The Suffolk Horse dates back to 1506. Every Suffolk Horse in existence today traces its descent in the direct male line, in an unbroken chain to a horse foaled in 1760, Thomas Crisp's horse of Ufford.

Suffolks are always chesnut in colour, often accompanied with a star on the forehead, or a thin reach, blaze or shim down the face. No other colour is seen. There are seven recognised shades of chesnut:

dark approaching brown-black, liver colour or mahogany

chesnut,

dull dark chesnut,

light mealy chesnut,

red,

golden,

lemon,

bright chesnut.

The breed is famous for its docile disposition and young horses can be quickly schooled to perform any work. Early maturity means that many Suffolks are put to light work at two years of age and go into full work at three, working well into their mid-twenties. Easy keeping qualities are characteristic.

Considering the weight and work performed, food consumption is small. The Suffolk can live on an allowance that would have starved the enormous dray horses of Liverpool and London, lasting for long hours without feeding as was practiced on farms.

The Suffolk stands at least 16 and sometimes exceeding 17 hands high for a fully matured horse, shaped with great width in front and in the quarters. Its short legs and resulting low draught give it direct pull on its vehicle. The Suffolk shares a distinctiveness with the British Percheron of being the only clean-legged draught horse.

A mature horse can weigh between three quarters and a full tonne. The name 'Punch' conveys the idea of Dickens' Fat Boy. The dictionary definition of Punch is "a variety of English horse, short legged and barrel-bodied, a short fat fellow".

American Suffolk Horse Association

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