In Europe, the Breton horse breed is rarely seen. The robust draft horses play a role above all in French Brittany and are known here as powerful draft horses. The Breton is a very calm and even-tempered horse that is gentle and willing to work. Dealing with the Breton is uncomplicated because the horses are characterized by friendliness and sociability. Like hardly any other horse breed, they show a pronounced willingness to perform. Don’t be fooled by its clumsiness, because Breton horses develop remarkable speed and agility when challenged.
What is special about the Breton is that there are three different types that have evolved over time. The Trait Breton is a very powerful, heavyweight horse. The Petit Trait Breton is slightly lighter in weight. He is also smaller with a height of 150 cm. The Postier is more like a heavy Warmblood and has a lighter and drier build. The light type can also be used as a leisure horse. Since Bretons are very friendly, they can also be used as a family horses. Children of the right size can also handle the horses well.
History of the Bretons
The landscape gave the Breton horse its name. Brittany in France has been a renowned breeding area for horses for centuries. The Breton also comes from here. Breton horses are among the oldest horse breeds in the world. They were already known and widespread in Brittany in the Middle Ages. Native mountain horses are said to have been the progenitors of the breed. These were crossed with oriental breeds – especially the Arabian. The result was a robust riding and draft horse. The horses were just 140 centimeters at the withers, but are said to have been very easy to ride because they sat comfortably at the trot.
Two types had already developed from the relatively small Breton by the end of the Middle Ages: the heavy Sommier and the light Roussier. At the end of the 18th century, Percherons, Ardennes and Boulonnais horses were crossed. This made the Breton taller at the stick.
The crossing of British Norfolks and Hackneys had a decisive influence on the refinement of the Breton horses. These horses trained the lighter built postier type. The postiers got their name after their former use as stagecoach horses. Especially at the beginning of the 20th century, the light type was popular worldwide. But the heavy Trait-Bretone and Petit-Trait-Bretone types were also retained. The regulated breeding of the various Breton types can be traced back to 1909 with certainty. In order to be entered in the stud book, the place of breeding had to be ascertained with certainty. Only mares from the departments of Brittany and the departments of Loire-Atlantique were entered in the stud book.
Even today, the breeding area is primarily in Brittany. This is where most of the stud farms are located. The distribution of the stallions is in the hands of the Lamballe and Hennebont state studs. The stock of broodmares in France is estimated at 15,000. Every year around 10,000 mares are covered by around 500 stallions. The breeding lines Trait-Bretone, Petit-Trait-Bretone and Postier are not separated from each other. Only the foals are assigned according to type.
The breeding association of French horse breeders of Breton horses is Le Synicat des éleveurs du cheval breton. There is no independent breeding association for Germany. But in 2006 the “German Breton Association” was founded, which is committed to the preservation of Breton horses. Together with the Association of Pony and Horse Breeders in Hesse, the association is striving to establish Breton breeding in Germany.
Interesting and worth knowing
Breton horses are a very old breed. Unfortunately, there are not many books and films about the horses, as they are very limited to find regionally.
Literature tips
Unfortunately, there is no specific literature on Breton horses. But you can learn a lot from books on the subject of cold blood. There are numerous books, especially about the handling, training, and behavior of draft horses, the content of which you can also apply to the Bretons.
Bretons in film and television
Film and television must do without the Bretons. For this, the horses can be seen in the Red Dead series. Red Dead is a video game series featuring western-themed action-adventure games. The video games are available for PlayStation2 and Xbox.
The mighty horses can also be seen live at Apassionata. The elegance, agility and speed with which the fat ones present themselves at the show is unbelievable.
There are also beautiful portraits of the Breton breed on YouTube. It’s worth taking a look at one or the other.
Notes on keeping Bretons
Every horse is unique, no matter what breed it belongs to. And no matter how long or short the pedigree is, every horse has similar needs, such as those for food, exercise, and social contact. They have to be satisfied in order to enable a happy horse life. However, depending on what the breed of horse was originally bred for, there are many different characteristics: some are bred to be sport horses and need more exercise than others, and some are more leisurely workhorses.
