MT. HOPE, Ohio – In spite of the challenges, it is a good time to be in the draft horse industry, according to Corbly Orndoruff.

Orndoruff and his family operate Valley View Farm, home to about 50 Belgians, in Waynesburg, Pa. He is a fourth-generation Belgian breeder and member of the board of directors for the Belgian Draft Horse Corporation of America. Orndoruff was one of the presenters during a series of seminars at the 2021 Horse Progress Days in Mt. Hope.

Orndoruff said his family has been in the Belgian business for 100 years, and it is a great time to be in the draft horse industry.

“It is humbling to think about what it has taken to keep Belgians on the farm for that long,” Orndoruff said. “Grandpa left us a legacy that we have tried to uphold. We have had a good foundation for our breeding program.”

In the 1930s and 1940s, draft horses were the primary source of power on American farms, but as tractors gained popularity, draft horse numbers declined. Over the past several years, the draft horse market has been coming back.

“It is a great time to be in the draft horse business,” Orndoruff said. “But we can’t just think it is always going to stay this way. We have to be mindful of the destination of our horses. Right now we can make money with anything, but we have to keep an eye on our breeding program to something people will be looking for when there is a glitch in the market.”

Orndoruff said Belgians are a versatile breed. They have a show presence, but they can also work in the field and on the pulling sled. But breeders also need to find a market for horses who don’t fit the show market.

“We have to build a horse that can do it all,” he said. “As breeders, we need to make it happen. Be critical, don’t be blind, but as a breeder, it is a challenge to be critical of your animals. Have a vision. We can have fancy horses, but they still have to have structure and form. The horse has to have it all.”

For example, Orndoruff said hitch teams have been looking for larger wheel horses, so breeders are looking at different options, meaning new bloodlines and different traits. He said breeders still need to breed horses with style for the hitch market, but it takes more than a fancy moving horse, the market needs a horse that will do everything; more draft, more substance.

Even though bloodlines change, there are still consistent things. Orndoruff said draft horses start at the ground up. Breeders still need to breed a horse with good feet and legs, clean hocks, length and slope of their pasterns, size and scale.

“You have to keep driving, you have to keep thinking, never be satisfied,” Orndoruff said. “As breeders, we may not be critical enough of our work. We are trying to breed individuals that will better the breed. You are trying to be a trendsetter and trying to set trends as a breeder. We have to pay our bills, but we also have to create a horse that will command attention. The horse has to evolve and keep the public’s attention. As breeders, we need to find a way to have something that will create excitement and value even in a down market.”

A few years ago, the draft horse market was weak, but right now, the draft horse market is strong, because the demand is greater than the supply, according to Orndoruff.

One reason the demand is greater than supply is when the market softened some breeders left the industry or reduced their herds, so when the market came back, breeders didn’t have enough mares to breed and meet the demand.

Another factor is the feedlot market. “A lot of you don’t breed horses for the feedlot market,” Orndoruff said. “But if you have a problem horse, that is an option to handle the problem.”

Orndoruff said breeding stock needs to have a presence and breeders need to have an idea as to what the next generation of horses is going to look like, but they don’t have to give up the dominant traits.

Breeders need to remember that it takes five years from the time a foal hits the ground before they know what they have. Even so, Orndoruff said breeders should start planning the next generation as soon as a filly hits the ground and plan the next mating.

Orndoruff said the challenge is that as the draft horse industry moves away from agriculture, the industry also doesn’t have as many people with draft horse experience.

“The challenge is how do we encourage the next generation of enthusiastic breeders,” Orndoruff said. “We need to get new people involved and keep a positive outlook.”

One of the challenges facing the draft horse industry and possibly livestock exhibitors as a whole is the accessibility to shows and promotional events.

Orndoruff said funding for shows and events has been pulled back due to budget issues at all levels and COVID-19 cancellations have had a greater impact on funding levels.

“We can’t afford to lose these events, it is the only way to get out in front of the public,” Orndoruff said. “We need to push back. Our job is to interact with people and explain how we care for our horses. Fairs need to restore funding for shows after the COVID interruptions. If people leave the industry we will lose our support industries.”