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American Cream Draft |
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American Cream Draft |
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The first American Cream was a mare, which appeared to have only draft bloodlines. In 1911, she turned up at a farm sale in Story County, Iowa. Her name was "Old Granny," and her foaling date was approximated to be somewhere between 1900 and 1905. Attracted by the beauty of her foals, veterinarian Eric Christian persuaded the nelson Brothers of Jewell, Iowa to keep a colt named Nelson's Buck in order to perpetuated a new breed of horses. These horses have a rich cream color with pink skin, a white mane and tail and amber colored eyes.
After a search through early registrations, it was discovered that "Old Granny" had been mated to Belgians, Percherons, Greys, Duns, and Sorrels. All of these were from draft horse lines and dropped foals were those with rich cream skin, pink skin, white mane and tail and amber eyes. Nelson's Buck was foaled in the spring of 1920 and only one colt produced from Nelson's Buck was registered -- Yancy, foaled in 1923. Though Nelson's Buck's sire was a black Percheron stallion, he was as cream-colored as his dam, "Old Granny." Yancy's dam was a black Percheron mare. Yancy was mated to a black grade Shire mare, which produced Knox in 1926.
One colt, Silver Lace, was foaled in 1931, out of a Farceur Belgian mare and Knox. He had a narrow blaze running down his face and at maturity he stood 16 hands high and weighed in at 2,230 pounds. Silver Lace had the greatest influence on the development of the American Cream. His attractive offspring caught the attention of C.T. Rierson of Hardin County, Iowa, who began buying up all the Silver Lace's good cream colts he could find for sale. Rierson meticulously kept records of each horse's ancestry and became the founding force behind the American Cream Horse Association of America. On July 11, 1944, the State of Iowa issued a charter to a group of 20 members of this organization. Rierson, in 1944, stated:
I have 16 head of them now and have sold five to new breeders since we started our organization. These horses are all descendants of our old cream-colored mare, brought into this territory over 30 years ago. She and her descendants were mated with both Percherons and Belgians and, in later years, inbreeding and line breeding has been practiced with many good results in both type and color. They have style and action and a good disposition. They are making a class for them at the Webster City, Iowa, Fair this year. This is the county in which they originated and it will be the first time they have been shown in a class by themselves.
Inspiration for the breed's name came about at one such fair and it seemed particularly appropriate since these rich cream-colored horses originated entirely in America.
The American Cream Horse Association of America was recommended by the National Stallion Enrollment Board in November 1948 to be recognized on February 15, 1950. The organization was granted all the privileges of an established breed and recognized as standard by the Iowa Department of Agriculture.
Two hundred horses, owned by 41 members, were registered by the late 1950s. Unfortunately, many of these horses were sadly sold to canneries as tractors supplanted their duties in the fields. A few farmers continued to work their fields with Creams, including Arnold Hockett of Estherville, Iowa and Richard Eads of Lanark, Illinois. They hung onto their Creams and in the late 1970s banded together with two other Cream enthusiasts, William Walczak of Sheboygan, Wisconsin and Clarence Ziebell of Charles City, Iowa to encourage a reorganization of the association. They persuaded Karene Bunker Topp, Secretary of the inactive association, to call a meeting for the purposed of registering their Creams. The books were officially reopened in the fall of 1982 when seven individuals met at Dubuque, Iowa. This time, dark-skinned females were permitted, but only males with pink skin and the other breed requirements could be registered.
The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy place the American Cream on the endangered species list and information about the breed was compiled. The Director of the Equine Blood Typing Research Laboratory at the University of Kentucky, E. Gus Cothran, offered to blood test American Cream horses. Stated in his results: "Compared with other draft breeds and based upon gene marker data, the Creams form a distinct group within the draft horses. The Creams are no more similar to the Belgian than they are to Suffolks, Percherons, or Haflingers". This research disproved suppositions that the Cream was only a color breed.
The percentage of Cream foals dropped having both a Cream sire and dam had risen to nearly 80% in the 1950's. While today's stallion reports do not indicate such a high percentage, the number of foals dropped is increasing. Since 1982, 114 American Creams have been registered in the breed's book. Membership in the Association is not restricted to owners of American Creams, with an Associate membership offered to anyone interested in promoting the breed. There are 34 members who own 90 registered horses and 28 Associate members who assist the work of the Organization by annual dues. Members voted to amend the Articles of Incorporation in 1993, changing the Association's name to American Cream Draft Horse Association and extending the Charter to perpetual duration. The new document was filed on April 28, 1993 with the Secretary of the State of Iowa.
Classified as a medium-heavy draft type, the average American Cream mare weighs between 1600 and 1800 pounds at maturity, and stallions weigh 1800 to 2000 pounds. The American Cream averages between 15 and 16.3 hands high, which is found to be the most desirable for ease of harnessing, hitching and driving. Creams are easily trained, have excellent dispositions, and are willing to work.
For more information on the American Cream, contact: The American Cream Draft Horse Association, 2065 Noble Avenue, Charles City, Iowa 50616-9108. Phone: (515) 228-5308
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© 1997-2007
NW Breyer Horse Club & Refiner of Gold Creations Equinealities in place since 1997, Section in place 2001, Updated 3/13/2007 |
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