Canadian horse
A hardy, dark-coated horse from French colonial stock.
The Canadian horse is a breed from Canada, descended from draft and light riding horses imported from France in the late 1600s. It is a strong, well-muscled horse, usually dark in color, and used for riding and driving. The breed nearly became extinct multiple times due to exports and mechanization, and livestock conservation organizations still consider it at risk.
Quick Facts
- Country
- Canada
Facts from the source article.
Breed characteristics
Most Canadian Horses are black, bay, or brown; chestnuts occur occasionally, sometimes with flaxen manes and tails. The cream gene appears due to one stallion's influence. Grey is rarely seen, according to the breed's preservation society. The head is short and high-set with a broad forehead, the neck arched and graceful, and the chest, back, and loins broad and strongly muscled. Shoulders and croup slope, and the tail is set relatively high. The breed gives an impression of strength and agility. Mane and tail are heavy and wavy, and the arched neck and finely boned head recall Andalusian and Barb ancestry. The trot is described as flashy. Canadian horses are hardy and easy keepers. Today they are used for riding and driving, known for jumping ability, and appear in competition, leisure riding, light draft work, trail riding, and stock work. A naming system uses a prefix (farm or breeding establishment), the sire's name, and a given name starting with a letter assigned to the foal's birth year. Microchipping is the current identification method.
History
The Canadian Horse descends from French stock sent by Louis XIV to Canada in the late 17th century. The first shipment in 1665 included two stallions and twenty mares from the Royal Stables in Normandy and Brittany; only twelve mares survived. Two later shipments arrived: one in 1667 of fourteen horses, and one in 1670 of eleven mares and a stallion. The horses were a mix of draft and light horses, including pacing and trotting types, and likely included Bretons, Normans, Arabians, Andalusians, and Barbs. They were leased to farmers or religious orders and remained royal property for three years. Despite hard conditions, the horses thrived, earning nicknames such as "the little iron horse" and "the horse of steel." Population numbers grew quickly, reaching 148 by 1679 and 684 by 1698. In the 1700s, the breed spread into what is now eastern Michigan and Illinois. During the Expulsion of the Acadians, English forces seized some of these horses, and their descendants became the Sable Island horse. Crossbreeding with imported horses from the US and British Isles occurred in the late 18th century.
Sub-types
During the breed's peak popularity, three subtypes existed, all now considered extinct or merged back into the main population. The Canadian Heavy Draft or St. Lawrence, which disappeared by the late 1700s, likely developed from Shire and Clydesdale crosses and was probably exported to New England. The Frencher, also sometimes called the St. Lawrence, was a trotting horse from crosses with Thoroughbreds and contributed to US trotting horses. The Canadian Pacer, better documented than the other two, likely resulted from breeding pacing horses from France with Narragansett Pacers from New England. These pacers were known for racing on ice and were exported to the United States, where North Carolina became a breeding center. The Canadian Pacer influenced the Tennessee Walker, American Saddlebred, and Standardbred. The fastest pacers, called "Canucks," came from Quebec near the St. Lawrence River, where winter races on frozen rivers became popular.
More in Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced