardennes or Arrdanais are sought to be the oldest breed of draft horses and are characterized by heavy bones and thick legs.



The breed originates from the Ardennes region of Belgium, Luxemburg and France and hence got its name. This breed of horse is said to have descended from the type of horse that was described by Julius Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico where he praised this horse for its endurance.



They are known for their ability to work in hilly and rough terrains. The Ardennes is a tall horse that stands at a height that is between 15 and 16 hands and weighing between 1,540 to 2,200 pounds.



They are characterized by a heavy head, broad face with a straight or a slightly convex profile. Their distinguishing factors are their compact bodies that are broad and muscular with short, sturdy legs that have strong joints. Their coats are normally seen in colors of bay, roan, chestnut or grey and have feathers on their fetlocks.  Ardennes diet needs to be taken special care of as this horse is a heavy eater and with the kind of work that they are bred for, their diet should be good enough. They need to be fed twice a day and eat twice as much as other horses where they can easily consume about 25 to 50 pounds of hay every day along with another 5 pounds of concentrated feed that is if they are being exercised. Ardennes information needs to be got so that the necessary precautions can be taken.

Ardennes care is important if you are considering housing this animal as a pet as you will be required to create a lot of space because of the size of this horse. They can be kept inside but in that case will need a very large stall and generally need a lot more room to move around. They, however, will do very good on a pasture or on a dry lot. Ardennes training becomes easy because of their very calm, patient and docile temperament. Though Ardennes grooming is not a concern as these animals are easy keepers, it is however important that Ardennes health is maintained and taken care of as the hair around their ankle can be a residing place for bacteria making them susceptible to scratches.  This problem, is however, more prevalent in horses that are exposed to wet muddy conditions for exceptionally long periods of time.