This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2024) |
Conservation status | Extinct |
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Country of origin | France |
The Limousin horse (French: cheval limousin, Occitan: caval lemosin) is an extinct French and Occitan horse breed that was bred from the 12th century to the 20th century as a saddle horse, as well as to pull horse carriages, in the Limousin region of France, formerly part of Aquitaine and Occitania. [1] [ better source needed ] The genetic foundation was based off of French native mares, Iberian horses, English Thoroughbreds, Arabians, and Anglo-Arabians. This breed was later influential in the 1958 creation of the Selle Français, a new French horse breed that merged several French regional horse breeds, including the Anglo-Norman horse, into one sport horse type.
With the earliest records of the breed dating back to the 12th century (1100s), with some documents dating the origins of the breed to as early as 506 A.D. [2] and 1063 A.D., [3] [ page needed ] Limousin horses were bred during the Middle Ages and the era of the Angevin Empire (French: Espace Plantagenet) during the 12th-13th centuries, when the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Duchess of Aquitaine, and King Henry II of England, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou, brought Aquitaine under the control of the House of Plantagenet and England. Horses were an important resource for the Duchy of Aquitaine for both military purposes and equestrian sports, and early Limousin horses served as mounts for Eleanor of Aquitaine [4] [ failed verification ] and Aquitainian troops, as well as crusaders to the Holy Land. [3] [ page needed ]
Limousin horses are also mentioned in the Chanson d'Antioche (c. 1180) as being used in First Crusade (1096–1099) by knights. [3] [ page needed ] Some attribute Turkoman horses and Arabian horses brought back from the Crusades as giving the Limousin its conformation. [5] [ page needed ]
A horse of medium size, Leclerc wrote in the 1700s that the best French saddle horses came from Limousin and were quite similar to the Barb horse. [6] : 235 It had a great reputation due to its association with French royalty and nobility until the French Revolution, as Limousin provided many horses for the army of King Louis XIV of France and the French cavalry. François Robichon de La Guérinière and Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon said the Limousin was "the best horse in France" from the 16th to 19th centuries. [5] [ page needed ] [7] : 4–5
Once used in sports like fox hunting, as well as field hunter and show hunter disciplines, the Limousin horse was also an excellent riding mount, bred largely by French aristocrats, bourgeois, and the Pompadour National Stud Farm at Pompadour Castle in Arnac-Pompadour, Corrèze, France. The two most common breed colors were bay and gray, with the average height of Limousin horses being around 14.2 hands (58 inches, 147 cm) to 15.2 hands (62 inches, 157 cm). The head of the Limousin horse was described as "long, with a convex profile", and it had "strong and small feet" and "excellent agility", being used in light cavalry divisions, as well as in classical dressage.
The use of the breed as a popular cavalry mount led to frequent requisitions under the First French Republic and the First French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte; and, in particular, for the War in the Vendée and the Napoleonic Wars, which caused the breed to become rare. Crossed with the Arabian and the Thoroughbred horse breeds during the 19th century, then re-converted to horse racing, the purebred Limousin horse largely disappeared at the beginning of the 20th century, in part due to the new popularity of the Anglo-Arabian. The Limousin horse was merged into the Selle Français breed in 1958.
The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in western France, part of the former Perche province, from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray or black in color, Percherons are well-muscled, and known for their intelligence and willingness to work. Although their exact origins are unknown, the ancestors of the breed were present in the valley by the 17th century. They are believed to descend from war horses. Over time, they began to be used for pulling stagecoaches; and later, for agriculture and hauling heavy goods. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Arabian blood was added to the breed. Exports of Percherons from France rose exponentially in the late 19th century, and the first purely Percheron stud book was created in France in 1893.
The Selle Français (SF) is a breed of sport horse from France. An athletic horse with good gaits, it is usually bay or chestnut in color. The Selle Français was created in 1958 when several French riding horse breeds were merged into one stud book. The new breed was meant to serve as a unified sport horse during a period when horses were being replaced by mechanization and were transforming into an animal used mainly for sport and leisure.
The Boulonnais, also known as the "White Marble Horse", is a draft horse breed. It is known for its large but elegant appearance and is usually gray, although chestnut and black are also allowed by the French breed registry. Originally there were several sub-types, but they were crossbred until only one is seen today. The breed's origins trace to a period before the Crusades and, during the 17th century, Spanish Barb, Arabian, and Andalusian blood were added to create the modern type.
The Trait Breton is a French breed of draught horse. It originated in Brittany, in north-west France, from cross-breeding of local horses with various other breeds. It is strong and muscular, and often has a chestnut coat.
The French Saddle Pony, also called the Poney Français de Selle, is a pony breed developed as a sport pony for children and smaller adult riders. It was initially developed in 1969 as the Poney de Croisement, and in 1972 a stud book was created. In 1991 the stud book was closed and the breed renamed to Poney Français de Selle. The breed combines a mix of French and British pony breeds, as well as Thoroughbred and Arabian blood, to create the horse seen today. Due to the large number of breeds used to create the French Saddle Pony, there is not yet a defined set of physical characteristics for the breed, although all tend to be suited for competition in English riding disciplines, including dressage, show jumping and three-day eventing. They fill a similar role as the British Riding Pony and the German riding pony.
The Anglo-Norman horse is a warmblood horse breed developed in Lower Normandy in northern France. A major center of horse breeding, the area had numerous regional types that were bred to one another and then crossed with Thoroughbreds to form the Anglo-Norman. Various body types developed within the Anglo-Norman breed, two of which were split off to form the Norman Cob and French Trotter. The remaining types were eventually standardized, although there remained some criticism of the "hybrid" nature of the breed's conformation. However, it is successful as an international sport horse, especially in the sport of show jumping. The Anglo-Norman also contributed to the development of several other breeds in Europe and Asia.
The Auvergne horse is a breed of light draft horse from the Auvergne region of south central France. It stands 143 to 147 centimetres at the withers, and weighs 450–650 kilograms (990–1,430 lb). Coat colours are bay or seal brown. It is used mainly for trekking. It was recognised as a breed by the Haras Nationaux, the French association of horse breeders in December 2012. The standard is published by a breeders' association, the Association Nationale du Cheval de Race Auvergne.
The Charolais or Charollais is an extinct breed of warmblood horse from the Charolais, the country lying around the town of Charolles, now in the Saône-et-Loire département of Burgundy, in eastern central France. Like other French warmbloods, it was the result of crossing local agricultural horses with the Thoroughbred, and was known by the name of the region without ever having a specific stud-book. Like other French warmbloods including the Angevin, the Charentais, the Cheval Limousin and the Vendéen, it was fused with the Anglo-Normand in 1958 in order to create the national warmblood stud-book, the Selle français. It was originally used as a multi-purpose horse for riding, driving, and agriculture. During the late 19th century, additional Thoroughbred blood was added and a new type emerged that was principally used as a light cavalry mount. It was also used for dressage and show jumping.
The Norman Cob or Cob Normand is a breed of light draught horse that originated in the region of Normandy in northern France. It is of medium size, with a range of heights and weights, due to selective breeding for a wide range of uses. Its conformation is similar to a robust Thoroughbred, and it more closely resembles a Thoroughbred cross than other French draught breeds. The breed is known for its lively, long-striding trot. Common colours include chestnut, bay and seal brown. There are three general subsets within the breed: horses used under saddle, those used in harness, and those destined for meat production. It is popular for recreational and competitive driving, representing France internationally in the latter, and is also used for several riding disciplines.
The Henson horse, or cheval de Henson, is a modern horse breed from northeast France. It was created by the selective breeding of light saddle horses with the smaller, heavier Norwegian Fjord horse to create small horses suitable for the equestrian vacation industry. The breeders' association, Association du Cheval Henson, was formed in 1983. In 1995 the studbook was closed to horses not born from Henson parents, and in 2003 the breed was officially recognised by the French government agencies for horse breeding. A hardy breed of horse, each winter the broodmares and youngstock from several breeders are let loose together to graze freely in the wetland reserves in France.
The Angevin is an extinct breed of light saddle-horse from the former province of Anjou in western France. It was bred principally in the area around Angers in the département of Maine-et-Loire. It stood about 149–157 centimetres at the withers. It was much used as a mount for light cavalry. The Angevin was merged with other French regional breeds of riding horse, including the Anglo-Normand, the Charentais, the Charolais and the Vendéen, to create the Selle Français in 1958.
The Charentais and Vendéen are extinct breeds of horse from western France. They were bred principally in the area around Poitou-Charentes and Vendée, France. They were used as a mount for light cavalry.
The Cheval du Morvan, also known as the Morvandiau, Morvandain or Morvandelle, is an extinct French horse breed from the Morvan massif in Burgundy, for which it is named. Horses were bred in the Morvan from before the French Revolution, both as saddle-horses for fox-hunting and as cavalry mounts, and for draught use. They were of small to medium height and known for their strength and tenacity. The Cheval du Morvan became extinct with the advent of industrialisation and improved transportation in the nineteenth century. As a draught horse it was replaced by the Nivernais and Comtois breeds, and as a saddle-horse by the Thoroughbred.
A hot-blooded horse is an unscientific term from the field of horse breeding, coined by orientalists and popularized by various hippologists. It refers to a light horse with a lively temperament, primarily the oriental horse breeds of North Africa, the Near East and Central Asia. Such a name is also applied to some horse breeds descended from horses from these geographical regions, such as the Thoroughbred, Anglo-Arabian, and Namib horse.
The National Stud Farm of Chaouchaoua is a stud-farm in Tiaret, Algeria. Established in 1874, its primary focus is the preservation and improvement of Algerian horse breeds.
Corlay (1872-1897) was a stallion close to the Thoroughbred, head of the Corlay horse breed, considered in his day to be one of Brittany's most famous and influential stallions. The history of this sturdy roan horse is steeped in legend. It is generally accepted that he was the son of Flying Cloud, a Norkfolk Trotter stallion imported from England to Brittany in 1864, and a local three-quarter Thoroughbred mare, Thérésine.
The Corlay horsebreed is a type of half-blood horse resulting from crossbreeding around the town of Corlay in Brittany, between local Breton bidet mares and imported stallions, primarily Thoroughbreds. Intended for racing, this variety of Breton horse is reputed to have impressed Napoleon III with its steeplechase abilities. As a result, local breeders specialized in this racehorse, optimizing its feed by adding maerl to the diet. Corlay horse breeding gained an excellent reputation from the mid to late 19th century. The most influential stallion in the breed was named Corlay, who bred from 1876 to 1897 in the locality of the same name. The breed was considered established by the end of the century.
The Carrossier noir du Cotentin is a large, black, pulling horse breed unique to Cotentin. It was regularly described and quoted during the Ancien Régime and may have descended from Danish horses. As its name suggests, this horse was mainly used to pull carriages, and its uniform color made it possible to form homogeneous groups.
The Merlerault is a formerly common breed of horse that originated in the canton of Le Merlerault. Bred under the Old Regime, this reputedly elegant half-bred was used to ride and pull tilburys.
(translated) There are horses of all kinds in France, but the best ones are few in number; the best saddle horses come from Limosin; they are quite similar to the Barbes, and like them are excellent for hunting, but they are slow in their growth; they must be taken care of in their youth, and even not used until the age of eight.(page 235)