- Breeding
- Horse Breeding, Part 2: Breeding and Gestation
- The History of Horse Breeding
- Horse Breeding, Part 3: Birth and Care of a Foal
- Buying a Horse
- Rocky Mountain Horses
- How to Buy Horses: A Step by Step Process
- The Top 4 Places to Find Horses for Sale
- General Horse Articles
- Where to Find Televised Horse Shows
- Developing Balance: Using Your Horse’s Feedback
- The Riding Tree: Influencing The Horse
- Horse Feeding
- You’ve Got the Right Feed, Now What?: Proper Feeding Practices
- 5 Horse Feeding "Don'ts"
- A Look at Horse Feed
- Horse Grooming
- Keeping Your Horse Beautiful with Horse Products
- An Overview of Horse Grooming
- Mane Saving Ideas
- Horse Health Issues
- Common Horse Illnesses: Colic
- Common Horse Illnesses: Laminitis
- Let Sleeping Horses Lie: A Look at Horse Sleep Patterns
- Horse Training
- Two-track to Slow Your Horse's Gaits
- Ask Chelsie Natural Horsemanship - What Does It Mean To Disengage My Horse?
- It's Hard to Get Back to Basics When You Haven't Been There To Start!
- Horses & History
- The Feral Horse and Its Impact
- Top 5 Strange and Unusual Horses
- The History of Horse Breeding
- Horses & Sports
- Nearly $7 Million Generated Annually for the District of Columbia
- How to Prepare for Your First Equestrian Competition
- Halter Horse Show
Percheron
05/27/2008
The Percheron is characterized by a square forehead, long ears, and a straight profile. Percherons have long, heavy necks, a broad chest, prominent withers, a short back, heavy muscles in the lower thigh, and a deep girth.
Average Height:
15.2 - 17 hands
Colors:
Grey or black
Conformation:
The Percheron is characterized by a square forehead, long ears, and a straight profile. Percherons have long, heavy necks, a broad chest, prominent withers, a short back, heavy muscles in the lower thigh, and a deep girth. A quality example of this breed should have a long croup and a round hip. The Percheron's mane is generally very thick and the color is always grey or black.
Temperament:
Alert, intelligent, and willing.
Members of this breed often excel in the following disciplines:
* Driving
* Hauling
* Show / Pleasure
Breed History:
The Percheron gets its name from the La Peche valley in the south of France. Like many old breeds, the Percheron's exact origins are unknown, but it is said that its ancestors were the Arabians that were brought to Europe by the Moors.
Percherons probably owe their size and weight (the largest Percherons can weigh as much as 2,600 pounds) to their use as battle mounts during the middle ages. After the invention of gunpowder, heavy warhorses were no longer needed, so the Percheron took up its new job pulling heavy French stage coaches. With the invention of the railroad, Percherons switched to farm duty and heavy labor.
It is probably because of this evolution that the modern Percheron is such a versatile and adaptable horse. Today, Percherons still serve as logging horses, but are also valued as driving and riding horses.
US Breed Association:
Percheron Horse Association of America
P.O. Box 141
Fredericktown, OH 43019
www.percheronhorse.org
percheron@percheronhorse.org
Native Country Breed Association:
la Société Hippique Percheronne de France
1 rue Doullay, BP32
28402 NOGENT LE ROTROU cedex,
France
www.percheron-france.org
percherons.avendre@percheron-france.org
