It is of cold-blood type, massively built and calm in temperament; it has good stamina.

[3]: 462  It derives from cross-breeding of local Zeeland mares with the Belgian Ardennes and Brabant breeds, to which it is very similar.

[4]: 273 [3]: 462  Until after the Second World War, it was the most important Dutch horse breed, but with the mechanisation of agriculture, it declined rapidly.

[2] There are two breeders' associations for the horse: the Koninklijke Vereniging Het Nederlandse Trekpaard en de Haflinger ("royal association for the Nederlands Trekpaard and the Haflinger") and the Stichting het Werkend Trekpaard Zeeland ("foundation for the working draught horse of Zeeland");[5] the former was founded in 1914, and received a royal charter in 1948.

[6] The Dutch Draft is a massive cold-blooded horse, with free movements, a calm temperament and good stamina.