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Our horses
The Percheron
The History
The origin of Percheron goes back centuries, and it was known before the Middle Ages. The breed originated in the Perche region, which gave it it's name. Cross breeding in the 19th century with Arab stallions have led to the saying "the Percheron is an Arab horse made fat by the climate and the hardiness of the services for which it has been employed for centuries".
The Breed
Foals are always born black, then after 6 months, they either stay black or go dapple gray and then turn whithe as they get older
The Percheron is very versatile (heavy horse, farm horse, carriage horse) and has a very calm temperament. Its gait is lively and ample, which distinguishes it from other draft breeds. Size: 1.55m to 1.85m at the withers.
Meet me at the Haras!
The Haras national du Pin has a fine herd of black or gray Percherons, including Spectacle Fauvellière and Echo de Vanoise.. The Haras has a Evaluation Centre for the Percheron Breed - local breeders entrust their young horses to the Centre, in order to advance their education, and find a buyer.
The Norman Cob
The History
The Norman Cob is from the Manche region of Normandy, and was widely used as a light draught horse in the 19th century. It was also used in WW1 as an artillery horse.
The Breed
The Norman Cob is a versatile draft horse, with a manoeuvrable and dynamic size (600 to 800kg) and an elegant gait. It is a horse with a good temperament, used for leisure, competition, trekking, agricultural or town use (such as the collection of waste).
The Selle Français
The History
The most famous of the Haras du Pin stallions is the Thoroughbred Furioso, imported from England in 1946, and who died of heart failure on September 3, 1967, after having completed 22 breeding seasons, and covering 558 mares. Thanks to the crossbreeding with Norman mares and his stallion descendants who have spread throughout Europe, he is credited with being the originator of the modern show jumping horse, and a founding element of the Selle Français horse breed.
The Breed
The Selle Français is the result of 19th century crosses between English Thoroughbreds and local Norman mares. The breed was known as the Anglo-Norman half-blood before WW2, and from 1958, it was called the Selle Français. From this point, it continued to improve through various crosses and selection for sporting ability. One of the strongest and most versatile of the European competition breeds, the Selle Français is very versatile, especially in eventing and show jumping. They have great jumping abilities, and measure between 1.65m to 1.70m at the withers.
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Ultra Maugrey is a bay Selle Français, born in 2008. He is a classy horse, born from the breeding between the agile Quite Easy and the well known Camargo. He is mainly a show jumping horse.
The Lipizzaner
The History
The Haras de Lipicca was founded in the 16th century. The Lipizzan breed was created from 3 Spanish breed stallions, and today, there are around 3,000 Lipizzaners in the world.
The Breed
The Lipizzaner breed originates from the Lipicca stud farm in Slovenia, near the Italian border. It is well known as a dressage breed, and is the exclusive mount of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.
Meet me at the Haras!
Flash Maestoso Alda is a young Lipizzaner horse in training.
The Barbe
The History
The Barbe has been bred for centuries by nomadic tribes from North Africa - Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. The breed was referred to by Roman authors over 2000 years ago, and it has been known in France for a long time. The Barbe is very hardy and can survive with minimal food and water. The breed spread through southern Europe under the saddles of the 'Barbarians', the name referring both to the warriors and their horses.
The Breed
The Barbe exists in chestnut and gray in Tunisia, nearly always gray in Algeria, and gray and bay in Morocco, with all the variants of these colours of coat. Not always that elegant, but always efficient and pleasant to ride.
Meet me at the Haras!
Kheir is an Algerian Barbe stallion, born in 2005 in Algeria. He is 1.55 m tall and weighs 455 kg. This horse was a presidential gift offered by the Algerian President Mr Bouteflika to Mr Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008. He has resided for the last few years at the Haras National du Pin. He is very lively and playful, and these qualities can be seen during his frequent performances in liberty during our shows.
The Miniature Horse
The History
At the end of the 19th century, a number of small English and Dutch horses were exported to the USA and used in the coal mines of the Appalachians until the 1950s.
The Miniature Horses Stud Book was created in 1978, and the breed became standard.
The "Minis" are now widespread throughout the world, especially in North and South America, Great Britain and the Netherlands.
The Breed
The Miniature Horse is presented as the perfect and smallest possible reduction of a regular horse. It can be any breed of horse, provided it conforms to the breeds standard.
Often described as “A big horse in a small package”, the miniature horse is powerful, elegant, and agile. He must measure less than 86 cm at the withers. They have very kind natures.
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Plume is a male Miniature horse measuring 85 cm at the withers, and weighing approximately 100 kg. He takes part in our shows, and is able to jump through a hoop, rear up or play soccer with a big ball. He is very endearing due to his small size, he also participates in educational activities with school groups.
The Shetland
The History
In the 19th century, Shetland ponies were widely used on farms, and also in coal mines. During the 20th century, their use has spread to leisure activities, especially for children, as they were made popular by the British Royal Family. Today they are generally used as mounts for young children, or used as a team in carriage driving.
The Breed
The Shetland is originally from the Scottish archipelago that bears its name, located between Scotland and Norway, in the middle of tthe North Sea.
The first evidence of its presence on the Shetland Islands dates back to the Bronze Age, and there are several theories as to how the ponies ended up on these isolated islands. The most probable would be that of the horses of the Eurasian steppes would have arrived there during the ice age. It is even a theory that Spanish or Arab horses were stranded there after being shipwrecked during the great crusades. This would explain the presence of gray ponies on some islands. In addition, the Norwegian breeds of horses most certainly influenced the Shetland as we know it today, because during the Middle Ages there was already well established trade between Norway and the Shetland Islands.
Its small size can be explained by the climate and the particularly hostile environment of these islands. The small size of these poines is due to the harsh conditions and poor food of their environment.
The Stud Book permits all colours within the breed, except Appaloosa..
Meet me at the Haras!
The Shetland is very endearing due to its small size. We have a herd of Shetland ponies at the Haras, and they are used for educational activities such as care, pony grooming, and pony rides with children and school groups.
The Welsh
The History
The Welsh, which can also be called the Welsh Pony, originates from Wales. Its evolution is unclear, but the Welsh is a descendant from the Celtic ponies. At the time of Julius Caesar, the Romans would have crossed oriental horses with these local horses. The Welsh pony almost disappeared during the 16th century. A royal edict ordered the slaughter of all horses not exceeding a certain size. Fortunately the Welsh pony survived hidden in the mountains.
The breed
The Welsh is a pony that measures between 1.22m and 1.48m, and weighs around 200 to 450kg.
It is pony ideal for sporting disciplines, as it is brave, intelligent and has exceptional gaits. In addition, the Welsh are superb showjumping ponies. They are also often used in carriage driving teams, and can equally just be a family pony. The breed is split into four categories of height, from Welsh A to Welsh Cob, so both children and adults can find a model that suits their size.
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E-Freeze is a Welsh pony born in 2014. This pony was the first foal to be born in Europe following a frozen embryo transfer..
The Equestrian Artistes' Horses
The Lusitanian breed horse originates from Portugal, which was previously called Lusitania, and was considered to be the horse of Kings in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is a docile and cooperative breed, which makes it ideal for bullfights, entertainment, leisure and carriage driving. The Lusitanian is often used by equestrian artistes.
The Pure Spanish is a saddle horse originating from Andalusia in Spain, whose breeding began in the 16th century. Today, this breed is used and sought after for high level competitive dressage, bullfighting, carraige driving, circus and performing arts. The quality of his gait and his good temperament means that these horses are often used for film work.
The Selle Francais Pony is a recent breed (1991), created to meet the needs of young riders who wanted mounts adapted to their size. Originally it was bred by crossing native ponies with Connemara, New Forest, Welsh and Arabian stallions. It is a sports pony used in show jumping, eventing, dressage and for recreational riding.
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Thanos de la Tour is a very versatile pony, who has competed in dressage, show jumping and cross country - he competed in the French pony show jumping championship. Today he is stabled with the show horses, and he brings a new set of skills to our equestrian spectacles.
The Appaloosa is a breed of saddle horse native to the North West of the USA. The peculiarity of these horses is their spotted coats, and they are widely used in Western riding.
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Djazz Color is the result of a cross between his sire, an Appaloosa horse and his mother, a large pony. He inherited the spotted coat from his father and his mane from his mother. Cléa has trained this versatile horse, mainly for show acrobatics, at which he excells.
