All Aboard Farm

The Suffolk Punch of East Anglia is the oldest of Britain's heavy horse breeds.  The origins of this breed are not fully known however what is known is they began in a isolated yet active farming peninsula of Norfolk and Suffolk counties of the UK.  It was bordered on the north, east and south by the North Sea and on the west by the Fens.  Because of this isolation the local horses were not influenced by any outside breeds.  The farmers of eastern England went about developing their own unique breed of heavy horse needed to plow heavy clay soil.  They needed a horse with power, stamina, health, longevity and docility.  The Suffolk farmer used his horses to till and harvest his land and seldom did he have horses to sell.  This practice kept the Suffolk Punch relatively unknown and pure, remaining unchanged to his original purpose; to be a strong and faithful worker for his master.  Of all the draft breeds the Suffolk is one of the oldest in existence.  The breed dates from the sixteenth century but all animals alive today can trace their male lineage back to one stallion, a horse called Crisp’s Horse of Ufford, who was foaled in 1768.

The Suffolk Punch was hard hit by the industrial revolution and mechanization of the post World War II period in North America.  They didn't fair much better their native England and were on the verge of extinction.  In the early 1960's the draft horse market began its recovery a few widely scattered breeders across the US, who had kept a few Suffolk's helped with their recovery.  The breed is still listed as critical by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC).