A Percheron in harness |
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Distinguishing features | Agile draft horse breed. Mostly gray or black. Clean-limbed, powerful and docile. |
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Country of origin | France |
Breed standards | |
Les Haras Nationaux (France) | Breed standards |
Percheron Horse Association of America | Breed standards |
British Percheron Horse Society | Breed standards |
Horse (Equus ferus caballus) |
The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Perche valley in northern France. Percherons are usually gray or black in color. They 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 were originally bred for use as a war horse. Over time, they began to be used for pulling stage coaches, and later for agriculture and hauling heavy goods. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Arabian blood was added to the breed. In the late 19th century, exports of Percherons from France to the United States and other countries rose exponentially, and in 1883 the first purely Percheron stud book was created in France.
After going through various incarnations and stud books, the current US Percheron registry was created in 1934. In World War I, the breed was used extensively by the British. In the 1930s, Percherons accounted for 70 percent of the draft horse population in the United States, but their numbers declined substantially after World War II. However, the population began to recover, and as of 2009, around 2,500 horses are registered annually in the United States alone. Today, the breed is still used extensively for draft work, and in France they are used for food. They have been crossed with several light horse breeds, such as the Criollo, to produce horses for range work and competition. Purebred Percherons are used for forestry work and pulling carriages, as well as under saddle work, including competition in English riding disciplines such as show jumping.
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In France, larger Percherons are preferred, with heights ranging from 1.55 and 1.85 metres (15.1 and 18.1 hands) and weights from 500 to 1,200 kilograms (1,100 to 2,600 pounds).[1] Percherons in the United States are smaller, generally standing between 16.2 and 17.3 hands (66 and 71 inches, 168 and 180 cm) at the withers, although the breed has an outer range of 15 and 19 hands (60 and 76 inches, 152 and 193 cm). American Percherons average around 1,900 pounds (860 kg), although the top weight is around 2,600 pounds (1,200 kg).[2] They are generally gray or black in coloring, although the American registry also allows the registration of roan, bay and chestnut horses.[2] Only gray or black horses may be registered in France[1] and in Britain;[3] Many horses have white markings on their heads and legs, but registries consider excessive white to be undesirable. The head has a straight profile, with a broad forehead, large eyes and small ears. The chest is deep and wide and the croup long and level. The feet and legs are clean and well muscled. They are described as proud and alert, and intelligent, willing workers. They are considered to be easy keepers with good dispositions. The breed adapts well to many different conditions and climates.[2] In the 19th century, they were known to be able to travel up to 60 kilometres (37 mi) a day at a trot.[4]
The Percheron breed originated in the Huisne valley in France,[5] taking its name from the former Perche province through which the river runs. Its exact origins are unknown, but several theories have been put forth as to the ancestors of the breed. One source may have been mares captured by Clovis I from the Bretons sometime after 496 AD, and another may have been Arabian stallions brought to the area by Muslim invaders in the 8th century. Other possibilities were captured Moorish cavalry horses from the Battle of Poitiers in 732 AD, some of which were taken by warriors from Perche. A final theory states that the Percheron and the Boulonnais breed are closely related, and that the Boulonnais influenced the Percheron when they were brought to Brittany as reinforcements for the legions of Caesar. It is known that during the 8th century, Arabian stallions were crossed with mares native to the area, and more Oriental horse blood was introduced by the Comte de Perche upon his return from the Crusades and expeditions into territory claimed by Spain. Blood from Spanish breeds was added when the Comte de Rotrou imported horses from Castile.[6] No matter the theory of origin, breed historians agree that the terrain and climate of the Perche area the greatest influence on the development of the breed.[7]
During the 17th century, horses from Perche, the ancestors of the current Percheron, were smaller, standing between 15 and 16 hands (60 and 64 inches, 152 and 163 cm) high, and more agile.[8] These horses were almost completely gray, with paintings and drawings from the Middle Ages almost always showing French knights on gray horses. After the days of the armored knight, the emphasis in horse breeding was shifted so as to develop horses better able to pull heavy stage coaches at a fast trot. Gray horses were preferred because their light coloring was more visible at night. This new type of horse was called the "Diligence Horse", because the stage coaches they pulled were named "diligences". After the stage coach was replaced by rail, the modern Percheron type arose as a slightly heavier horse for use in agriculture and heavy hauling work moving goods from docks to railway terminals.[9] However, Arabian stallions were also made available to Percheron breeders for use in breeding army mounts, a practice that began in 1760 at the royal stud at Le Pin. Gallipoly and Godolphin were two of the most notable Arabian stallions used, with Gallipoly siring Jean le Blanc, a founding stallion of the Percheron breed, foaled in 1830. Today, all Percherons trace their ancestry to this stallion.[8][10]
In 1893, the first Percheron stud book was created. In 1966, it was changed to include draft types from other areas of France that were closely related to the Percheron—including horses from Berrichon, Nivernais, Marne, Augeron, Bourbonnais, Loire and Saone-et-Loire.[6] Horses in the registry are branded on the neck with the intertwined letters "SP", the initials of the Société Hippique Percheronne.[11] Since 1911, the society has restricted registration to horses who have both parents already registered with the society.[12] By 1910, French registrations had risen to almost 32,000 horses. Between 1880 and 1920, Percheron breeders in France exported horses all over the world, including South Africa, South America, Australia and North America.[10] Prior to World War I, a flourishing trade route for Percherons existed between Nogent-le-Rotrou, Le Havre and the United States.[13]
Percherons were first imported into the United States in 1839, with one out of four horses surviving the ocean trip. Soon after, two stallions and two mares were imported, with one mare dying soon after arrival. Although the first importations of Percherons were less than successful, one stallion, named Diligence, was credited with siring almost 400 foals. In 1851, a stallion named Louis Napoleon was imported, and throughout his stud career had significant influence on United States draft horse stock.[6] In the mid-19th century in the United States, Percheron stallions were crossed with local mares to improve the local stock, resulting in thousands of crossbred horses.[14] The American Civil War in the 1860s significantly decreased the numbers of horses in the United States, and between this and the need for horses in both the expanding west and growing cities, there was a significant need for large draft horses following the war.[9] Because of this, large numbers of Percherons were imported to the United States beginning in the early 1870s, and they became popular with draft horse breeders and owners.[6] In the 1880s, approximately 7,500 horses were exported to the United States.[10] This extensive importation lasted until 1893, when the US experienced a financial panic, resulting in almost no Percheron importations between 1894 and 1898 and the loss of many existing horses as people were too poor to purchase or take care of large draft horses. In 1898, importations began again as abruptly as they had ceased, with an average of 700 horses being imported annually between 1898 and 1905. In 1906 alone, over 13,000 horses were imported to the United States from France.[9]
In the late 19th century, Percherons also began to be exported from the United States to Great Britain, where they were used to pull horse-drawn buses in large cities. The first Percherons imported to Britain included some of the thousands of crossbreds from the United States. In Britain, many of the horses, once they finished their bus-pulling career, were sold to farmers. Other imported horses were sold to the British Army, and in 1900, 325 horses were shipped to South Africa for use in the Boer War.[14]
In 1876, the Norman-Percheron Association was formed by a group of Percheron breeders in Chicago, Illinois, and at the same time the stud book was begun. The Norman-Percheron Association was the United States' first purebred livestock association. In 1877, the word "Norman" was dropped from the name, leaving it as just the Percheron Association.[15] However, in the panic of 1893, the Percheron Association went bankrupt and ceased to function.[9] In 1905, also in Chicago, Percheron breeders met again to reform as the Percheron Society of America. In 1934, the Percheron Society of America developed into the Percheron Horse Association of America, the name under which it exists today.[15] At its height, the organization was the largest draft horse association in the world, in the early 20th century registering over 10,000 horses annually.[9][16]
In the early 20th century, the Percheron was one of the four major draft horse breeds, along with the Belgian, the Clydesdale and the Shire. Breeders could sell their horses for significant amounts of money, with the best Percheron stallions being sold for up to 25,000 francs in 1900 in Canada and the United States.[17]
The British used the Percheron extensively during World War I. Beginning in 1916, over 400 purebred Percherons were imported to Britain from France for use in the military, marking the first time that purebred Percherons were imported to Britain. The lack of feathering on the Percheron's lower legs made them easier to care for in the mud that they often worked in during war time. Their quick trot on paved roads made them more versatile than motorized vehicles, and they were useful for work with guns and in forward units due to their calm temperaments. The British made sure their horses were well cared for—often better than the men—and their strong constitutions allowed them to more easily withstand the hardships of the war. After the war, many of the horses returned to Britain and were put to work on the country's farms. In 1918, the British Percheron Horse Society was formed, and this organization is still functioning today, working closely with other Percheron breed registries to register and promote the breed. British breeders and owners continue to import Percherons from France, and also occasionally from Canada, although the costs make the latter prohibitively expensive.[14]
By the 1930s, Percherons accounted for over 70% of the purebred draft horses in the United States, and all of the major land grant universities maintained stables of Percherons.[9] After World War II, increasing mechanization prompted a decline in the Percheron population.[8] In 1954, the lowest number of Percherons were registered, with only 85 animals being recorded with the registry.[9] As a consequence, the breed nearly went extinct in the United States until the 1960s, when the breed again became popular, and many farmers and foresters began to use them.[8] French Percherons were also hit hard by the advent of mechanization, and between 1970 and 1990 focus was placed on breeding horses of greater mass for the meat market. Breeding stallions were selected to be the largest and heaviest possible.[18][19] Beginning at the 1989 World Percheron Congress, French breeders realized that they needed a lighter breed to appeal to markets other than that for meat, including tourism and export to Japan for draft work.[18][20] In 1993, a trend of importing American stallions to France was started with the gray Silver Shadows Sheik. This stallion and others were used to create a more elegant, smaller and sleeker look in the French Percheron, while still retaining the traditional bone and foot structure. Other than Silver Shadows Sheik, all other imported stallions were black, which led to a revival in popularity for black Percherons in France.[18] French breeders continue to import American-bred Percheron stallions in order to produce lighter foals, moving away from the heavier meat-type horses of the late 20th century.[21] Also in 1993, the Société Hippique Percheronne anticipated the increasing tourist and exportation markets by prohibiting docking, while docking was not prohibited for other draft breeds until 1996.[22] This was partially at the request of the Germans,[23] and partially due to the influence of magazines such as Cheval.[24]
By 1988 there were 1,088 Percherons in the United States and 2,257 in 1998.[9] As of 2009, the Percheron Horse Association of America registers horses in all 50 states and has nearly 3,000 members, with around 2,500 new horses registered annually.[16] The French Societe Hippique Percheronne de France (Percheron Horse Society of France) registered between 750 and 885 horses in each year between 2007 and 2010.[25] As of 2011, the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy considers the Percheron to be "recovering",[26] meaning that the breed has exceeded the numbers required to be in one of the "watch" categories, but still needs to be monitored.[27]
The Percheron is the most famous and populous of all French draft breeds in the world today.[28][29] They were used to improve both the Ardennes and Vladimir Heavy Draft horses,[30] and to create the Spanish-Norman breed, an Andalusian/Percheron cross.[31] By the end of the 19th century, Percherons made up the majority of driving horses in Paris.[32] The Percheron is still used extensively for draft work and, like other draft breeds, it is also used in France for meat production.[6] Percherons are used for parades, sleigh rides and hayrides, as well as being used to pull carriages in large cities.[8] The largest team of working Percherons in Europe is found at Disneyland Paris, where the breed makes up 30 percent of the horses in the park and the horses work to pull trams on the main park street.[33] One of the most famous horse teams in the United States is the Heinz hitch of Percherons, whose appearances have included multiple showings at the Tournament of Roses Parade.[34] A Percheron mare from Australia holds the unofficial world pulling record, having pulled 3,410 pounds (1,550 kg) over 15 feet (4.6 m).[10]
In Great Britain, the Percheron is used for advertising and publicity, as well as forestry and farm work. They are crossbred with lighter horses by breeders of heavy hunters in order to increase size and improve disposition.[14] Purebred Percherons are also ridden, and some have proven useful at show jumping.[2] Crossbred Percherons have been used successfully in dressage.[35] In the Falkland Islands, Percherons are crossed with Criollo horses to produce horses used on the cattle ranges. In Australia, they are crossed with native horses to produce horses for competition and livestock work.[10]
In 1978, the first World Percheron Congress was held in Great Britain, and has been held annually ever since. Although the majority of the shows have been held in North America, four - in 1980, 1989, 2001 and 2011 - have been held in France.[18] Each year, in July, the French national breed show is held in Haras du Pin.[36]
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