The American Cream Draft is a rare breed, always of cream color, hence the name. It originated from a mare named Old Granny, which was of unknown breeding. The cream color is not seen in other breeds. It was in 1931 that many Cream Drafts were purchased for the intent of major breeding. It was at this time that actual documentation was kept. It was in 1944, The American Cream Draft Association was formed.
A study was done by E. Gus Cothran from the University of Kentucky to determine why in this breed of horse the cream color is the dominant, it was discovered that within the American Cream Draft, that there is in fact a gene called the Champagne gene. It is the white face and leg markings that also make the American Cream Draft favored among horse lovers. It caused the horse to be the color it is making it unique from all other draft breeds.
The American Cream Draft was known for doing a lot of farm work, though they were becoming popular in the early 20th century, it was not a good time for them for they were being replaced by tractors.
The breed faced extinction in the 1970s and The American Cream Draft Association was falling apart as well. In 1982, the few remaining breeders formed a new foundation; the American Cream Draft was then brought out of endangerment.
The American Cream Draft stands about 15 to 17 hands high and usually weighs around 1 ton. The cream color is the only trait that differentiates it from other draft horses, other than that, it resembles them physically. This breed of horse is commonly used in parades and other types of shows and its gentle nature makes it appealing as well. Other than being the typical cream color, it also sometimes is an also pure white color as well as the tail.
Since the American Cream Draft is born with the champagne gene, it is born with brown hooves, pink skin and blue eyes. The eyes go through multiple stages of change as the horse matures; it will go from blue to hazel to amber and sometimes in certain cases, green in adulthood.
One of the breeders from the original bred an American Cream Draft he thought to be very magnificent. He formed an attachment to it, such an attachment that he refused to sell it, though through the depression it was hard. He was forced to hide the horse in a barn and make money by selling Silver Laces Stud. Though over time the horse became possession of a team of stockholders with greedy intentions, the horse later died when the owner refused to sell him.
With there only being around 300 residing in the United States, the American Cream Draft is considered indigenous to our country. The Eastern Connecticut Draft Horse Association (the ECDHA) maintains records on the current population of the entire Draft horse breed.
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