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Dedicated to the Promotion and Preservation of Draft Ponies
Welcome
to the Iowa Draft Pony Hitch Association website. We promote and enjoy draft
ponies in and around the state of Iowa. Members of our club organize many draft pony related events throughout the year. Some of the events include draft pony exhibitions, clinics,
fun drives, and participation in many local parades.
The Iowa Draft Pony Hitch Association is an organization promoting the safe and
correct use and enjoyment of draft ponies. If you have an interest in these
draft ponies - even if you don't own any - we encourage you to join us for
learning and fun.
 Membership in the Iowa Draft Pony Hitch Association brings you our monthly newsletter detailing club activities and events around the area.
Our fore-fathers used Draft Horses to Plow, Disc, Plant,
and Harvest crops. They also used them for
transportation of their goods or family. While our interest lies in the smaller version of those work horses, we still inspire a love for the Draft Pony breed who are the smaller version of the work horse.
Or the old Shetland pony that was on the farm that we grew up on.
Our club exists because we all share this for the love of these animals.
What a Draft Pony Is
A
Draft Pony, as defined by the American Draft Pony Hitch Association, is a miniature of one of the
established Draft Horse breeds (Belgian, Percheron, Clydesdale, Shire,
Suffolk, American Cream, Spotted Draft) and MUST show the conformation
character of a draft horse. It is the
goal of this association to promote a Draft Pony that resembles one of
these breeds, COLOR NOT TO BE DISCRIMINATED
 AGAINST.
The main
difference between a Draft Pony and Draft Horse is size. A Draft Pony
should be an exact replica, on a smaller scale, and should NOT exceed
58" in height (14.2 hands) or under, when measured on a flat surface, behind the front leg, from the ground to the point of the withers.
Our club mandates that the ponies to be exhibited competitively should not
exceed 48" in height and may be of any draft breed (Shetland, Welsh, and so on).
Show Quality
Draft Ponies that are selected for show do not differ from the best quality commercial drafters. Indeed, thevery object of the show ring is to develop a common understanding of the merits that specifically concern the usefulness for which the different types of equine are produced.
The general appearance of the Draft Pony must be representative in every detail of the maximum efficiency of those characteristics which experience has designated as
desirable in commercial service. It is upon these characteristics that the judge places his greatest emphasis in making awards.
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