American Cream Draft Horse

Other Names:

Origin: Story County, Iowa, USA

Color: Coats range in color from a buttermilk to a rich gold, a white mane and tail, pink skin, and amber colored eyes. Some white markings are also very desirable. Pink skin is the determining factor in securing the rich cream color. Dark-skinned Creams often do not have a satisfactory color. Further when mated with other Creams, they generally produce too light or nearly white offspring. Therefore, the most sought after strain of American Creams has always carried the pink skin trait. These vary only a little in color throughout the year and the white markings contrast beautifully with their rich cream color. The amber eyes also distinguish the breed, because the foals are born with nearly white eyes, and as they mature, their eyes darken. The tails are never docked.

Avg Height: 15 to 16.3 hh

Avg Weight: 1600 to 2000 lbs

Build: Short coupled with well-muscled hindquarters, wide chest, good sloping shoulders, short, strong back; deep throughout the heart girth, ribs well sprung, good strong legs in proportion to body set wide apart with strong and sure feet. Refined heads with flat or dished profiles. Wide-set expressive eyes, and smaller ears.

Temperament: Best described as amiable, easy going, willing, ready to please, and trustworthy. Main use: Farming, and pleasure. Special abilities: They have style and action and a good disposition. With their type and action, they make good show horses and are not too big or too small for the average person's plans and needs. The uniformity in color and type of the American Creams makes for easily matched teams. They create a beautifully striking hitch.

History: The American Cream Draft Horse is the only draft breed to originate in the United States. The breed descended from a mare of a unique creamy color, named Old Granny, who was bought at auction in 1911 in Story County, Iowa. She appeared to have nothing but draft breeding in her bloodlines. A man named Harry Lakin bought her, and immediately started to breed her. She threw foals of the rare cream color right away, and all of the foals sold for well above average prices. A local veterinarian, Eric Christian, noticed one of Old Granny's foals, now a handsome stallion named Nelson's Buck, and he persuaded the Nelson brothers of Jewell, Iowa, to let him keep the colt. Buck went on to sire a new breed of horses having a rich cream coat color, white mane and tail, pink skin and amber colored eyes. It was not until approximately 1935 that any special effort was put forth to make a distinct breed of them. At that time, a few foresighted men began line breeding and inbreeding with the hopes of establishing a new draft breed. In November of 1948 the breed was recommended for recognition by the National Stallion Enrollment Board. This was a very bad time for a draft breed to be getting its start. With the advent of the tractor in the 40's there was the largest decline of heavy horses in the history of our country. The US census in 1925 showed more than 98,000 registered draft horses, but by 1955 there were less than 2,000 on the roles. Many good farm horses were hauled to auction for dog food. It was a very sad time for our farming heritage. The reason we still have American Creams is because a handful of dedicated horse farmers hung onto their horses through the tough times. On February 15, 1950, they were recognized as standard by the Iowa Department of Agriculture. While their numbers today are growing, the American Cream Draft Horse is still considered a rare and endangered breed.

The information contained on this page is provided courtesy of the American Cream Draft Horse Association, 2065 Noble Avenue, Charles City, Iowa 50616-9108. Phone: (515) 228-5308.