Flemish Horse

For the sailing rig, see Flemish horse (rigging).
"Vlaams Paard" redirects here. For the South African breed, see Vlaamperd.

Flemish Horse
Conservation statusDAD-IS (2023): at risk[1]
Other names
  • Vlaams Paard
  • Cheval flamand
  • Flamand
  • Gros trait du Hainaut
  • Flanders Horse
  • Belgian Horse
  • Belgian Draft
  • American Belgian Draft
Country of originBelgium
DistributionEurope,
Northern America
Traits
Height
  • 1.65–1.75 m[2]: 164 
Colourusually flaxen chestnut
Breed standards
Harrison Weir, 1861, Flemish Horse (right) with Clydesdale (left) and Cleveland Bay (behind)
Engraving of the Flemish Horse by Alfred Brehm (1869)

The Flemish Horse, also known as Belgian Horse (US) or Flanders Horse, Dutch: Vlaams Paard, French: Cheval Flamand, is a Belgian breed of draught horse originating in Flanders, Belgium.

It became extinct in the nineteenth century in Europe when it was merged with the Brabant to create the Belgian Draught.[3] From about 1993 it was recreated from some stock kept by Amish people in the United States and Canada.[4][5] A breed association, Het Vlaams Paard (VP), was formed in 1999.[6] In 2005 the breed was officially approved by the Flemish government, and the breed association authorised to manage the stud-book.[7]

The Flemish Horse (Vlaams Paard) should not be confused with the South-African Vlaamperd breed, although both breeds directly translate to Flemish Horse in English. The Vlaamperd derives from the Dutch Friesian Horse, but was shipped from the Flemish port of Antwerp to South-Africa. Hence the confusion in name.[8]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference dad was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference elise was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Het Vlaams Paard vzw - Geschiedenis". www.vlaamspaard.be. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference vp was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference mb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ lizzie (4 March 2020). "AskHQ: The Vlaamperd". HQ Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.