The American Cream Draft is a color breed and one of the few draft registries solely for animals which carry a champagne dilution gene (sometimes paired with cream). Champagne is among the most distinct and unique of known equine dilutions.
A Little Backstory
It all started with a draft mare named Old Granny from Iowa early in the 20th century. It is unclear what breed Granny was, but she carried a champagne dilution and reliably passed along to her offspring. She was bred to a variety of heavy types in an attempt to retain her unique coloring. According to UC Davis testing center, champagne isn’t found in draft breeds, so Old Granny probably carried some Iberian blood.
Champagne is quite an interesting dilution and probably why they attempted to retain Granny’s characteristics. They have light skin, purple freckles, light eyes and often display a metallic sheen on their coat. Champagne on a chestnut coat produces animals that look almost palomino and can be quite pale. However the addition of a cream dilution creates a lovely white coat, we suspect Old Granny had a bit of both dilutions (both of which run in Iberian bloodlines).
What Makes Them Special
They carry the distinction of being the only draft breed native to the USA. The breed also originated from an interesting animal, one that introduced some of the rarer dilution genes into American draft genetics. Unfortunately the most recent population data we have is from 2017, so we don’t know for sure how many are left. Hopefully their numbers have improved, as their genetics are unique in American history. To learn more about them, be sure to check out the American Cream Draft breed page.
Quick Facts
Native to United States.
Their studbook was established in 1944.
The DAD-IS lists them as critical and as of 2017 there were 410 left.