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38-674: The Ardennais or Ardennes is one of the oldest breeds of draft horse , and originates from the Ardennes area in Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. They are heavy-boned with thick legs and are used for draft work. Their history reaches back to Ancient Rome , and throughout the years blood from several other breeds has been added to the Ardennes, although only the Belgian breed had any significant impact. The first Ardennes were imported to

76-403: A designer crossbred . For the purposes of this list, certain groups of horses that have an organization or registry that records individual animals for breeding purposes, at least in some nations, but does not clearly fall to either the breed or type categories are listed here. This list does not include organizations that record horses strictly for competition purposes. A "type" of horse is not

114-423: A show jumper could have excellent conformation for a cutting horse or draft horse . Every horse has good and bad points of conformation and many horses excel even with conformation faults. The standard of the ideal head varies dramatically from breed to breed based on a mixture of the role the horse is bred for and what breeders, owners and enthusiasts find appealing. Breed standards frequently cite large eyes,

152-518: A breed but is used here to categorize groups of horses or horse breeds that are similar in appearance ( phenotype ) or use. A type usually has no breed registry , and often encompasses several breeds. However, in some nations, particularly in Europe, there is a recording method or means of studbook selection for certain types to allow them to be licensed for breeding. Horses of a given type may be registered as one of several different recognized breeds, or

190-406: A breed, a crossbreed, or a "type”, depending on the stage of breed recognition. In some cultures and for some competition-sanctioning organizations, a horse that normally matures less than about 145 cm or 14.2  hands (58 inches, 147 cm) when fully grown may be classified as a " pony ". However, unless the principal breed registry or breed standard describes the breed as a pony, it

228-419: A broad forehead and a dry head-to-neck connection as important to correctness about the head. Traditionally, the length of head as measured from poll to upper lip should be two-thirds the length of the neck topline (measured from poll to withers). Presumably, the construction of the horse's head influences its breathing, though there are few studies to support this. Historically, a width of 4 fingers or 7.2 cm

266-456: A direct descendant of the prehistoric Solutré horse , and is claimed to be descended from the type of horse described by Julius Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico . Caesar described these horses of Belgium as "rustic, hard and tireless", and recommended them for use in heavy cavalry units. The early type was used by many later Roman emperors for military applications. The breed's ancestors are thought to have been bred for 2,000 years on

304-668: A grouping may include horses that are of no particular pedigree but meet a certain standard of appearance or use. Prior to approximately the 13th century, few pedigrees were written down, and horses were classified by physical type or use. Thus, many terms for Horses in the Middle Ages did not refer to breeds as we know them today, but rather described appearance or purpose. These terms included: Many breeds of horse have become extinct , either because they have died out, or because they have been absorbed into another breed: Equine conformation Equine conformation evaluates

342-424: A horse's bone structure, musculature, and its body proportions in relation to each other. Undesirable conformation can limit the ability to perform a specific task. Although there are several faults with universal disadvantages, a horse's conformation is usually judged according to its intended use. Thus "form to function" is one of the first set of traits considered in judging conformation. A horse with poor form for

380-419: A horse's face when viewed from the side will usually be straight from the forehead to the nostrils. A Roman nose is a facial profile that is convex, and is often associated with draft horses . A dished face is a concave profile with a dip in the face between the eyes and nostrils, usually associated with Arabians. The muzzle is the lower end of the head, and includes the nostrils, upper and lower lips, and

418-564: A mixture of Ardennes and Belgian blood. List of horse breeds While there is no scientifically accepted definition of the term "breed", a breed is generally defined as having distinct true-breeding characteristics over a number of generations. Its members may be called purebred . In most cases, bloodlines of horse breeds are recorded with a breed registry . The concept is somewhat flexible in horses, as open stud books are created for recording pedigrees of horse breeds that are not yet fully true-breeding. Registries are considered

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456-660: A preferred color, not color breeds, and include the Friesian horse , the Cleveland Bay , the Appaloosa , and the American Paint Horse . The best-known "color breed" registries that accept horses from many different breeds are for the following colors: The distinction is hotly debated between a standardized breed, a developing breed with an open studbook , a registry of recognized crossbred horses, and

494-419: A significant role in his level of endurance and stamina. A horse that will do work requiring speed, power, or endurance needs as much room as possible for maximum lung expansion. The horse's ribs form the outer surface of the chest and define the appearance of the horse's midsection, or barrel, the area between the front legs and hindquarters. The thorax of the horse is flatter from side to side, as compared to

532-584: A stud book and registered six individual French draft breeds as belonging to a single breed, combining the information so that no totals of individual breeds are known. Many of these horses were imported to the United States with their breed being considered simply "French draft" and no individual type being specified. Some Ardennes horses imported to the United States before 1917 were called Belgians when they were imported and subsequently registered as Belgians. Ardennes horses have continued to be imported into

570-710: Is a free-moving, long-striding breed, despite their compact body structure. Horses from the Ardennes region were used as war horses in the Crusades in the 11th century by knights led by Godfrey of Bouillon . They were used during the 17th century by Marshal Turenne as remounts for his cavalry. In the French Revolution , they were considered to be the best artillery horse available, due to their temperament, stamina and strength. Napoleon used large numbers of Ardennes horses to pull artillery and transport supplies during his 1812 Russian campaign . They were said to be

608-484: Is broad and muscular, with a compact body, short back, and short, sturdy legs with strong joints. Their fetlocks are feathered. Their coats may be bay , roan , chestnut , gray , or palomino . Bay and roan are the two most common colors. Black is very rare and is excluded from registration. White markings are small, usually restricted to a star or blaze. The breed matures early, and they are said to be easy keepers , economical to feed despite their size. The Ardennes

646-742: Is considered a separate breed, even though its ancestry is entirely from the Ardennes horses of Belgium and France. Another closely related breed is the Auxois . Ardennes horses were also used in the 1920s to improve the Comtois by adding size. Along with the Breton and the Anglo-Norman , the Ardennes horse was used to create the Sokolski horse . Similarly, the Trait Du Nord was created through

684-489: Is known for its ability to work in rough, hilly terrain. Ardennes horses have been used as foundation bloodstock to develop several other draft horse breeds and subgroups. These include the Baltic Ardennes and Russian Heavy Draft . The Swedish Ardennes is well established in that country, where it is in demand for use in forestry. It was first recognized as a separate sub-group in the 19th century, but today

722-446: Is listed in this section, even if some or all representatives are small or have some pony characteristics. Ponies are listed in the § Pony breeds section below. If a breed is described as a "pony" by the breed standard or principal breed registry, it is listed in this section, even if some individuals have horse characteristics. All other breeds are listed in the § Horse breeds section above. (Because of this designation by

760-527: Is not recognized as a studbook or passport issuing organization by the British government and may not exist in any form. The first Ardennes were imported to the United States in the early 20th century, but it is still not known precisely when. Originally, when imported to the United States, Ardennes horses were eligible for registration with the now-defunct National French Draft Horse Association of America or French Draft Horse Society. This organization published

798-428: Is the stud book limited in any fashion. As a general rule, the color also does not always breed on (in some cases due to genetic impossibility), and offspring without the stated color are usually not eligible for recording with the color breed registry. There are breeds that have color that usually breeds "true" as well as distinctive physical characteristics and a limited stud book. These horses are true breeds that have

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836-593: The Ardennes plains, and it is one of the oldest documented European heavy draft breeds. In the Roman era , the breed stood only around 14  hands (56 inches, 142 cm) high. Later, Napoleon added Arabian blood to increase stamina and endurance and used the breed in his Russian campaign. In 1780, the breed still stood only 1.42 to 1.52 metres (14.0 to 15.0 hands ) and weighed around 500 kilograms (1,100 lb). Percheron , Boulonnais and Thoroughbred blood were also added, although they had little impact. In

874-413: The United States from Belgium, with imports occurring as late as 2004. In France, Ardennes stallions stand about 1.62 metres (16 hands ) high, and mares about 1.60 metres (15.3 hands ), while in Belgium these are the maximum allowable heights. They weigh 700 to 1,000 kilograms (1,500 to 2,200 lb). Their heads are heavy, with a broad face and a straight or slightly convex profile. Their conformation

912-506: The United States in the early 20th century, and the first breed registry was established in Europe in 1929. The horses have been used throughout history as war horses , both as cavalry mounts and to draw artillery , and are used today mainly for heavy draft and farm work, meat production and competitive driving events. They have also been used to influence or create several other horse breeds throughout Europe and Asia. Their history reaches back to Ancient Rome . The Ardennes breed could be

950-530: The authority as to whether a given breed is listed as a "horse" or a "pony". There are also a number of " color breed ", sport horse , and gaited horse registries for horses with various phenotypes or other traits, which admit any animal fitting a given set of physical characteristics, even if there the trait is not a true-breeding characteristic. Other recording entities or specialty organizations may recognize horses from multiple breeds, or are recording designer crossbreds . Such animals may be classified here as

988-551: The back [5] Archived July 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine [6] Archived November 21, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Roached back [8] Long or weak loins/weak coupling [9] Short coupling Rough coupling/widow's peak The croup is from the lumbosacral joint to the tail. The "hip" refers to the line running from the ilium (point of the hip) to the ischium (point of the buttock)of

1026-560: The front teeth. Straight, upright, or vertical shoulder Laid-back or sloping shoulder The humerus (a.k.a. the arm bone) The arm bone is from the point of shoulder to the elbow, it is covered in heavy muscle and serves as a leverage point for the muscle of the front leg attached near the elbow. "Ideal" Conformation of the Ideal Humerus (all measurements are while the horse is standing squarely) Faults "Too long humerus" note "standing under" simply means that

1064-435: The head often plays a role in temperature regulation. Many ungulates have a specialized network of blood vessels called the carotid rete , which keeps the brain cool while the body temperature rises during exercise. Horses lack a carotid rete and instead use their sinuses to cool blood around the brain. These factors suggest that the conformation of a horse's head influences its ability to regulate temperature. The front of

1102-411: The horses legs are too far under his body and his chest sticks out. "Short humerus" note: that is the shoulder is too angled (less than 45 degrees) then the horse's front legs will be stilted and stiff. The Elbow Conformation Possible faults "Turned-in/tied-in elbow" "Out-turned elbow" Conformation Long forearm Short forearm The conformation of the horse's chest plays

1140-424: The human thorax, which is flatter from back to front. The horse's thorax is also deeper from the breastbone to the spine. This gives the horse a greater lung capacity, and thus greater endurance. Conformation Chest shape When viewing the chest from the front, the chest should be wider at the bottom than at the top. The shoulder blades should be much closer together at their tops, toward their withers, than at

1178-442: The nineteenth century, Belgian draft blood was added to give the breed the heavier conformation it has today. The extra weight and size was desired to turn the breed into a very heavy draft breed, after their role as an artillery horse had diminished through the advent of mechanization, as well as a desire for a meat animal. The breed increased in size from an average of 550 kilograms (1,210 lb) to their current weight, which at

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1216-524: The only breed used by Napoleon that was hardy enough to withstand the winter retreat from Moscow, which they did while pulling a large amount of the army's wagon train. They were also used to pull artillery in World War I, when they were depended upon by the French and Belgian armies. Their calm, tolerant disposition, combined with their active and flexible nature, made them an ideal artillery horse. The breed

1254-481: The pelvis. After the point that is made by the sacrum and lumbar vertebrae, the line following is referred to as the croup. While the two are linked in terms of length and musculature, the angle of the hip and croup do not necessarily correlate. But it is desirable for a horse to have a square to slightly pear shaped rump. A horse can have a relatively flat croup and a well-angled hip. Racehorses do well with hip angles of 20–30 degrees, trotting horses with 35 degrees. Once

1292-473: The points of shoulders where the front legs attach. Well-sprung ribs Slab-sided ribs Barrel chest and deep chest Chest faults Narrow chest Too-wide chest [All information is derived from "The horse Conformation Handbook" written by Heather Smith Thomas] Narrow breast Pigeon-breasted Mutton withers Hollow behind withers High withers [2] Long back [3] Short back [4] Saddle-, hollow-, low-, sway-backed/ down in

1330-430: The preference of a given breed registry, most miniature horse breeds are listed as "horses", not ponies.) There are some registries that accept horses (and sometimes ponies and mules) of almost any breed or type for registration. Color is either the only criterion for registration or the primary criterion. These are called " color breeds ", because unlike "true" horse breeds, there are few other physical requirements, nor

1368-534: The same time had the consequence of reducing their vigor and endurance. The first breed registry was established in Europe in 1929. Today there are 3 separate studbooks in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, although there is extensive interbreeding between all three. The Ardennes Horse Society of Great Britain was also formed in the late 20th century to preserve and promote Ardennes horses in Great Britain, but today

1406-409: Was associated with an unrestricted airflow and greater endurance. However, a study in 2000 which compared the intermandibular width-to-size ratio of Thoroughbreds with their racing success showed this to be untrue. The relationship between head conformation and performance are not well understood, and an appealing head may be more a matter of marketability than performance. Among mammals, morphology of

1444-983: Was considered so useful and valuable that when the Germans established the Commission for the Purchase of Horses in October 1914 to capture Belgian horses, the Ardennes was one of two breeds specified as important, the other being the Brabant. Today, the breed is used mainly for meat, due to its extensive musculature. Horse meat is a dietary staple in many European countries, including France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland. However, they are increasingly used for farm, forest and leisure work. Their nimble action, stamina and good temper make them increasingly used for competitive driving across Europe, and they have also been used as mounts for therapeutic horseback riding . The breed

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