horses

[janeevans]

What is the earliest known breed of draft horse?

[lelliej]

It appears to be the belgian heavy draft horse, according our friend Ms Google

[shaneystar]

Having had a Google round there is the Percheron and and others... this may help....
During Roman times the Gauls and other Europeans used horses of the heavy, northern type for pulling loads and other work. In the Middle Ages huge draft animals, over 16 hands high, were bred to carry armored knights as well as their own armor. As cavalry warfare declined, such medieval inventions as the horseshoe and the rigid horse-collar made draft horses more useful for work. By the 19th cent. the draft horse had replaced the ox in N Europe and North America. Draft breeds common in the United States were the Belgian, the Clydesdale, the Percheron; and the Shire, also the most common draft horse in England.