Percheron Horse, Or Percheron

2023 Author: Molly Page | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 12:33

Percheron, or persheronskaya horses (Percheron horse) - the most popular breed of draft animals, bred in France (province Perche), has long been famous for its heavy horses. There is evidence that horses very much like Percherons lived in this area even during the Ice Age. The Persheron horses were originally bred for military purposes, but over time they began to be used for transporting postal stagecoaches, and then in omnibuses for urban passenger transport, in agriculture and for transporting heavy loads.

There is still no consensus on the origin of the breed. According to one theory, the founders of the breed could have been mares captured by Clovis I from the Bretons after 496. According to the second version, the breed originates from Arabian stallions brought by Muslim invaders in the 8th century. The third version mentions the Moorish cavalry horses taken as trophies after the Battle of Poitiers in 732, some of which were brought to Perche. The latter theory states that the Percheron and the Bois de Boulogne are closely related, and that the Boulogne influenced the Percherons when they were brought to Brittany as reinforcements for Caesar's legions.

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It is known that during the 8th century Arab stallions were crossed with mares born in the area. The blood of Spanish horses was added when Rotru III imported horses from Castile. Regardless of the origin theory, breed historians agree that the terrain and climate of the Perche region have had the greatest influence on the development of the breed. Over the next centuries, Arabian blood was periodically infused with the Percheron horses, with the result that today we see one of the most elegant heavy-harness breeds in the world. The influence of the Arab can be traced in the unusually soft and active movement of this breed.

Центром разведения першеронской лошади стал конезавод Ле Пен, который в 1760 году импортировал несколько арабских жеребцов и скрещивал их с першеронами. Между 1789 и началом 1800-х годов порода чуть не исчезла, поскольку разведение лошадей было остановлено во время Французской революции. Ранняя история породы указывает на двух серых арабских жеребцов из Ле Пен - Годолфина (Godolphin) и Галлиполия (Gallipoly), кровь которых помогла возобновить разведение породы. Более поздние исследования показали, что Годолфин был бурым аравийцем обычной конформации и особой ценности, в то время как Галлиполий был серой седельной лошадью неизвестного происхождения. Жан-ле-Блан, жеребец-основатель породы, родился в 1823 году. Сегодня все першероны ведут свое происхождение от него.

In 1893, the first herd book of the breed was created in France. By 1910, the Percheron population had grown to 32,000 horses. In the late XIX - early XX centuries. a huge number of Percherons were imported from France, which perfectly took root in various climatic conditions. Many of them went to England, some to Australia and South America, but he became especially loved in North America, and American breeders preferred the black color.

The immense strength and courage of the Percheron, combined with his longevity, made him a popular horse for military purposes, in harness and agricultural work, and also under saddle. For different needs, two types of horses were bred: a light horse for riding and a heavier one for harnessing. Nowadays, Percherons are mainly bred for work in the field, and, due to its unique characteristics, it is used to improve other breeds. Despite the fact that it is a heavy horse, it has unusually elegant and light movements, as well as great endurance, which allows it to trot a distance of 56 km per day.

The Parisian omnibus society, as well as foreign buyers from the USA, Japan, Australia, preferred horses that were large, strong, with good movements. It is for these reasons, since 1806, in the province of Perche, at horse shows, heavy draft horses were awarded, and champion stallions were widely used for reproduction.

Thanks to the same color, luxurious feed and monotonous way of upbringing, all these horses are very similar to each other, but nevertheless, the set of Percherons is a product of local conditions, and not deliberate, expedient breeding. This breed is strong, tall, suitable for work at a walk and moderate trot - in short, a cross between a real heavy draft horse and a farm horse. In France, they are distinguished by their height: large, medium and small. The most common is medium. Large horses are often raised for meat.

French breeders still continue to import American stallions to produce lighter foals, moving away from the meat-type horses of the late 20th century.

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Percherons were brought to Russia from the middle of the last century, and until the 1980s they were the most common working breed. Then their number began to decrease markedly. The Brabancons and Ardennes took the first place in terms of number, which in our conditions turned out to be less whimsical and less expensive when imported from abroad.

Breeding work with a small nucleus of Percheron horses was carried out by the Khrenovskaya stud farm, where the fucking type of Percheron was created. They were dry, energetic horses with deep chests and good riding, excellent trotting movements. In the mid-1930s, the Galovsky state breeding nursery for Percheron horses was organized in the Voronezh region, in the zone of which improver stallions for mass horse breeding were raised on horse breeding farms.

Modern Percherons are large, bony, massive horses. Measurements of stud stallions, height at withers 162, oblique body length - 169, chest girth - 202, cannon girth - 24.4; measurements of mares, respectively, 160-169-197-22.7. The main colors are gray and black. Horses are strong, agile, good-natured.

In 1976, at the All-Union competitions, the Percheron mare Plum, born in 1965. under the control of the rider P. Lyashov, she carried a skid device with a thrust force of 300 kg at 2138 m without stopping, which is an all-Union record in this type of testing.

The height of French Percherons ranges from 155 to 185 cm. The color is gray or black. Small white markings on the head and legs are allowed. Live weight from 500 to 1200 kg.

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Body structure: large, rough head with a wide convex forehead; soft long ears; with lively eyes; smooth profile and wide nostrils; short, wide, muscular, slightly arched neck; oblique shoulder with pronounced withers; wide deep chest; short, even ridge; muscular thighs; wide with a slight deflation of the croup; dry, short, powerful legs with little covering; very hard hooves; high set tail; abundant and thick mane, bangs and tail.

One of the largest Percherons was a horse named dr. Le Gear, born 1902. His height at the withers was 213.4 cm, and he weighed 1370 kg.

Currently, Percherons are used in forestry and agriculture, in harness and for work under the saddle, including competitions in English riding disciplines.

In the Falkland Islands and northern Australia, Percherons are crossed with local mares to produce larger breeding horses with greater endurance. These hybrids are widely used both in the subantarctic climate of the Falkland Islands and in the subtropical climate of Australia for agricultural work. In Australia, they are also crossed with thoroughbred horses for use as police horses.