Can anyone dispense me more information on the Poitevin?
The horse breed Poitevin is a breed that I'm just now learning roughly. Information seems hard to find online. If anyone has any information on the breed, breeding them, import them, etc. please tell me!
Answers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poitevin_(h...
http://www.poitevin.org/
http://www.equinekingdom.com/breeds/heav...
http://www.equiworld.net/breeds/poitevin...
hope I helped!
The Poitevin
Born and bred in the marsh of Western France, the Poitevin is the least known of nine French heavy breeds, and the most dying out. Its reputation was made by the magnificent mules bred by the mares for centuries, the biggest and strongest mules in the world! But as a horse it be sneered at as "a heavy horse that has more conformational faults than most, is singularly hideous in appearance and has little potential as a working horse" according to Elwyn Hartley Edwards. Yet, as a descendant of the Flemmish horses brougth to Poitou contained by the 17th century to drain the marshes, it is related to the Shire - and hence to the Clydesdale - whose ancestors came from Holland to reclaim the Fens.
Whilst most heavy horses be bred for specific purposes - including meat production - the only work required of the Poitevin was that it sired enough mares to supply for the booming mule trade. It has therefore retained all the characteristics of the "primitive" horse, including the in danger of extinction dun colour. It is lighter than most draught horses and its gait is sprightly; when black, it is a heavy friesan, with abundant feathers and flowing mane and tail. When four pedals drives replaced mules, the poitevin declined and was saved with the sole purpose thanks to the dedication of a few breeders who kept mares because their grandfathers had made their fortunes with them. But numbers plummeted, beside only c. 220 females and 40 males left in 1992. Numbers are slowly recovering, presently reaching c. 400 animals
Hope this helps you!
