“FLEMISH HORSE
MANIFESTO”
In 1302 the Flemish defeated the French king and his army of knights at the Groeningekouter
near the town of Kortrijk. This battle was called the Battle of the Golden Spurs. Thanks to this
battle and other following battles Flanders was not annexed with France and the Flemish
identity was preserved this way. In the painting above we can see that the Flemish heroes
sitting on their Flemish horses were welcomed festively in Bruges after their triumph. This is
a part of a mural in the Gothic room of the Town Hall in Bruges by A. Devriendt
Patrick Trio
Email : trio.patrick@euphonynet.be
Website : http://home.euphonynet.be/patrick-trio/
Introduction:
The document you are looking at is unique in its kind. Yes, it can even be called
revolutionary.
The Flemish Horse Manifesto is indeed unique. For the very first time the subject of the
Belgian Draft horse is not being discussed from the usual perspective of the Brabant Belgian
Draft horse. In the past the Flemish part in the story of the Belgian Draft horses has always
been minimized while the Brabant Belgian part has always been maximized. The author takes
an overall look – that is from all possible angles – at the history of the different breeds of the
Belgian Draft horse. For many years the author has done thorough research to the history of
the concerning breeds (the Flemish Horses, the Brabant Belgian Draft horses and the
American Belgians) and during this research he has come up with some surprising
conclusions. Gradually the author put together the findings of his research, which eventually
resulted in the Flemish Horse Manifesto. In part 1, 2, 3 (on a total amount of more or less 20
non written and non edited parts) the author discusses the pedigree of the Belgian Draft horse
Dynasty. The result is truly unique. Never before someone has come up with a comparable
theory. The Flemish horse Manifesto will literally rewrite history thanks to this new insight in
the evolution of the Belgian Draft horse dynasty.
The 4-year-old author on the
back of Pol, his father ’s chestnut
gelding. Make notice of the type
of the draft horse , the long tail
and the small amount of
feathering. The picture was taken
in 1963 and proves that the
Flemish phenotype has continued
to exist in Belgium (Flanders)
much longer than generally is
acknowledged. The horses I
worked with as a little boy were
in fact the same horses the
Americans work with today: they
belonged to the same genotype
and the same phenotype. Hence,
little differences would be
perceived if you compared this
kind of gelding with the present
generation of American Belgians.
The new theory that rewrites the history of the Flemish Horses, the
Belgian draft horses and the Belgians
In the edition of March 2002 of a magazine of the association of The Flemish Horse I wrote
my first article. It was called History of the Flemish Horses. Back then, I already wrote:
“Meet me in St. Louie, Louie … Meet me at the fair”. With this statement I referred to the
fact that it was already clear at the Saint Louis World’s Fair in 1904 that the dynasty of the
Belgian draft horses would fall apart into two separate families: on the one hand the European
family of the Brabant Belgian draft horses and on the other hand the American family of the
Belgian. The story of St. Louis was discussed elaborately in part 15, 16 and 17 of History of
the Flemish Horses. These parts were published in the editions of September and December
2005 and March 2006 of the magazine of the association of The Flemish Horse.
The reason why.
In part I of History of the Flemish Horses I wrote:
I came up with surprising results !!!
It took me hours and hours to consult articles, all sorts of magazines, old books, new books,
newspaper cuttings, websites, etc. concerning Flemish horses and Belgian (Brabant) draft
horses.
Later it took me hours, even days to make notes, to classify, to copy, scan, arrange, order,
edit and re-edit everything. In the process I cursed, gave up and tried again and again. By
the end of 2001 I more or less sorted everything out. Almost everything. There was still one
crucial link missing by which my theory would prove to be a success or a failure. That was
the crucial studbook, the pedigree. It really was make or break.
In October 2001 I paid Lucrèse Halsberghe of the Flemish Horse Association a visit at the
secretariat. I told her about my research, explained to her my theory and told her about the
crucial missing link. With great enthusiasm and full of energy – which was so typical of
our dearly departed Lucrèse – she ran upstairs and came back with a mass of documents.
Together we searched all the information and the old press cuttings and a couple of hours
later I left a happy man. Lucrèse had found the documents that proved my theory. Later we
put together all the pieces of the puzzle and fit in the missing link. In the house of The
Flemish Horse I had found the pedigree I was looking for and indeed, the origin I had in
mind was right!
Later Lucrèse made the remark that it would be a shame if nobody was able to enjoy the
findings of my research. Hence, she asked me to publish my research in the magazine of
the association of The Flemish Horse. Since we are talking about a bulky document that
takes a lot of pages, it will be published in the form of a serial story of which the episodes
will be published in several editions of the magazine.
This is how I started writing History of the Flemish horses in the quarterly magazine of the
association of The Flemish Horse.
I have always been interested in horses and especially in draft horses. The repeated attacks
that were launched against the Belgians – or the Flemish Horses as we call them here – that
were being imported from America back then, made me even more eager to do research to the
history of the Belgian underbreds.
Indeed, I started digging into the history of the Flemish horses and the Belgian draft horses
after the repeated negative remarks towards the Flemish Horses and the Flemish Horse
Association. These remarks came from the Belgian agrarian sector, the magazine of the Royal
Society of the Belgian draft horse, etc. Moreover, I had been noticing that the historiographers
writing on the history of the Belgian draft horses were contradicting each other and – yes –
even themselves. At a certain point all the negativity made me sad: all they talked about was
Brabant and Belgium and everything that was Flemish was bad according to them. And yet,
they themselves acknowledged that the Belgian draft horses were descendents of the old
medieval Flemish horse used by knights. Even according to them the Flemish Horse was
undoubtedly the one true forefather of all Belgian draft horses. This kind of theories confused
me and the hypocrisy in them was depressing me. I gave up my research. I had had quite
enough. However, in the summer of 2001 I went to sunny Italy with the whole family and –
yes indeed – again I packed a mass of books on the subject. Once in Italy, I regularly sought
out the shade to do further research. To the annoyance of my wife, I have been more in the
shadow than in the sun. When I came back home a fortnight later, I had made up my decision.
Essentially the Belgian draft horse is a standardized product of Albion d’ Hor. Albion d’Hor
was the forefather of the Brabant Belgian draft horses.
Essentially the American Belgian is a standardized product of Farceur. Farceur was the
forefather of the American Belgians.
If Farceur is the forefather of the Belgians, then his pedigree is crucial for the pedigree of all
the Belgians. Hence, Farceur is the key figure within the pedigree of the American Belgians.
Having made my decision, I returned home a fortnight later. At that moment I did not know
the pedigree of Farceur, since I did not have Farceur ‘s lineage on the side of his father with
me in Italy. Once home I did further research and eventually I called Lucrèse Halsberghe at
the secretariat of the Flemish Horse Association. I asked her if she could get a hold of Farceur
‘s pedigree. The next day I went to the secretariat and – yes indeed – Lucrèse gave me the
documents I had asked for.
When I searched these documents, I knew I had discovered something revolutionary:
Farceur belonged to the family of Forton II of which the members were considered to be
the ancestors of the present Belgian draft horses by the historians writing on the history of
Brabant Belgian draft horses.
Never before a theory like this one had been brought out, not in Europe, not in America. This
theory – I call her the Flemish Horse Manifesto – would rewrite the history of the Belgian
draft horses.
If you look for the pedigree of the Belgian draft horses – that is in any equestrian book edited
from 1800 until 2000 – all you will find is the pedigree of Orange I, which goes on until the
present. Furthermore, each time the branch of the Forton II-family comes to a dead end. And
yes indeed, also within the family of the Brabant Belgian draft horses the branch of Forton II
comes to an end.
It is in that fact that I have found the key to prove my new theory.
But suddenly this branch that appeared to run into a dead end, has proven to be alive and
kicking. As if that isn’t enough, it seems that the development of the Forton II-family runs to
a much further extent than the development of the Orange I-family. The Forton II-family is
the family of the American Belgians. This family – or branch – is much bigger than the one of
the Orange I-family, since the studbook of the American Belgians is the biggest studbook of
draft horses in the world.
The pedigree of the Belgian draft horses and the one of the Belgians should be rewritten and
that is what we are doing in the Flemish Horse Manifesto.
As a secretary Lucrèse Halsberghe has encouraged me many times to publish my Flemish
Horse Manifesto to prevent it would get lost in the mist of ages. For that purpose she often
stated: “if you have a fatal car accident on your way home, no one would know about your
revolutionary theory”. Yet, I have waited for six years to publish the Manifesto because I
wanted to investigate every element of my theory to the bottom. In the process I have
discovered countless books, was able to buy dozens of very old books and got to know many
interesting people.
A while ago I explained my theory to Jurgen Talpe who is a breeder of stallions coming from
the town of Comen and the son of Roger Talpe who was first one to import a Belgian from
America back to Europe. He as well asked me to publish my theory. Yet, again I decided to
some more research first. On October 26, 2007 Jurgen Talpe was a member of the jury at the
Atlantic Coast Championship of Elkin, North Carolina. At the Championship he met Jim
Richendollar and many other horse men. Jurgen asked me to write down my theory so he
could take it with him to America and bring it out. I decided that the time was right to publish
my theory and I promised to give him part 1 (of the more or less twenty parts). This way
America would be able to get to know The Flemish horse Manifesto.
What is the difference between the two studbooks?
In America breeders continued to breed the old Flemish phenotype and standardized it by
intensive inbreeding on Farceur.
In Europe breeders created a new Brabant Belgian phenotype and in Belgium this new
Brabant phenotype was standardized by intensive inbreeding on Albion d’ Hor.
Since then there are two different phenotypes of Belgian draft horses. These two phenotypes
have continued to be bred in four separate studbook
An abstract of the different studbooks and their horses in America and Europe.
Continent
America
Europe
America
Europe
Studbook
Belgian draft horse
Flemish Hose
American Brabant horse
Brabant Belgian draft horse
Genotype
Flemish genotype
Flemish genotype
Flemish genotype
Flemish genotype
phenotype
Flemish phenotype
Flemish phenotype
Brabant phenotype
Brabant phenotype
All four of the studbooks breed Belgian draft horses whose pedigree is going back on the
Flemish Horses or the Old Fat one from the region of the Dender-river. All four of the
studbooks have one common forefather: the Flemish stallion, Francis The Old, Brown fat one
of Wijnhuizen (1835-1858), a thoroughbred descendent of the big medieval Flemish horses,
used by knights.
This is the classic pedigree used by the association The Belgian Draft Horse. We start with
Francis, also known as the Old Fat one of Wijnhuizen and we go on with Orange I who has
always been considered the forefather of the Belgian draft horses. After Orange I, there is
Jupiter, Brin d’ Or, Indigène du Fosteau and Albion d’ Hor, who is the forefather of the new
Brabant Belgian phenotype. The second branch of Forton II’s family comes to a dead end and
stops there according to this pedigree.
This pedigree is correct insofar only the Brabant Belgian line is taken into consideration. For
this line it is true that the branch of the Forton II-family comes to an end and stops there.
It is in this fact that we find the key to the new theory of The Flemish Horse Manifesto. This
Forton II-branch is the branch of the other family line within the dynasty of the Belgian draft
horses: the American Belgians with Farceur as the forefather of the American Flemish
phenotype. Hence, this branch definitely has not come to a dead end. On the contrary, this
branch is the most productive and the biggest one within the dynasty of the Belgian draft
horses. As a matter of fact, the Belgian Studbook is the biggest studbook of draft horses in the
world.
Two types of Belgians
Although the American
Belgians have exactly the same
ancestors as the European
Belgian draft horses and hence
belong to the same genotype,
we can nevertheless distinguish
two different types of draft
horses. Both belong to the same
genotype but clearly to a
different phenotype.
Northfork Duke, the first American Belgian that returned to Europe
to found the Flemish studbook.
Separation of the families
Although it is clear to everyone
that the American Belgians and
the European Belgian draft
horses have evolved from an
original common phenotype to
two separate phenotypes, never
before someone has indicated
when and where in the pedigree
the separation has taken place.
Jim van Niessenhof, the Belgian champion of 2000 and one
of the most successful stallions in Belgian at the present.
The Flemish stallion Francis, The old brown fat one of Wijnhuizen
(1835-1858) is the forefather of the Belgian Draft horse and the
Belgian
-
FRANCIS(1835-1858)The forefather of the Belgian Draft horse dynasty (Europe and
America)
- FRANCIS is thoroughbred Flemish stallion coming from the region of the Denderriver. This region is the home of the Brabant Belgian Draft horses and of the Belgians.
- Wynhuizen is the one true and original home of the Brabant Belgian Draft horses and
of the Belgians.
Mr. M. Th. Vanderschueren who was a vet in the town of Geraardsbergen published an article
concerning the descent of Francis. This article was published in Chasse et Pèche of march
1889.
The heavy breeds
A friend of mine was willing to do some research to the pillars of the Belgian Stud Book of big Draft horses. He
is involved with the interests of the farmers, more specifically with the interests of his neighbours and at a more
general level with the interests of the Belgian agriculture. His research treats the tradition of the heavy breeds
and is based on a remarkable article of M. Th. Vanderschueren, who was a vet in the town of Geraardsbergen.
Today we are proud to present a genealogy – actually a pedigree – although it is far from finished. It doesn’t
contain 64 quarters, not even 32, but it does contain valuable and accurate information that hopefully can be
completed in the future, now we have explained the method that should be used. Especially information about
the mares is still missing. They are mentioned without their name, their description and without their number.
Also, we are not able to find back in the S. B. B (Belgian Stud Book) the horses of which we know the number
from Het stamboek van Oost-Vlaanderen or from Het Stud Book van de Belgische Fokkers.
It ‘s about Francis, also known as the fat one of Wynhuyzen. He was born in 1835 with his owner Charles
Tuypens. His parents were Françis de Sottegem and Marie de Wynhuize who were both descendents of the same
stallion that was owned by M. J. Vanwayenberg from Herzele. Hence The old of Wynhuize is the product of
inbreeding.
He is the founder of the family of Forton II and Orange I, who was a son of Forton I.
The pedigree of Francis (the fat one of Wynhuizen) accordong to M. Th.Vanderschueren
n
Francis, The old brown fat one of Wijnhuizen
Le vieux Gros brun de Wynhuize
Vieux gros brun
- Francis
De Wynhuize
De Sottegem
(1835)
- Marie
De
- Jean d'Herzele
- Jean d'Herzele
Wynhuize
Joseph Denayere published the studbook above in 1913 in his book Hérédité et Généalogie, le
cheval de trait Belge and added the following lines:
Born in 1835 with his owner Charles Tuypens. His parents were Françis de Sottegem and
Marie de Wynhuize who were both descendents of the same stallion that was owned by M.
J. Vanwayenberg from Herzele. Hence The old of Wynhuize is the product of inbreeding.
He is the founder of the family of Forton II (grandson of Forton I) and Orange I (son of
Forton I).
According to Joseph Denayere and his book “Hérédité et Généalogie” (1913) these are the
descendents of Francis “Le vieux Gros brun de Wynhuize”.
All the forefathers in the pedigree of the Belgian draft horses above are
Flemish stallions called “the fat ones from the Dender-region” and all
come from East-Flanders. Hence they are all Flemish horses.
Francis, the forefather of the complete Belgian Draft horse Dynasty (he is the forefather of
both the Brabant Belgian Draft Horse and the American Belgian) was the product of
inbreeding from the very beginning. He was the start of a long breeding history in which
inbreeding has been a constant means to establish the phenotype within the Brabant Belgian
Draft horse and within the Belgian.
The vet Joseph De Nayere who lived in Ninove for many years uses the following
pedigree (of the most important family within the dynasty of the Belgian draft horses) in
his historical abstract.
Joseph De Nayere already distinguishes two separate families. From Francis up until to
Forton I, there is a common pedigree. After Forton I the pedigree falls apart into two parts
with on the one hand the family of Forton II and with on the other hand the family of Orange
I. This is the embryonic separation between the Brabant Belgian family of Orange I and the
American Belgian family of Forton II. In the European Belgian pedigrees only the family of
Orange I continues its development. Within the family of the European Belgian draft horses
the family of Forton II stops developing.
The Flemish stallion Forton I
While the Flemish stallion Francis or “the Old Brown fat one of Wijnhuizen” was the first
forefather of the Belgian Draft Horse dynasty, Forton I was the last one in a series of Flemish
stallions from the region of the Dender-river who was also one of the forefathers of the
complete Belgian Draft horse family. After him the complete dynasty will fall apart into two
big separate families.
Hence this Flemish stallion plays a key role in the history and further development of both the
Brabant Belgian Draft horse and the American Belgian.
THE FLEMISH STALLION FORTON I IS THE LAST MUTUAL FOREFATHER OF
THE BRABANT BELGIAN DRAFT HORSE AND THE AMERICAN BELGIAN.
After Forton I the dynasty of the Belgian Draft horse falls apart into two
families
1. The family of Orange I
The Flemish
stallion Orange I
is the forefather of
the European
Brabant Belgian
Draft horse.
Orange I is the son
of Forton I.
2. The family of Forton II
The Flemish
stallion Forton II
is the forefather of
the American
Belgians and
hence also of the
“Flemish horses”
as they are called
in Europe. The
“Flemish horses”
were called that
way when the
American Belgians
were brought back
to Europe at the
end of the 20th and
the beginning of
the 21st century.
Forton II is the grandson (through his father London) of Forton I. Though, be aware: when I
discussed the development of the Belgian Draft horse dynasty and the existence of the two
forefathers of two families within the Belgian Draft horse dynasty, I constantly – and
deliberately – used the term “Belgian”. I did that for a good understanding (especially with
the American readers) but essentially there is nothing Belgian about the story unless we
consider Flanders to be a part of Belgium. All these forefathers belonged to the Flemish
breed.
All these Belgian forefathers are thoroughbred Flemish horses
The founders of the Belgian Draft horse dynasty – that is the Brabant Belgian family of
Orange I, as well as the American family of Forton II – are thoroughbred Flemish horses
coming from the East-Flemish region of the Dender-river. These East-Flemish forefathers
were thoroughbred descendants of the medieval Flemish horse, that had already been
honoured and praised as a charger since the 800s (the age of Charlemagne). Since the horses
in Europe and America have always kept being bred with a pure bloodline, we can state that
the European as well as the American Belgian draft horse both belong to the same Flemish (or
Belgian) genotype. Only the phenotype has changed during the years. Hence, within the same
genotype two different phenotypes have arisen: on the one hand the Brabant Belgian
(European) phenotype and on the other hand the Flemish Belgian American phenotype.
Evolution of the genotypes and phenotypes within the dynasty of the
Belgian Draft horse
From Francis until Forton I
These Flemish forefathers belong to the Flemish genotype as well as to the Flemish
phenotype.
After Forton I there is a separation into two families
Family Forton II
Family Orange I
Flemish genotype
Flemish genotype
Flemish phenotype
Flemish phenotype
Gradually there is a shift from the Flemish
phenotype to a new Brabant Belgian
phenotype
Farceur
Albion d’ Hor
Flemish genotype
Flemish genotype
Standardization by means of strong
inbreeding on Farceur (belonged to
the Flemish phenotype)
Standardization by means of strong
inbreeding on Albion d’ Hor (belonged to
the new Brabant Belgian phenotype)
The Flemish stallion London
Eigendom van M. Matthys, Ch. L. (Sint-Jans Hemelverdegem, Oost-Vlaanderen)
The Flemish stallion London is only the connection between Forton I and Forton II. He was
Forton I ’s son and Forton II ’s father.
He won the first prize of the Ninove inspection.
London was exported to America.
The standardization of the two families
The family of Orange I (1144) and the family of Forton II (1733)
The thoroughbred Flemish stallion Orange I is the founder of the Orange I-family. Several of
his descendants were exported to America to fortify the family of Forton I. Most of these
descendants who made the trip to Amercia belonged to the Flemish phenotype and hence
descend from the period before Albion d’ Hor. Because the American breeders had this
special preference for colour and the Flemish phenotype, only a small amount of descendants
of Albion d’ Hor were exported to America. Still some of the descendants of Albion d’ Hor,
belonging to the Brabant Belgian phenotype were brought to America. One of them was the
robust steed Elegant du Marais.
As we will discuss later on, the continuation of Elegant du Marais ‘s bloodline was blocked
by filtering out his blood out of the family of the American Belgian horses by the end of the
20th century. The reason for that is lying in the fact that Elegant du Marais was the bearer of
the inherited disease JEB (All the stallions who were suffering from the inherited disease JEB
were excluded from breeding.).
There has been interaction between the families of Orange I and Forton I
Although these families were not bred separately for 100 per cent, they did go their own way
to a great extent.
It’s not until the family of Forton II was standardized on FARCEUR that
we can truly speak of a separate phenotype
The inbreeding on Farceur and the standardization on his phenotype happened at such a large
scale that the effect of Farceur on the new generation of American Belgians was huge. Hence
we can state that the present generation of Belgians belongs to the American Flemish
phenotype or to the old Belgian phenotype with Farceur as the forefather.
Essentially the American Belgian has become “a Farceur”.
But it was not until the family of Orange I was standardized on Albion d’
Hor that we can truly speak of a separate and even new phenotype.
The inbreeding on Albion d’ Hor and the standardization on his phenotype happened at such a
large scale that the effect of Albion d’ Hor on the new generation of European Brabant
Belgian Draft horses was huge. Hence we can state that the present generation of Brabant
Belgian Draft horses belongs to the new European Brabant phenotype or to the new Belgian
phenotype with Albion d’ Hor as the forefather.
Essentially the European Brabant Draft horses has become “an Albion d’ Hor”
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE OLD BELGIAN AND THE NEW
BELGIAN PHENOTYPE
The old Belgian phenotype
The new Belgian phenotype
- or the old Flemish phenotype
- or the new Brabant phenotype
- or the Farceur-phenotype
- or the Albion d’ Hor-phenotype
- or the Flemish American phenotype
- or the Brabant European phenotype
A harvest scene in
1950 in Westende,
West-Flanders.
Again make notice
of the old Belgian or
Flemish phenotype
of the draft horse in
the picture.
Genetically as well
as phenotypically
this horse is looking
exactly the same as
his American family
members.
This is Mina, property
of farmer Castelyn
coming from the town
of Gistel. Before the
war started this horse
made the trip from
Gistel to the market in
Bruges and Ostend
every week. At the end
of the war, on
September 4, 1944 the
horse and its cart were
seized by the Germans.
Again make notice of
the old Belgian or
Flemish phenotype
The pedigree of the Belgian draft horses, commonly used in Europe.
This pedigree is commonly used in Europe. It clearly shows the development of the Orange Ifamily with Jupiter, Brin d’ Or and Indigène du Fosteau. It is this family line that leads up to
Albion d’ Hor, the forefather of the Brabant Belgian phenotype.
Make notice of how the branch of the Forton II-family within European Brabant Belgian
studbook comes to a dead end.
The Forton I-family goes up until Farceur, the forefather of the American Flemish phenotype.
Hence the American pedigree is looking different than the Brabant Belgian one.
THE PEDIGREE OF THE DYNASTY OF THE BELGIAN DRAFT HORSES
Francis, The old brown fat one of Wijnhuizen (1835-1858)
Old bay of Hemelveerdegem (1847-1858)
Old bay of Onkerzele (1856-1875)
FORTON I
London
The development of the family of Forton II
FORTON II
Garibaldi
Lafleur
The development of the family of Orange I
ORANGE I
Jupiter
Brin d’Or
Influence of the Orange I-family on the family of
Forton II, through Rubis, Conqueror, etc.
Indigène du Fosteau
Bayard de Ruyen
|
Standardization of the Flemish American phenotype
on Farceur.
FARCEUR
Oakdale Farceur - Supreme Farceur
Farceur’s Resque – Supreme Emblem
Conquérant de Terhaegen
|
Standardization of the Brabant Belgian phenotype on
Albion d’ Hor.
ALBION D’HOR
Avenir d’Herse
Espoir de Quaregnon
Influence of the Albion d’ Hor-phenotype on the
phenotype of Farceur, through Elegant du Marais.
THE PEDIGREE OF THE DYNASTY OF THE BELGIAN DRAFT HORSES
Francis The Old fat brown horse of Wynhuize(1835-1858)
FORTON I
the last common ancestor
Family of Forton II
Forefather of the Flemish American phenotype
Farceur
Stamvader van het Vlaams Amerikaans fenotype
Farceur
Standardization of the Flemish American
phenotype on Farceur(Farceur’s Resque)
Family of Orange I
Forefather of the Brabant Belgian phenotype
Albion d’ Hor
Standardization of the Brabant Belgian
phenotype on Albion d’ Hor (Avenir d’Herse)
TRIO PATRICK