Red Dog Studio: Suffolk Horse (Suffolk Punch)

The Suffolk Horse
(Suffolk Punch)
by Kristin Berkery

Country or Region of Origin
The Suffolk Horse, commonly known as the Suffolk "Punch," has been bred in Suffolk County, Eastern England, at least since the 16th century. The breed was limited to that geographic area until the early part of the 20th century.

Genetic Heritage, Development of the Breed
All living Suffolks can be traced to one stallion, Crisp's Horse of Ufford, foaled in the 1760s. The breed was developed purely for agricultural use and historically has not been utilized in battle. Suffolks are probably descended from English mares bred to French-Norman, Flanders, and Norfolk trotter stallions. It is said the Suffolk is a descendant of the Great Horse of medieval times, which was used in jousting.

Historical Anecdotes or Significance
The Suffolk Horse is the rarest and one of the oldest heavy breeds in the world. By the time the breed began to spread beyond Suffolk County in the early 20th century, agriculture was quickly becoming mechanized and horses were no longer popular for working in the fields. This shift in technology nearly caused the extinction of the Suffolk breed. Large numbers of Suffolks were sold for slaughter in the mid-20th century, resulting in the disappearance of many male lines. By the 1960s, English horse breeders began to take notice and some stepped in to preserve the Suffolk.

Inbreeding has commonly been practiced in the breed, both to produce a uniform phenotype and to save the breed from extinction.

Traditional and Common Uses of the Breed
Used mostly for agricultural work, they are not often shown. There are Suffolk Horse shows, presentations, and pulling competitions in England and pulling contests here in the U.S. Historically, the Suffolk has not been bred for the purpose of showing, so the breed has very functional conformation as a rule. The breed has not been subjected to the conformation fads of the show ring.

The Breed's Influence on other Breeds
In England, the Suffolk is used for producing partbreds for eventing, show jumping, and hunting. The Pakistani government uses Suffolks to produce military horses and mules.

Proportions
The Suffolk Horse is nicknamed the "Suffolk Punch" because of its body type. In England, a "punchy" is a type of horse that is short-legged and barrel-bodied, which is an accurate description of the Suffolk Horse. The horse may appear as though its legs are too short for its body, which enables the horse to hunker down and pull a very heavy load. The average height is 16.1 hh, but stallions may be 17 hh or taller. Individuals can weigh up to a ton.

Colors, Markings, Patterns
The Suffolk is a unique heavy breed in that it comes in only one color, "chesnut" (note the missing "t"), but there are seven shades of chesnut to choose from: bright, red, golden, yellow, light, dark, and dull dark. Bright chesnut is the most common. Small amounts of white are allowed on the face and just above the hooves.

Features/Characteristics
The Suffolk Horse has very little feathering on the legs (identified as "clean-legged") for utilitarian reasons. In the heavy clay fields in Eastern England, the farmers didn't want to spend more time than necessary cleaning the horses' legs after a hard day's work.

The horse's profile is straight or convex with a broad forehead and docile eyes. The neck is arched and very muscular, but tapers at the throatlatch. The chest is broad and muscular and the barrel is well-sprung. The hindquarters are well-muscled and rounded and the tail is set higher than many heavy horses' tails. The overall impression of the Suffolk is of smoothness. The legs are relatively short and clean with heavy bone. The hooves are smaller than those in other heavy breeds, but remain hard and sound.

Suffolks mature early and are long-lived, often into their 30s. They have a very docile and hard-working temperament and are economical to feed.

Diagrams, Photos, Visual Examples

Image from Encyclopedia of the Horse, edited by Elwyn Hartley
Edwards, second edition, published 1994.

Notable Flaws in Type
The Suffolk breed generally doesn't have conformation flaws because it's bred for a very specific and useful purpose. Suffolks tend to have straight shoulders, but this is not considered a flaw in the breed because it can provide more strength and pulling power.

In the early 20th century, the Suffolk was criticized as having poor quality hooves for town work. To disprove this rumor, early Suffolk breeders started a tradition of foot classes that has continued at modern Suffolk shows. Veterinarians and farriers judge these classes in which the quality of the hoof is scrutinized, not the shoeing job.

Subtypes within the Breed (note official vs. unofficial)
A very uniform breed, all Suffolks generally have the same physical characteristics.

Registration numbers, statistics
Today, it's estimated there are around 1,000 individuals representing the breed worldwide, and perhaps only 75 breeding females.

Anecdotes about the Breed's Association, special notes, oddities
The Suffolk Horse Society in Britain was founded in 1877 as the Suffolk Stud Book Association. The Society operates a Suffolk Horse history museum and recently founded a Part-Bred Suffolk registry for Suffolk crosses. There is also an American registry, the American Suffolk Horse Association in Ledbetter, Texas.

Grooming methods, treatments (braids, trimming, clipping etc.)
Suffolks have full manes and tails which are braided with raffia, or "bass," for in-hand showing. The tail is braided to the end and then folded up. The mane, which is braided as a plait or a continental braid, may be decorated with ribbons. (A continental braid is a French braid along the bottom of the mane.) Foals are shown with natural manes and tails. Mares and foals may be shown wearing a ribbon encircling the shoulders with the entry number attached.

Tack and Presentation for Halter/In-Hand
Stallions are shown with a black or brown draft bridle and surcingle in the U.K. In the U.S., stallions may be presented in a black, brown, or white show bridle, with or without surcingle. Mares are shown wearing show bridles. In the show ring, Suffolks wear "show bevel" shoes to enhance the shape of the hoof, which is a type of shoe that's slightly larger and rounder than shoes worn in the field.

Recommended Books/Videos and Offline Resources
The book Pulling Punches by Paul Heiney and the videos Harnessed to the Plough and First Steps to the Furrow are available from the Suffolk Horse Society in England.

Association Contact Info
Suffolk Horse Society
The Market Hill
Woodbridge
Suffolk
IP12 4LU
United Kingdom
Telephone: 01394 380643

American Suffolk Horse Association
c/o Mary Margaret Read
4240 Goehring Rd.
Ledbetter, TX 78946-5004
Phone: (979) 249-5795

Recommended Related Websites
Suffolk Horse Society
American Suffolk Horse Association
Suffolk Punch Pages - A site owned by the Hollesley Bay Prison Stud in Woodbridge, Suffolk County. The prison operates a Suffolk preservation breeding program operated in part by prisoners.