Auvergne horse |
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| Alternative names | Cheval d'Auvergne (French) |
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| Country of origin | Auvergne region of France |
| Breed standards | |
| Association Nationale du Cheval de Race Auvergne | Breed standards |
| Horse (Equus ferus caballus) | |
The Auvergne horse (French cheval d'Auvergne) is a breed of light draught horse from the Auvergne region of south central France. It stands 143 to 147 centimetres (14.0 to 14.2 hands) at the withers, and weighs 450–650 kilograms (990–1,400 lb).[1] Coat colours are bay or seal brown. It is used mainly for trekking. It is not recognised as a breed by the Haras Nationaux, the French association of horse breeders.[2] The standard is published by a breeders' association, the Association Nationale du Cheval de Race Auvergne.
This breed has been crossbred several times throughout its history, with several distinct breeds sharing the name "Auvergne horse". A small riding horse known as the "half-blood of Auvergne" was primarily ridden by the calvary at the beginning of the 19th century, but has since disappeared. Other work horses of Auvergne were used as a means of transportation before the advent of modern roads. The work horse was crossbred to become a light draught horse and subsequent ancestor of the modern Auvergne horse. It was used for varying field work by the inhabitants of the region.
As with most of Europe's draught breeds, the Auvergne almost disappeared with the spread of mechanized transportation in the 1960s and 70s. It was crossed with other draught horses, such as the Comtois horse, and was used as a source of horsemeat. In 1994, an association was created to save the last remaining animals and to fight for the recognition of the breed in France. Since then, several actions have been levied to promote the continued existence of the Auvergne horse. However, the breed is still extremely rare outside of Auvergne. 200 were represented in a census at the beginning of the 21st century.
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As with other local draught horses, the use of the Auvergne horse has declined with the rise of mechanized travel.[3] Defining the horse is difficult in the absence of recent scientific publications and official recognition. Documents mentioning the "cheval d'Auvergne" in fact speak of many different breeds which have rarely, or never, been recognized as an independent breed throughout their history.
No scientific studies exist concerning the origin of the Auvergne horse, but there are several theories:
There seems to have been two types of Auvergnal horses throughout the region's history: the smaller horse, or "half-blood Auvergnal", was a riding horse destined to the light cavalry; the common, "all-purpose" horse was used by locals until the improvement of automobile roads, at which time it was crossbred again to better handle divers agricultural duties.[6]
If one believes the inhabitants of Auvergne, Vercingetorix used a "Auvergnat cob" for his battles.[5] True or not, the Auvergne horse seems to have been popular in the Middle Ages.[7]
In 1577, the Duke of Bouillon mentions, in an Classical French text, that he rode an animal from Auvergne in leaving Turenne: "I'm leaving Turenne, and I'm coming to sleep at M. de Beynac's home with Bousolles, Alagnac, La Vilatte, and Annal to whom I have given pages, Bouschant of Auvergne, all without any arms other than our swords, and all having this strong, bad horse; Bouschant had a little, rather good horse from Auvergne; my horse went with a large gate, not knowing how to turn and even less how to run ...."[8][9]
The existence of the Auvergne horse is suggested in the documents from the 18th century which describe a little, rustic, mountain horse of oriental build and rather closely related to oriental breeds. Under the rule of Henry IV, the "barbe auvergnat" was a prized mount of cavaliers, and according to tradition, the famous white horse of the king himself came from a farm in Barra, near Aurillac.[6]
It was Louis XIV who, with the creation of the French National Breeding Farm during the 17th century, tried to better the horse in the hopes of using it in his cavalry.[6] To breed the horse, he called upon stallions of Turkish and Barbary descent, and upon the Frisian and Dutch stalions. But, the crossbreeding was largely unsuccessful, mostly because of the poor breeding management.[6]
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