Big Belgian

An oil painting of Belgian horse, one of the powerful draft horses

The clank of harness and the thunder of hooves tingle the spine as bob-tailed draft horses parade by at the Georgetown Fall Fair!

In the lead pair of a six-horse hitch, this Belgian horse depicted in the oil painting participates in some 20-25 such appearances per year. Although weighing over a ton, he is gentle in nature. The teamster skillfully controls the hitch of draft horses from a perch on the brass trimmed oak wagon.

The "MT" on his blinker that you can see in the oil painting stands for the Manuel Tavares family, hardworking owners of Dominion Farms, Erin, Ontario. Lovers of draft horses, the Tavareses can view from their dining windows their favourite Belgian horse as he grazes on the rolling pastures.Most draft horses work year round, drawing logs out of the bush in winter, and pulling sleds loaded with maple sap to the sugar shanty in early spring. Some spend the summer pulling tourist trollies through quaint villages, while others provide horse power for ploughing, seeding, haying and harvesting on Mennonite farms.

Do you sense the magnificent harnessed strength of the Belgian horse in this oil painting?