The Auvergne horse (French cheval d'Auvergne) is a breed of light draft horse from the Auvergne region of south central France. It stands at the withers, and weighs . 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.
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 cavalry 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.
Characteristics
The Auvergne horse is a compact horse with light features of postier type, close to a cavalry horse and similar to the Comtois horse but thinner. It stands at at the withers and weighs between with an average of about .Standard of the Auvergne horse breed, consulted on 22 December 2009 The head is very expressive, rather small, short with a square nose, nostrils well open, a straight or slightly concave muzzle, eyes bright and expressive and almond-shaped highlighted by prominent eyebrows, a broad forehead, short and mobile ears. Light heads are well-regarded.
The neck is short and slightly round, generally arched, the shoulder rather straight and strong. The withers are quite prominent and tends to be noyé, the point of shoulder is open, the chest goes down and the flanks are rounded. The back is short, and wide, the loins short, powerful and well attached. The Croup is double, slightly tilted but not bent.
The legs fine enough for a cavalry horse, but have short cannons, with slender hocks and often a little closed, ending with round feet well proportioned in relation to the weight of the horse. Leg feathering is normally abundant but sometimes there may be little. The mane is very thick, slightly wavy, and can be single or double, the tail is also very thick and rather long.
The Aubergne horse has a coat of fine hair which can be bay in all possible variants, including Seal brown. Black points are well marked and can be traced high along the legs. Significant white markings, such as high stockings, are prohibited. This feature is one of the criteria for the recognition of these animals. The Association intends to maintain this and to reject all stallions with white markings for breeding. "Fox nose" coloration is highly regarded.
The Auvergne horse is reputed to have good weight-carrying ability, docile and energetic, lively and generous, and sure-footed. It is a sociable horse, rustic, and multi-purpose. Evelyn Carpentier, breeder of these animals in La Ferme Équestre des Roches in Rochefort-Montagne, said that "it has the character of Auvergne. It does what it wants, but it is very gentle...". It costs little in production and breeding. According to Muriel Ronez, permanent association staff, "the idea is not to make a sports horse but rather [a horse for] equestrian tourism, harness, and small agricultural work".
Selection The Auvergne horse was bred extensively in the Massif Central where it played a comparable role to the Pyrenean Pottok. It is present in Vivarais and the Plateau de Millevaches. The association is searching for animals that have escaped the inventory to increase the numbers, find other strains, and increase the genetic diversity. For this purpose, horses, ideally older than three years, are registered in an initial title following an evaluation grid. The association wants to demonstrate the vitality of the livestock and to increase the numbers for breeding.
History
As with other local draught horses, the use of the Auvergne horse has declined with the rise of mechanized travel. Defining the horse is difficult in the absence of recent scientific publications. Documents mentioning the "cheval d'Auvergne" actually 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: According to the Association of the Auvergne Breed, the breed is the distant descendant of the oriental breeds abandoned by the Saracens on the plains of Vouillé circa 732. Their horses remained in the same area (the departments of Corrèze, of Creuse, and of Haute-Vienne) until the barons of the country took possession of them. The horses would presumably been the root of those which had spread over the course of the following centuries into all of Limousin, followed by Auvergne, to become the ancestors of the Limousin horse, a close relative of the Auvergne horse. According to Lætitia Bataille, a specialist in equine management in France, the Auvergne horse was the product of the ancient Navarrin horse's crossbreeding with the Thoroughbred. According to the inhabitants of the Auvergne region, the breed is native to the region, and lived there "depuis la nuit des temps" (since the dawn of time). According to their theory, it is descended from prehistoric animals who had simply wandered into the region.Small Auvergne horse , Crapa-hutte website, consulted on 23 December 2009
There seems to have been two types of Auvergne horses throughout the region's history: the smaller horse, or "half-blood Auvergne horse", was a riding horse destined for the light cavalry; the communal, "all-purpose" horse was used by locals until the improvement of automobile roads, at which time it was crossbred again to better handle a wider range of agricultural duties.
To 17th century If one believes the inhabitants of Auvergne, Vercingetorix used an "Auvergnat cob" for his battles. True or not, the Auvergne horse seems to have been popular in the Middle Ages. In 1577, the Duke of Bouillon mentioned, in a 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 ...."
The existence of the Auvergne horse is suggested in documents from the 17th century which describe a small, 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 for cavaliers and, according to tradition, the famous white horse of the king himself came from a farm in Barra, near Aurillac.
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. To breed the horse, he called upon stallions of Turkish and Barbary descent, and upon the Frisian and Dutch stallions. The cross-breeding however was largely unsuccessful, mostly because of poor breeding management.
18th century In a census of the Auvergne horse population by the administration of Stud farms in 1764 only 604 mares were estimated as likely to give birth to good foals in the region. This was very low and reflected the poor quality of the population of Auvergne horses at that time.Jacques Mulliez, Royal horses: history of the raising of the horse and the creation of stud farms, Montalba, 1983, 398 pages, p. 284 The Auvergne horse long remained disreputable. As a result, at the end of the 18th century these animals were described as "with a large head, large ears and a little neck" and as "heavy, unhealthy and without nerves".Alfred Durand, Rural life in the volcanic mountains of Dores, Cézallier, Cantal, and Aubrac, 2006, 530 p. () p. 249
In 1788 2,660 foals were born in the Auvergne region and their sales value was reported at some 60,000 livres. After the suppression of the National Stud in 1790 the horses quickly regained their old features because of the disappearance of foreign Stallions which were stationed there. During the French Revolution General Houchard raised a regiment of light cavalry from Aurillac and, during the First Empire, the cavalry were mounted on Auvergne horses. At that time Auvergne produced many horses bred for economic use and sold them at four years old for saddling.Jean Henri Magne, Veterinary Hygiene applicable to the study of domestic animals and means of improvement, vol. 1, Labe, 1857, p. 345 Wars, however, resulted in the re-creation of the National Stud and the best horses disappeared.Count Achille de Montendre, On Equestrian institutions and the breeding of horses in the main states of Europe: composed of official documents and published writings from Germany, England, and France and some observations on different eras], vol. 2, Bureau du Journal des haras, 1840, p. 381
19th century
Napoleon I appreciated the qualities of the Auvergne horse and he requisitioned them heavily for his Russian campaign. Following these huge requisitions, by 1815 the horse population was decimated and weakened. Local horse farmers resumed their activities but the horses were no longer uniform.Society of friends of the University of Clermont, Review of Auvergne, vol. 9, Typ. et lithog. G. Mont-Louis, 1892, p. 29
The method of raising Auvergne horses was frequently criticized.Count Achille de Montendre, On Equestrian institutions and the breeding of horses in the main states of Europe: composed of official documents and published writings from Germany, England, and France and some observations on different eras], vol. 2, Bureau du Journal des haras, 1840, p. 380 In Cantal the Auvergne gravid mare was worked until the tenth month of gestation and was not better fed in the winter. Five or six days after parturition she was sent with her foal to pasture where she often spent the night. Nursing of foals lasted five to six months. After weaning some of them were sold and exported to neighboring departments while others remained in pasture until November when the foals were returned to the stable. Their stabling lasted until April and foals were only let out to drink. In the first days of spring the foals were returned to the pasture to stay, night and day, until the month of November. At two years, the colts were castrated and all are saddled twelve months later. The horse population was more numerous in Cantal than in other departments of the old Auvergne.Alexandre-Bernard Vallon, Lessons in hippology in the usage of MM. army officers..., vol. 2, Saumur, Javaud, 1863, p. 505