The Brabant draught horse was the most sought-after draught horse in the world in times gone by. Diepensteyn Stud Farm is seeking to restore this breed of horse to its former glory. The farm rears the bay-coloured Brabant draught horse, which also serves as the logo of the traditional Brabant beer PALM. Its brown coat and white mane refer to the amber colour of PALM and its head of white foam.
From the end of the 1800s to the period following the First World War, the Brabant draught horse was Belgium's number one export product. Each year, more than 35,000 horses were shipped to places all over the world and served as the engine for various industries, including agriculture, transport, ports and mining. Diepensteyn Stud Farm now wishes to breed a Belgian draught horse based on the phenotype and utility value from the glory years.
Diepensteyn Stud Farm sources top-class stallions of pure Belgian origin from abroad and brings them back to Belgium to breed them with Belgian mares and achieve their breeding goals more quickly. These top-class stallions are also available to third parties. Diepensteyn Stud Farm has 20 to 30 horses on its premises at any one time. It selects them based on bone purity, supple physique, a strong back, slanting shoulders, an upright neck, a willingness to work, and stamina.
Some adult horses are selected to be trained to take part in the driving sport. Diepensteyn has spent more than a quarter of a century working to ensure the future of this breed as the ideal partner for recreational driving and driving sport, as evidenced by the Damme-Oostduinkerke draught horse parade in 1993, Brussels-Amsterdam in 1996 and the founding of the PALM Challenge Cup driving competition (now the Power Horse Competition). Thanks to its efforts, the Flemish Equestrian League and the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) have recognised the Belgian draught horse as a 'sport horse', giving it direct access to all official driving competitions in its category.
