crossing purebred and half bred horses together for five consecutive generations. Horses that don't meet this requirement have been registered since 2003 as half-blood draft horses. Eight draft breeds have been listed as eligible for the breeding program: Ardennes, Clydesdale, Shire, Brabançon, Breton, Boulonnais, Belgian and Percheron. This is not directly comparable to breeding stock available. , purebred stallions in stud are Bretons and Percherons, while data about new registrations of broodmares from 2014 indicates that from purebreds, three form most: Bretons, Percherons, and Belgians. Japanese drafts are used mainly in ban'ei and horse meat production. The ideal horse has draft phenotype and "hybrid vigour". The breed doesn't have any colour or marking specifications. Colours of bay, chestnut, flaxen chestnut, black, gray and variety of roans have been recorded since they also exist in purebreds. In extreme cases, a horse may have multiple facial markings and all legs marked with white. Open studbook policy has led to pinto (piebald) pattern; one female family used in ban'ei can be traced to single stallion born in 1967, while dominant white seen in two horses was spontaneous, manifesting in 2010. Prevalence of hereditary diseases is unknown, since at least one Western scientific source lists breed as "ban-ei" without hereditary diseases. References External links Archive of Official NAR Video site(note: livestream only in Japan) BANEI THEATER Pen International: Ban'ei Horse Racing Horse racing in Japan Sports originating in Japan