Saving an American Original

Montana breeder brings back a forgotten variety of draft horse

"The hairy feet are hard to keep clean," admits Wes Rogalski, pointing to his horse, Major's, feet. He likes those feet because they remind him of the Clydesdales he owned years ago. These days, those clean-me-every-day-feet belong to Major and the 12 other American Cream draft horses that clip clop across Rogalski’s farm outside of St. Ignatius, Mont.

Rogalski calls himself a "flatlander," having come to Montana from Michigan after retiring in 1999. He’s tall and stocky. His hair and moustache are graying. He’s dressed in coveralls, a straw cowboy hat and work boots. He gives Major a pat and says, "I picked up a copy of the Draft Horse Handbook in 1994 and I saw a picture of two American Cream draft horses. The caption read, 'These horses are all but extinct.' I’ve always had a soft spot for the downtrodden. I thought, this is a way I could spend my time and energy, helping this breed recover."

He liked the breed’s striking creamy color, long manes and tails. He liked that the breed is truly American the only draft breed to originate in the United States. He also liked the hairy feet. That settled it.

Rogalski drove to Iowa and purchased Major and his sister, April, for $1,200 and $1,400 respectively, and hauled them back to Michigan. They were two of three American Cream foals for sale in the entire country that year. Next came Blondie and Dan, and from that foundation stock, Rogalski was on his way to developing his current herd consisting of two studs, eight mares and three foals.

"Prices for Creams today are about the same, but those broke to ride or pull sell higher," Rogalski says.

Only 370 animals are listed in the American Cream Draft Horse Association’s (ACDHA) registration books.

Some 2,000 miles east of St. Ignatius — in Kentucky bluegrass country — genetic researchers at the University of Kentucky’s Equine Parentage Testing and Research Laboratory have determined the American Cream draft horse is a distinct breed, rather than simply a horse of a different color.

"The cream color is due to the champagne gene, which is a relatively uncommon gene in most horse breeds in North America," says Dr. Phil Sponenberg, DVM, a professor of Pathology and Genetics at Virginia Tech. He first documented the gene in 1996. "The champagne gene is dominant. All champagne horses have a champagne parent. Champagne horses are all relatively pale colors, but the specific, pale colors desired in the American Cream are the result of this gene combining with a light sorrel background color to produce a creamy final color."

American Creams are indeed beauties. Their glowing color and stocky bodies make them a crowd favorite. Their movement is smooth and easy, picking up those hairy feet and setting them squarely on the ground. They are also tractable animals — for the most part.

Rogalski says his other stud, Ike, is too smart for his own good, he tears through fences and is a bit devilish. In fact, Ike delights in antagonizing Major.

"Having two studs makes a tough situation," Rogalski admits. "They can’t be near each other. They cost more to shoe and feed." However, he grins when he adds, "They’re still a joy to have."

Then there’s the "ranch boss," and it’s not Rogalski or Major or Ike. Her name is Eve. "When she comes around," Rogalski says, "everyone gets out of her way." And who
wouldn’t? She tops out at 2,200 pounds.

Rogalski ran a carriage ride business when he lived in Michigan, and Major pulled the carriage in all kinds of festive events. His stories about Major and his other Creams, reveal his pride in them, and sometimes, amazement. "Major and I were giving rides and a father pushed a stroller right in front of Major. The girl was probably 3 or 4. I noticed Major had lowered his head and I saw the girl’s arm all the way in his mouth. I called to the father and my helper, and they pulled it out."

Major didn’t seem to mind the intrusion, and the little girl didn’t seem to mind a very wet arm.

A new crop of foals arrived in mid-April. Rogalski prefers that his mares foal in the barn, but it doesn’t always go his way. "When the foals are born in the pasture, they are up and moving before I can handle them," Rogalski says. "That makes them harder to imprint."

Besides that, he knows horse breeding mingled with Mother Nature can be fodder for the strange and remarkable. He tells this story: "I had bred Blondie, and one morning I’m throwing hay to the horses when I noticed blood on her backside. I found a tiny horse in the pasture, about the size of my cat. It was pink with four little white feet. Blondie had given birth too early, and it was dead. I drove back to the barn to get a sack to put it in, and then drove back to the pasture. Three bald eagles had landed; one was mature, and the others were juveniles. I was driving toward them and two took off, but the third one grabbed the baby and flew toward the mountains. With the mountains as a backdrop and this eagle carrying a little white horse away, it was an incredible scene I’ll never forget."

The tale of the American Cream draft horse breed is a little less dramatic. In 1920, stock dealer Harry Lakin bought Old Granny at a farm sale in Story County, Iowa. Lakin bred the cream-colored, pink-skinned draft mare of unknown ancestry to a black Percheron. That, and future pairings, produced a line of cream-colored foals that sold at above average prices. Of the horses now registered with the ACDHA, Old Granny is the foundation dame for 98 percent.

Old Granny’s offspring gained a following in nearby communities. In 1935, T.C. Rierson, an Iowa stockman, bought all the cream-colored horses he could find and began developing a breed. Rierson had a flair for promotion. He coined "American Cream," talked up the animals and showed them at county fairs.

But there was a problem. Farmers were replacing draft animals with tractors and other mechanized equipment and millions of discarded horses were dying in slaughterhouses.
"The breed was almost wiped out during the ‘Great Killings,’ about 1935 to 1965," Rogalski says. "The Ford Motor Company began producing tractors and would take a team of draft horses as a down payment. They sold the better horses in Canada, but unfortunately the rest were put down. Ford and John Deere quit making horse drawn equipment, forcing horse people to go to tractors."

As a result the small population of American Creams dwindled. A few Cream enthusiasts held onto their animals, safeguarding a scant genetic base. Thankfully, in 1977 the American Minor Breeds Conservancy was founded with the purpose of reviving interest in rare horse breeds. The organization listed the American Cream as "endangered," and Cream owners took up the challenge to replenish the breed. Their rally also rejuvenated the rather inactive ACDHA. In 1982, the association reorganized the society and dusted off its registration books.

Dedicated breeders who praise American Creams for their beauty, conformation, disposition, breezy movement — and Rogalski would certainly add hairy feet — signal a bright future for the animals. For his part, Rogalski is selling last year’s foals, Bebe, Bow and Buffy. "It’s hard to part with them after raising and caring for them. I hate to see them leave, but I can’t keep them. I remind myself that my purpose is to help the breed, and I can’t do it alone."