American Cream Draft basic information

Horses mature late, at around five years of age. Mares mature at around 16 hands in height, and weigh around 1600 lb. Mature height and weight of stallions is around 16.3 hands and 1800 lb or more. The head is refined and in proportion to a short-coupled body with a sloping shoulder and deep girth. Mane and tail are kept long and flowing. The eye-catching beauty and uniformity of the horses makes them crowd pleasers when they appear in parades and at shows. They usually appear in harness but can also be riddenThe ideal American Cream is a medium cream color with white mane and tail, pink skin and amber eyes. Some white markings are also very desirable. Pink skin is the determining factor in securing this rich cream color. Dark-skinned Creams often do not have a satisfactory color. Further when mated with other Creams, they generally produce too light or nearly white offspring. Therefore, the most sought after strain of American Creams has always carried the pink skin trait. These vary but little in color throughout the year and the white markings contrast beautifully with their rich cream color.

The amber eyes are also an unusual and distinguishing trait of the American Creams. The colts are foaled with nearly white eyes. In a short time they begin to darken and by maturity have turned to an amber color.

The American Cream draft horse may be classified as a medium draft type. In the beginning, American Creams weighed perhaps less than 1,400 pounds, but their weight increased until by 1950 some mares weighed 1,600 to 1,800 pounds and some stallions weighed a ton or more. Early breeders attributed this size increased to selective breeding of the most promising American Creams to outstanding animals of other breeds. Height ranges from 15.1 to 16.3 hands. With their type and action, they make good show horses and also are of a size that fits into the average person’s plans