Waterford Farm, the home of Pete and Barbara Dommett and their three children, is set in a fertile green valley surrounded by the imposing mountains of the southern Drakensberg. This is the home of the “gentle giants”.

I am warmly greeted by Pete and ­Barbara, old and valued friends of mine. Pete has brought in his two-year old “Warmblood” colts for me to take a look at. He is finding a good market for these Draught x Thoroughbreds in the sporting world.

The Thoroughbreds refine and heat up the very sturdy slow nature of the Draught. ­Using mares off the racetrack and his own Shire or Clydesdale stallions, the offspring are strong, well-muscled, with amazing movement and particularly good ­temperament.

These young colts are unhandled, but ­surprisingly friendly. No staff member is ­allowed to raise their voices or act in any ­manner which may be aggressive while ­working with or around these horses. For this reason all his horses perceive humans, from day one, as non-threatening.

Each stallion runs, for his lifetime, with the same group of ten mares. They breed year round and although mares would naturally show no heat in the winter months and ­become dormant, these mares are often still fertile through the freezing Underberg winters.

We visit the mares grazing peacefully with their “prize-fighting” babies. Long legs, heavy bones and oversized knees, they peeked shyly from behind their mothers proportionate hindquarters. Curious, but wary of the intruders.

Here I am introduced to the kingpin stallion “Iron-Man”. With his long dreadlocks ­covering his eyes and hanging way past his mighty neck and standing at an impressive 18 hh, he is as docile as a puppy and happy to come over and be petted. This huge Shire stallion has sired many of the progeny on Waterford including some of the less imposing “Warmbloods”. Pete ­separates the stallions from the mares just ­before they foal so that the mares and foals are at no risk while they are young.

Difficult beginnings

Pete graduated as a vet from Onderstepoort in 1980 where he was first introduced to the draught horses owned by the institute. After his compulsory army training, he settled in the Mooi River district to try and fulfil his dream of farming.

After his trusty manservant thoroughly destroyed both his tractors by pouring molasses into them instead of oil one morning after a bout of inebriation, he was stumped. How to continue?

At his wits end, he bought two Percherons for the royal sum of R500. Not knowing if they were trained or not, he inspanned them and set off, learning from trial and error that these willing, kindly animals would take him to the farming empire he has today.

Waterford Farm boasts 2 600 hectares of arable land and pristine veldt. The Dommetts milk over 1 700 Holstein cows in a state-of-the-art milking parlour and run more than 350 horses. The horses still contribute considerably and one can see them either pulling trailers or moving irrigation lines daily. The financial benefit of these cost-effective animals will surely come into their own as the fuel price continues to skyrocket.

Pulling their weight

Pete found that on his farm he could sustain his working horses on residue pasture once the greater herds of cows have been through. Or to be more specific, if pasture was planted only for the Draughts, half a hectare of well-fertilised pasture would provide the bulk of one large carthorse’s food for one year.

One large draught horse can pull double its own weight. Therefore one draught horse ­weighing one ton can pull two tons and two draught horses can pull four tons. These horses can usually work for four to five tractor hours per day.

The cost of keeping these horses, ­including feed, vaccinations, deworming and such, would be estimated at R15 per day (if ­concentrate is added to the pasture costs). In comparison, the cost of running a small ­tractor is now in the region of R150/hour. So the horse is costing one tenth of one tractor hour per day in return for a full days work.

The other very real cost is the capital outlay for a depreciating commodity. A small ­tractor costs in the region of R150 000.

A pair of ­carthorses plus harnesses and hitch cart cost about R50 000 which will ­appreciate in value for the next 15 years as they become more ­efficient and experienced. (Remember that the horse also supplies fertiliser behind the cart.)

Taking these facts into consideration it doesn’t take an auditor to work out that at least one team of two draught horses would make financial sense on any working farm, to supplement tractor power.

In short, the tasks most suited for draught horses would be fertilising, planting, lime spreading, harrowing, rolling, moving bales ­after hay making, pipe and irrigation line ­moving (the new pod system is ideal for draught horse usage), haulage in fields or on the farm from the field to the loading zone, or packing sheds with commodities such as cane, tea, fruit, eggs, potatoes and timber. The list goes on.

The breeds of carthorses on Waterford vary, but are predominantly the following:

The Percheron

Originally from France, these giants are ­predominantly grey on maturity, but all foals are born black. This breed is stocky and stands ­between 15-18 hh. They have a finer head than other carthorse breeds. The hooves are free of ­feathers and relatively small and dark ­pigmented.

They are classed as one of the world’s finest agricultural horses, but are also suited to show and carriage work. When crossed with a ­hot-blooded line they make fantastic sport horses.

The Shire

Originally from England, their colours vary from bay, brown, black, chestnut or grey. White ­facial and leg markings are usual. It is a very large breed of horse standing 16-19 hh. The face is usually convex with a typical ­“roman” nose. Legs are feathered below the knee and hock.

This breed was originally used as a war and carriage horse. England was known to have the most imposing warhorses when facing the smaller breeds of other countries. The Shire is known to be the tallest of all horse breeds, with individuals as tall as 21 hh. Today they are used as multipurpose agricultural horses and as crossbreds competing in all disciplines in the sports arena.

The Clydesdale

Originally from Scotland, their colours are mainly bay, brown, chestnut or roan. All four legs are usually white. White facial markings are common. A large breed, it stands between 16 and 19 hh. The head is usually straight or convex. The legs carry a lot of feather. The hind legs are usually cow-hocked, which is considered to be a desirable trait in heavy traction situations. They are excellent in both agriculture and carriage work.

Pete and Barbara also breed some ­magnificent American Quarter Horses, Arabs, ponies and of course the Spanish Burro, or donkey. Pete and Barbara can be e-mailed on pdommett@mweb.co.za.

(Many of the facts were taken from Pete’s book, Alternative Draught Power, which can be ordered from the Dommetts directly)