David Heisler of Dunbarton is a big man.
Tall, barrel-chested with a gentle manner, much like the behemoth draft horses he’s devoted to saving.
Even with his stature, Heisler is dwarfed by Bud and Doc, two of the three rare Suffolk Punch draft horses he owns at Heisler Hay and Horses in Dunbarton. Along with a third horse named Sunny Boy, the 11-year-old horses stand 16 hands and weigh more than 1,600 pounds.
“Suffolk Punch draft horses, they are the rarest breed in the world,” Heisler said. “There are more grizzly bears in North America than there are Suffolk Punch horses in the entire world.”
Along with others in New Hampshire, Heisler tries to introduce the horses to the public and educate people about the breed that 50 years ago faced a huge decline around the world. One Granite State breeder recently sent one horse to Australia as a gift to increase their bloodline.
Originally bred in England as farming workhorses, the Suffolk Punch is one of a few breeds that don’t need shoes. Heisler said once iron became scarce, breeders in Suffolk, England, began choosing horses with the strongest feet to breed.
“They have great feet, we don’t put shoes on our horses,” Heisler said. “They are an all-around workhorse they do everything we want them to do.”
Recently, Heisler and his team were on hand at the Artisan Festival at Canterbury Shaker Village offering hayrides. The daylong event included traditional arts and crafts such as butter churning and stained glass along with music and food. Many visitors were drawn to the offer of ride on a bale of hay pulled behind the draft horses.
Heisler has a full-time job as an insurance adjuster but stays busy with the horses in his free time. He’s a member of the Granite State Draft Horse and Pony Association and found out about the breed more than 10 years ago while doing research. He was impressed with their traits – they are all close to each other in size and color, they aren’t too massive like Clydesdales and they are known for their hardiness.
“We use them for hayrides, sleigh rides, weddings, funerals and all the fairs. We go to all the fairs but we don’t go to the pulling competitions. We have had them since they were young and they live to be about 30, depending on health conditions. And we make our own hay,” says Heisler. Eventually, he would like to offer rides in downtown Concord.
At the festival, Heisler taught about the stone boats – a 6-foot piece of wood with a metal lip – that the children rode on.
“This is how they used to clear fields in New England years ago and it would flatten the field and you’d load it up with rocks and pull the stones and this is how they built all the stonewalls in New England,” he said.
Heisler’s goal is to continue to make people aware about the breed and keep the Suffolk Punch draft horses going.
“We continue to promulgate the breed because 50 years ago they were on the decline,” he said.
The more people know about the horses, the better, Heisler said.
“There is a great social network of owners who all keep in touch through social media, and we know what is going on with the local breeds and bloodlines. We are trying to keep the idea of agriculture and livestock alive and show people what it was like.”