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| The
Boulonnais Horse |
Saumur (France) 2000 (Photo © Laurent
Leclere).
Baladeuse, Candice, Comtesse & Diana conducted by Thibault Coudry, Champion
de France, during a marathon race. |
Boulonnais horses are said to be descended from
Numidian horses, brought by J. Caesar to North of France, around Boulogne, in
54 B.C., just when he was planning to invade Britain. But this can be a legend.
The Boulonnais horse is called "the
thoroughbred horse among draught horses" because of its great elegance
associated with strength.
Paris 1999. (Photo © Eric Rousseaux).
Bonaventure, Esope & Fannie on the pavement of a bridge in Paris, pulling
an old traditional omnibus on the day of "Salon du
cheval". |
Energetic and
lively, with a splendid gait, adaptated to prestige carriage as well as to
every work in the fields and even to riding, the Boulonnais horses were
especially appreciated since 17th century for the rapid transport of the fresh
fish from the Channel coast to Paris, in less than 24 hours. This is now
commemorated every two years in a traditional team race called "La route
du poisson" (The Fish Route).
The Boulonnais is a heavy horse (1,60 to 1,70 m -
650 to 900 kg). Its coat is now most commonly white or grey, but black or very
dark bay coats were frequent in 18th century. There is an attempt today to
reintroduce that colour, with Esope a black stallion. |
According to the Boulonnais Directory for year
2000, there are 391 Boulonnais breeders or owners, most of them living in the
northern region of France (Nord-Picardie) and some in Belgium and Germany. 56
stallions are agreed for reproduction of the breed.
This article was
kindly provided by LES TRAITS VOLANTS.
To learn more about the Boulonnais Horse
please click here to
visit their website
or contact the following associations: |
Dortmund (Germany) 1999. Esope (the black one)
& Froufrou (the white one) with a traditional carriage conducted by Luc
Michelon |
For more information :
Offical organization : Syndicat Hippique
Boulonnais Espace Naturel Régional - Ferme du Héron F 59650
VILLENEUVE D'ASCQ Tel. 33 3 20 67 03 51
National organization : Haras National de
Compiègne F 60200 COMPIEGNE
Tel. 33 3 44 38 54 50.
Private association : LES TRAITS VOLANTS 19 Grande
Rue F 60430 ABBECOURT
Tel & Fax. 33 3 44 89 25 53
email
Lmichelon@aol.com , web
address http://www.cheval-boulonnais.com/
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