Four generations, one passion: The Burger Percheron legacy

By Brianna Smith and Ty Higgins

For Ryan Burger, Percheron horses are more than livestock. They are a family tradition that stretches back four generations, a breeding program built throughout decades, and a way of life that has brought his family together year after year.

Burger Percherons, located in Willard, Ohio, traces its roots to the 1920s, when Burger’s great-grandfather purchased the family’s first Percherons. Since then, the operation has continued through multiple generations, with Burger now working alongside his mother and his son, Braxtyn, who recently graduated from high school and has become an important part of the operation.

The family’s connection to draft horses runs even deeper. One side of Burger’s family raised Percherons, while the other had Belgian horses. His grandfather was also known for trading horses and mules with Amish communities.

“My grandpa Burger was a horse trader, so to speak,” Burger said. “He stayed one or two nights with the Amish every other week and traded with them, all kinds of working horses, mules. That was his passion.”

Today, the operation has grown significantly from the five or six horses Burger knew as a child. The farm typically has between 22 and 28 Percherons at any given time, with the primary focus on breeding stock and producing horses for the show ring.

That breeding focus means Burger must make careful decisions about what characteristics will move the program forward.

“The total package is the ultimate goal, but size is important when it comes to breeding,” Burger said. “Just like most livestock, there’s definitely some similarities in size, scale, length of back, hip, neck, amount of bone.”

For Burger, however, a successful Percheron cannot simply look the part. Athletic ability is equally important.

“We like a clean, chiseled-type bone that’s free of fluid,” he said. “And good, solid feet with a lot of animation. They should be able to pick up their feet like a hitch horse or a Hackney pony.”

Burger describes the ideal Percheron as a 2,000-pound athlete. The horses need the strength and structure to perform, as well as the movement and athleticism to excel in a variety of disciplines.

Producing a successful show horse takes considerably more than simply selecting the right genetics. Typically, preparation starts about four months ahead of a major show. That includes fitting, shoeing, and conditioning the horses, with Burger wanting to have at least two sets of shoes on them before they reach the show.

“They’re babies,” Burger said. “They’re kind of like your show cow. They’re hand walked a lot. They’re going to be put in a very ample size stall and groomed several times a week.”

The horses also need to learn how to handle the many aspects of life as a show animal, from tying and clipping to standing for the farrier and loading into a trailer.

“There’s a lot of little things that we just do that we don’t think about after years of experience,” Burger said. “What may look easy for us might make somebody that’s coming into showing horses freak out when it comes to all the little things that need to be done to get to this point.”

Those years of breeding and preparation produced a major accomplishment for the family this summer at the World Percheron Show in St. Paul, Minn.

Held every four years on a rotating basis by the Percheron Horse Association of America and its Canadian counterpart, the event brought together some of the best Percherons in North America. Burger Percherons left the show with the breed’s highest honor.

“We were crowned Supreme Champion Best of Breed at that show with a home-raised mare, BP Kennedy. We actually raised eight generations of her family,” Burger said.

The championship represents the culmination of years of work for Burger and his family. The farm previously had a world champion home-raised mare in 2002, and Burger said the operation has come close several other times. In 2022, the family also had a world champion stud, along with reserve world champion honors for both a home-raised stud and mare.

“To win that is the ultimate goal you work a long time for,” Burger said.

The family’s accomplishments at the Ohio State Fair are also significant. Burger’s mother, Beth, who exhibited Percherons at the fair for more than five decades, was inducted into the Ohio State Fair Hall of Fame this year.

Her dedication made a lasting impression on Burger, whose own career took him into veterinary medicine. Growing up around livestock influenced that path, as did his father, who was also a veterinarian. Today, Burger works at a small-animal practice in Tiffin while also caring for horses locally as needed.

Growing up on the farm gave him an understanding of animal husbandry and the responsibility that comes with caring for livestock.

“I knew husbandry and horses and animals and the care and dedication it takes to take care of them,” Burger said. “In veterinary medicine, sometimes that means being in a life-or-death situation, and we’re willing to take that extra step to care for any animal.”

Burger has also spent years giving back to the Percheron breed through leadership. He has served as vice president of the Percheron Horse Association of America for nearly 12 years and is approaching the end of his term.

For Burger, the future of the farm comes back to the same goal that has driven generations before him.

“Most true breeders of animals are a little bit crazy about always trying to get the perfect animal,” Burger said. “My goal will always be to make a better generation of animals than the generation we had.”

He is working to maintain a high-caliber breeding program in hopes that his son will continue the family’s involvement in Percherons in some capacity.

But beyond championships and breeding decisions, Burger said some of his favorite moments are the simplest ones.

“Being able to go out to the barn and spend time with them in their element,” Burger said. “They have a wealth of beauty, and they’re pleasant and loving in nature. They are a very inquisitive animal.”

For the Burger family, the show ring is a place to demonstrate the results of generations of breeding, but it is also where family, friends, and fellow competitors come together around a shared appreciation for the breed.