Percheron weight and height: feed, hooves and body condition in a heavy horse

The association writes heights as hands and inches, so 16-2 means 16 hands 2 inches, and a hand is 4 inches.

A breed that has grown

Oklahoma State says the horses of Le Perche in the 17th century showed less scale and stood 15 to 16 hands. Percherons reached the United States in 1839, and the association now puts most adults at 16.2 to 17.3 hands. A heavy, wide horse of that height is a very different animal from the breed’s early ancestors, and the 700 pound gap between the average and the heaviest horses is the reason to weigh each horse.

Daily hay for a 1,900 pound Percheron

The arithmetic uses 1,900 pounds, the association’s average. Merck says draft breeds tend toward the lower end of the 2 to 2.5% intake range.

Merck’s starting point for a healthy adult is 2 to 2.5% of body weight in feed dry matter a day, at least half of it forage, and 1.5% for an obese horse, with a warning that severe restriction can be harmful. These figures are our arithmetic from 1,900 lb, counting hay as 90% dry matter (Merck gives 88 to 90%).

Over a year, 2% of 1,900 pounds is about 38 pounds of dry matter a day, roughly 42 pounds of hay, or about 15,400 pounds, nearly 8 tons, of hay. This is our arithmetic and ignores waste.

• 1.5% of body weight: 29 lb (13 kg) of dry matter, about 32 lb (14 kg) of hay
• 2% of body weight: 38 lb (17 kg) of dry matter, about 42 lb (19 kg) of hay
• 2.5% of body weight: 48 lb (22 kg) of dry matter, about 53 lb (24 kg) of hay

A weight tape example for a Percheron

The horse weight calculator uses the adult equation in the Merck Veterinary Manual: heart girth squared times body length, in inches, divided by 330, gives pounds. A heart girth of 91 inches and a body length of 76 inches gives 91 x 91 = 8,281, times 76 = 629,356, divided by 330 = about 1,907 lb (865 kg). Those measurements are our illustration of the formula, not a real horse.

Merck says weight tapes are not suitable for draft horses, and in the University of Minnesota’s study draft horse and warmblood owners misjudged their horses’ weights by about 115 pounds, or 7%, on average. Treat a girth and length estimate as a rough guide, check it on a livestock scale when you can, and use the same method each time to follow the trend.

Muscle disease in draft breeds

The UC Davis Center for Equine Health says PSSM1, a muscle disease that causes stiffness, sweating and tying up after exercise, is more common in Quarter Horses, related breeds and draft breeds, and a genetic test on hair or blood confirms it. Affected horses are often easy keepers, and UC Davis advises under 12% non-structural carbohydrate in the diet, daily exercise, low sugar grass hay and a good ration balancer. A Percheron that stiffens after work needs your vet before any diet change.

Hooves under a heavy load

Merck advises trimming at intervals of 4 to 8 weeks to keep the hoof and leg balanced, and early care for cracks, thrush and white line disease. It lists excess weight bearing among the causes of laminitis, which makes the weight of a Percheron a hoof issue as well as a feed one. Severe lameness with bounding digital pulses is the hallmark, and it is a call to your vet.

Lymphedema

UC Davis lists Percherons among the heavy breeds in which chronic progressive lymphedema has been described, with swelling, skin folds and nodules in the lower legs that often hide under feathering. It has no permanent treatment, so a Percheron with thickened lower legs should be examined by your vet.

Body condition

In the University of Minnesota’s measurements, 42% of draft horses scored 7 or more on the 9 point scale, against 14% of stock horses, ponies and Arabians. Merck counts draft horses among the easy keepers and advises a score of 4 to 6. Feel the ribs, neck and withers monthly, and log the score with each estimate.