Ardennes horse

The Ardennes is a very bulky draft horse from the Ardennes, which today is bred primarily as a battle horse, but also as a draft animal.

Background information on the evaluation and breeding horses can be found at: exterior, interior and horse breeding.

Exterior

Wide body with short, stocky legs on long, sloping shoulders and a muscled croup. Ardennes weigh between 800 and 1,000 kilograms mast horses often much more. The head is straight or slightly Roman profile and sits on a powerful, short neck.

Interior

Ardennes are reliable and robust and valid despite the massive body to be very agile and lively. They were formerly used in agriculture as a strong draft horses especially today of the Ardennes is bred primarily as a mast horse with good meat approach.

Breeding history

The Ardennes is one of the oldest horse in France. The Roman legions appreciated the Ardennes as well as the knight of the Middle Ages and Napoleon's artillery. In the times of the Crusades and the beginning of the 17th century Oriental bloodlines were bred to obtain lighter army horses. In the 19th century Brabant were bred to meet the needs of heavy draft horses. In addition to the severe types still grown mainly in Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Sweden, there are also efforts to achieve a lighter sports type by breeding with Arabs - the Aratel.

A stud book Ardennes - existed in France since 1908, in Luxembourg since 1921 and in Belgium since 1926.

From the Ardennes, the now scarcely known races Trait du Nord, Auxois, Sweden - Ardennes and Pfalz- Ardennes emerged.