Origin: Hainaut area, France
Color: Bay, roan or red roan.
Avg Height: 15.3 to 16.1hh
Avg Weight: 1,320 to 1,760 lbs
Build: Solidly built, rather short and powerful. Mane is abundant. Has a heavy head with a straight profile, pronounced jaws and small ears and eyes. Neck is muscular, short and broad. Wide withers are not very prominent, and the back is short and straight. Has broad loins and a wide and muscular croup, which is lightly sloping. Has a wide and deep chest and a well-developed abdomen. Shoulder is muscular and nicely sloping. Legs are short and strong, well-muscled and feathered below the knee and hock. The leg joints are broad, and the foot is well-formed.
Temperament: Gentle, easy-going nature.
Main use: Meat, work in the fields, horticulture, timber haulage, but also in leisure activities, in harness, and for riding and horse-drawn vehicles.
Special abilities: It has a vigor and energy which enable it to trot at a remarkable pace, while at walking speed it has proved to be a well-balanced draught horse whose mass and thrust create the maximum of power and ease of work.
History: "Trait" is the French word for "draft," and "nord" refers to north, which is the region in France where this horse comes from. The Trait du Nord is a recent breed (the stud book was opened in 1903), the Trait du Nord is the result of cross-breeding Ardennes and Flemish horses with Belgian draught horses (Brabançons, Belgian Ardennais ...). Constitutionally calm, it is strong and stands up to its work. It was formerly used in the vast cereal and sugar-beet farms in the North of France.
For Breeders, Farms, and Studs of this breed, click here.
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