Heavy Horses

Abbey Rose

Suffolk Punch

Colcombe Abbey Rose or as we call her, Mosey, was originally bred in Devon and later paired up with Uno in Liverpool working at the Little Crosby Chasers.

Both horses came to the farm park in 2017.

Abbey Rose was due a foal before arriving here and gave birth in June 2017 to a beautiful filly, Lilly Rose.

The Suffolk Punch is an English breed that takes its name from the county of Suffolk in East Anglia. Punch is used to describe the horses solid appearance.

• Adopt Abbey Rose for £39

Adam

Shire

Adam is the last of the Heavy horses we have that was born at the centre back in 2001. His owners had sadly neglected him which meant a long road to recovery.

In the beginning, Adam was unapproachable but after many years of time, money and care, he is back to where he should be.

The Shire horse was a breed designed to carry knights wearing heavy suits of armour and weapons into battle. Their sheer size was used as an intimidation tactic towards the opponent.

After battle, it was soon reconsidered that their great strength would make them magnificent work horses for farming and hauling loads.

• Adopt Adam for £39

April

Welsh Section A Pony

April is our resident 'milk horse'. She was rescued from the RSPCA as she was found abandoned.

At the time we were happy to offer April a home for life and provide the love, care and medical attention she required. April's role on the farm is to educate children on the work horses, which were not only heavy horses.

Horses similar to April would have delivered milk to homes on a daily basis with milk churns due to the lack of good refrigeration.

This was all to change around the 20th century when electric-powered milk floats began to take over the horse's role.

• Adopt April for £39

Buddy

Clydesdale

We purchased Buddy in 2014 as we sadly lost our Clydesdale, Bob.

Buddy worked amongst a team of Clydesdale's ploughing in Donegal, Ireland. He had previously competed in ploughing championships and won many competitions. He had been very well looked after but sadly his owner decided he had too many horses and had to cut back.

The Clydesdale was named after the Scottish region, a tall breed with usually grey or white markings and a superior walking action.

The Clydesdale was exported from Scotland in the late 1900s and later became known as the horse that built Australia. The breed is considered vulnerable on the UK Rare Breeds Survival Trust list.

• Adopt Buddy for £39

Fred

Suffolk Punch Cross

Fred came from Larks Hill Royal Artillery near Salisbury, where he was used regularly in the artillery parades.

However he grew much taller than the rest of the parade horses and as all the horses are required to be the same height, Fred was taken out.

The Suffolk Punch was used mainly for draught work on farms, however would have been used to pull heavy artillery in wartime.

As agriculture became increasingly mechanised, the breed fell out of favour and numbers rapidly declined. The Suffolk Punch is now rarer than the giant panda.

Iona

Percheron

Iona was purchased in 2012 from a local horseman - Robert Sampson of Harbridge Farm in Fordingbridge who specialises in breeding working Percheron's.

Due to losing one of our work horses to old age, we required another set of hooves to pull the carriage for visitors. Due to the massive shortage in heavy horse breeds, it can be very difficult finding a working horse.

Iona is a young star, not only has she competed in many shows both riding and driving, but she has featured on the BBC Two series, Wartime Farm and other heavy horse documentaries. She has also been part of filming for CBeebies series, Down on the Farm where she was filmed ploughing the fields.

• Adopt Iona for £39

Lightning

Gypsy Cobb

Lightning is a Gypsy Cobb (Gypsy Vanner) - bred by the Romany and pulled all types of wagons.

Today the Gypsy Cobb is looked upon as a symbol of power and strength amongst the Romany community. Members of the breed have many draught characteristics such as heavy bone and abundant feathering.

Some Gyspy Cobbs have 'a lucky moustache' - never being trimmed or clipped by the breeder. Lightning has a very posh moustache, so we like to call him our lucky horse.

• Adopt Lightning for £39

Lilly Rose

Suffolk Punch

Born at the farm in June 2017, we are thrilled to have this young energetic Suffolk Punch filly amongst us!

Lilly Rose will be trained to become a work horse and spend her days working on the farm park.

This breed is only found in one colour, chestnut and does not have the feathers around its hooves like other heavy breeds.

As numbers are dwindling, we are so pleased to be able to add another Suffolk Punch to the list and hope we can not only educate our visitors on the history of this breed, but raise awareness of the huge decline in their numbers.

• Adopt Lilly Rose for £39

Luke

Shire

Luke was born at the farm park on the 14th March 2012 - Mother's Day, named after a Bournemouth Royal Marine who sadly lost his life serving in Afghanistan near the time Luke was born.

Luke's mother is Poppy who lives on farm, both horses share a very close bond.

This English breed was originally the staple breed used to draw carts and deliver ale from breweries to public houses. A few breweries still maintain this tradition in the UK.

The Shire was also used to haul large wagons, drays, omnibuses and trams.

• Adopt Luke for £39

Orestes

Ardenne

Orestes is a gelding born in 2008, bred by the Ardenne society.

He came to the farm park in 2017 as we were searching for an Ardennes, which proved nearly impossible due to the massive shortage.

The Ardenne is a French hardy breed, rather like a giant scaled up Shetland. Many soldiers that fought in the war were constricted of agriculture and were perfectly aware of the massive shortage of horses.

They were not slow to rectify this, upon their return they brought back the French horses to compensate for the huge losses which took place particularly the Ardenne and Percheron.

They are now regarded as two of the five major British breeds. Orestes is the best example of what medieval war horses looked like.

• Adopt Orestes for £39

Poppy

Shire

Poppy was the first foal we had at the farm park.

After the struggle of trying to save many heavy horses who suffered from neglect and starvation, the name Poppy came to us as being the first flower on the battlefields during the war.

Poppy is the mother of Luke who also lives on the farm park.

During the first World War over 8 million horses, mules and donkeys died. They were used to transport ammunition and supplies to the front line.

There are approximately 3,000 Shires in the UK today and are currently listed as ‘At Risk’ on the UK Rare Breeds Survival Trust list.

• Adopt Poppy for £39

Rascal

Piebald traditional Gypsy Cob

Poppy was the first foal we had at the farm park.

Rascal arrived at the Dorset Heavy Horse Farm Park on Easter Sunday 2021. We were looking to provide a rescue home to a horse in need, however in this case a much better phrase would be 'pre-loved'.

We believe Rascal was born in Ireland originally and was then registered in Scotland as a yearling. Sadly Rascal had been beaten during the early years of his life and became very sensitive on one side of his body. Rascal was taken on by an owner who loved and cherished him dearly for many years.

Sadly with the loss of his companion 'Risky' and his owner having to undergo several operations, she felt Rascal would benefit living amongst a herd of horses here at the farm park. Rascal may not be as big the heavies but oh boy does his character make up for it!

He is a calm and gentle horse who enjoys the company of both people and other horses. He has a very cheeky character and absolutely loves attention!

• Adopt Rascal for £39

Sultan

Percheron

Sultan came all the way from France, originally bred in Belgium for the French meat market.

At some stage, she was purchased by a horse dealer in England where he was sold to a private school with the intentions of taking children horse riding around the school grounds.

It was soon discovered that Sultan was far too big and powerful for younger children to ride. He then went to Robert Sampson, who specialises in training Percheron horses.

It was suggested that Sultan came and spent the rest of his days at the farm park amongst other heavies.

The Percheron originated in the northern France - usually grey or black and of a strong build. The breed is recognised for their intelligence and willingness to work.

• Adopt Sultan for £39

Uno

Suffolk Punch

Colony Uno is a gelding born in 2008 and came to the farm park in 2017.

He was bred by the Suffolk Punch Society and later pulled carriages at Little Crosby Chasers in Liverpool. He had been very well cared for by his loving owner but due to circumstances, Uno had to be sold on.

At the time, we were looking for a pure-bred Suffolk to come and live amongst the herd of Heavies. But we didn't end up coming home with just one horse, but three!

Now living at the farm park is Uno’s companion, Abbey-Rose and her foal Lilly Rose, born in June 2017.

Uno works pulling the carriage around the farm park for visitors.

Heavy horses were initially bred for war, however the Suffolk Punch was the only heavy horse bred for agriculture.

• Adopt Uno for £39

Viscount

Shire Stallion

Viscount is a rescued Shire whose story begins when he was purchased as a stud horse with the intentions of breeding.

During this time, Viscount did not prove a successful stallion as he did not produce any foals. He was sent off for slaughter as his owner no longer wanted him.

Horses of this size hold a meat value and are rarely handed over for free. A local farmer came and told us his story and we were happy to offer him a home for life.

Since Viscount has been with us, he has in fact produced a foal - Poppy.

The Industrial Revolution saw the construction of a nationwide system of canals, which enabled heavy loads to be transported up and down the country. The Shire was the ideal horse to use towing the barges along the canals.

• Adopt Viscount for £39