The Rhineland is a Strong, hardy, calm, docile, Heavy breed of draft horse. Standing 16-17hh at the withers, and weighing around 2,200 lbs. The coat may be chestnut or red roan (with tail and mane flaxen or black) or bay. The head is small but with pronouced jaws, a straight profile, a full forelock and small eyes. The neck is quite short, broard and muscular, the withers are low and broad, the back is short, wide and often slightly hollow, the loins broad and muscular, the flanks muscular and rounded, the croup also muscular and wide, slightly sloping, the chest wide and deep, the abdomen large and rounded, and the shoulder muscular and rather straight. The legs are short and well-muscled, feathered, with broad joints, short cannons and broad, tough feet.

The origins of the breed go back to the second half of the nineteenth century and are closely linked to the Ardennais from which it is derived though with an important contribution from the Belgian Heavy Draft. The stud Book was established in 1876. Created as a breed for farm work and for use in transport generally, although it has retained it's original characteristics it has acquired a variety of names, relating to the different regions in which it is reared, as in the case of the Niedersachsen Heavy Draft of Lower Saxony.

Home Shire Clydesdale Belgian Draft Horse Percheron Gypsy Vanner Horse Boulonnais Comtois Lithuanian Heavy Draft American Cream Draft Horse Spotted Draft Horse Suffolk Draft Horse Rhineland Heavy Draft Vladimir Heavy Draft Soviet Heavy Draft Ardennais Jutland Breton