Suffolk Punch

Infobox Horse
name= Suffolk Punch


image_caption= Suffolk Punch horses
features = Heavy draught horse, always chestnut in colour
altname= Suffolk
nickname=
country=England
group1= Suffolk Horse Society (England)
std1= http://www.suffolkhorsesociety.org.uk/SuffolkHorse.html
group2= American Suffolk Horse Association (US)
std2=http://www.suffolkpunch.com/info/brochure.html

The Suffolk Punch is an English breed of draught horse dating back to the early 16th century. The breed takes the first part of its name from the county of Suffolk in East Anglia, and the name "Punch" from its solid appearance and strength. [Hendricks, "International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds", pp. 405-406] It is a heavy draught horse which is always chestnut in colour, although the colour is traditionally spelled "chesnut" by the breed registries. The breed is a good doer (easy keeper), and tends to have energetic gaits.

The breed was developed in the early 16th century, and today remains very similar in phenotype to its founding stock. The Suffolk Punch was developed for farm work and gained popularity in the early 20th century; however it fell out of favor due to the mechanisation of agriculture, particularly after the middle part of the century. This resulted in the Suffolk Punch almost becoming extinct. Though the breed's status is listed as critical by the UK Rare Breeds Survival Trust, there has been a resurgence in interest in the breed, and population numbers are growing. The breed was used in the past for heavy farm work, and for pulling artillery, commercial vans and omnibuses. It was also exported to other countries to use in upgrading local equine stock.

Characteristics

The Suffolk Punch generally stands 15.3 to 16.1 hands tall (convert|63|to|65|in|cm), and weighs convert|1980|to|2200|lb|kg.Bongianni, "Simon & Schuster's Guide to Horses and Ponies", Entry 95] They are always chestnut, and no other colour is considered for admission to the Stud Book. The traditional spelling, still used by the Suffolk Horse Society, is "chesnut" (with no "t" in the middle of the word), and the Society recognises seven distinct variations: dark approaching brown-black, liver colour or mahogany chesnut, dull dark chesnut, light mealy chesnut, red, golden, lemon, and bright chesnut.cite web | title = The Suffolk Punch | url = http://www.equiworld.org/breeds/suffolkpunch/index.htm| publisher = Equiworld| accessdate=2007-12-19] White markings are rare, and are generally limited to small markings on the face and lower legs.cite web | title = Suffolk| url = http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/horses/suffolk/index.htm| publisher = Oklahoma State University| accessdate=2007-12-19] Equestrian author Marguerite Henry described the breed by saying:

"His color is bright chestnut – like a tongue of fire against black field furrows, against green corn blades, against yellow wheat, against blue horizons. Never is he any other color."cite web | title = Suffolk Punch| url = http://www.kyhorsepark.com/museum/breeds.php?breed=91&pageid=8| publisher = International Museum of the Horse| accessdate=2007-12-19]

Although often grouped with the other British heavy draught breeds, including the Clydesdale and the Shire, the Suffolk Punch tends to be shorter but more massively built, having been developed for agricultural work rather than road haulage. [Sponenberg, "The Proliferation of Horse Breeds", "Horses Through Time", p. 157] The Suffolk Punch has a powerful, arching neck; well-muscled, sloping shoulders; a short, wide back; and a muscular, broad croup. The legs are short and strong, with broad joints; sound, well-formed hooves; and little or no feathering on the fetlocks. The breed tends to mature early, be long-lived, and is economical to keep, needing less feed than other horses of similar type and size. The movement of the Suffolk Punch is said to be energetic, especially at the trot. [Edwards, "Horses", p. 232] They are hard workers, said to be willing to "pull a heavily laden wagon till [they] dropped". [Thirsk, "Chapters from the Agrarian History of England and Wales", p. 46]

History

The Suffolk Punch breed registry in England is the oldest English breed society.Ryder-Davies, "The Suffolk", "The Working Horse Manual", p. 18] The first known mention of the Suffolk Punch is in John Camden's "Britannica", published in 1506, where he describes them as originating in East Anglia in Suffolk and the surrounding counties. This description makes the Suffolk Punch the oldest British heavy horse breed. They were developed in Norfolk and Suffolk in the east of England. In this relatively isolated area, the local farmers developed the Suffolk Punch for farm work, for which they needed a horse with power, stamina, health, longevity, and docility, and they bred the Suffolk to comply with these needs. Because the farmers used these horses on their land, they seldom had any to sell, which helped to keep the bloodlines pure and unchanged.

The foundation sire of the modern Suffolk Punch breed was a 15.2 hand (Convert|62|in|cm) stallion foaled near Woodbridge in 1773 and owned by a Thomas Crisp of Ufford (at this time the breed was known as the Suffolk Sorrel).Hall, "Two Hundred Years of British Livestock", pp. 232-234] Although it is commonly (and mistakenly) thought that this was the first horse of the breed, in reality, at this date all other male lines of the breed had died out and a genetic bottleneck occurred. Another bottleneck occurred again in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and again around 1940. During its development, the breed also received contributions from the Norfolk Trotter, Norfolk Cob, and later the Thoroughbred. The uniform colouring of the breed derives in part from a small trotting stallion named Blakes Farmer (1760). The Suffolk Horse Society was formed in Britain in 1877 to promote the Suffolk Punch breed, [cite web|url=http://www.suffolkhorsesociety.org.uk/the-society/|title=The Society|publisher=Suffolk Horse Society|accessdate=2008-10-11] and published its first stud book in 1880. Also in 1880, the first Suffolks were imported to the United States, with further importations being made in 1888 and 1903 to begin the breeding of Suffolk Punches in the US. The American Suffolk Horse Association was established and published its first stud book in 1907. By 1908, the Suffolk had also been exported from England to Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Russia, Sweden, various parts of Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and other countries. [Bailey, "Cyclopedia of American Agriculture", pp. 495-496]

Although the Suffolk Punch gained popularity in the 1930s, it was hit hard by the mechanisation that followed World War II. The American Suffolk Horse Association ceased to function for 15 years, but restarted in May 1961 with the beginning of the draught horse market recovery. [cite web|url=http://www.suffolkpunch.com/info/brochure.html|title=Online Brochure|publisher=American Suffolk Horse Association|accessdate=2008-10-10] In 1966 only nine foals were registered with the Suffolk Horse Society, but since the late 1960s the breed has experienced a revival of interest and numbers have risen continuously. However, the breed remains rare, and in 1998 there were only 80 breeding mares in Britain, producing approximately 40 foals per year.Ryder-Davies, "The Suffolk", "The Working Horse Manual", p. 19] Although their population has continued to rise, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust considers their survival status critical, with between 800 and 1200 horses in the United States and around 150 in England. [cite web|url=http://www.suffolkpunch.com/info/faqs.html|title=Frequently Asked Suffolk Questions|accessdate=2008-08-31|publisher=American Suffolk Horse Association] In 2007 the Suffolk Horse Society recorded the births of 36 pure-bred foals, and in 2008 they had registered 33 foals as of March. [cite web|url=http://www.suffolkhorsesociety.org.uk/news/|title=News|publisher=Suffolk Horse Society|accessdate=2008-10-10]

Uses

In the past, the Suffolk Punch was used mainly for draught work on farms, and were also often used to pull heavy artillery in wartime. Like other heavy horses, they were also used to pull vans and other commercial vehicles. Today, they are used for commercial forestry operations, for other draught work and in advertising. They are also used for crossbreeding to produce heavy sport horses for use in hunter and show jumping competition.Hendricks, "The International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds", p. 406]

The Suffolk Punch significantly contributed to the creation of the Jutland breed in Denmark. One of the founding stallions of the Jutland was Oppenheimer LXII, a Suffolk Punch imported to Denmark in the 1860s by noted Suffolk dealer Oppenheimer of Hamburg. Oppenheimer consistently dealt with Suffolk Punches, importing them to the Mecklenburg Stud in Germany. The stallion Oppenheimer founded the most important bloodline of the Jutland breed through his descendant Oldrup Munkedal. [Edwards, "The Encyclopedia of the Horse", p. 274] Suffolks were also exported to Pakistan in the 20th century to be used in upgrading native breeds, and they have been crossed with Pakistani horses to create army remounts and mules. This has been a successful program, with Suffolks adapting well to the Pakistani climate, despite their large size. [Edwards, "The Encyclopedia of the Horse", p. 288]

ee also

* Draft horse

Notes

References

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External links

* [http://www.suffolkhorsesociety.org.uk/ Suffolk Horse Society ]
* [http://www.suffolkpunch.com/ American Suffolk Horse Association ]