MODERN ARDENNAIS At the beginning of the 19th century the Ardennais was crossed with Arab blood to increase its energy and activity. Later, some Percheron, Boulonnais, and Thoroughbred crosses were introduced. However, the impact of these last three was transitory, except possibly in the related Auxois.
The popular Ardennais du Nord comes largely from Lorraine. Known as "the cart-horse of the north", it has a massive bone structure and correspondingly strong muscles. The powerful Auxois from Burgundy is similar to the Ardennais du Nord, but was more influenced by the 19th-century Percheron and Boulonnais crosses. See the Clover Oaks Ardennes here.
is is a heavy horse belonging to both France and Belgium. It is a direct descendant of the pre-historic horses whose remains were found at Solutre; primitive features such as the skeletal formation of the head, with its distinctive, squared-off nose, are still evident in the modern breed. The Ardennais was known to both Julius Caesar and the Greek historian Herodotus, who praised them for their hardiness and stamina. Originally small, broad-bodied draught horses, the Ardennais undoubtedly formed the basis for the great horses of the Middle Ages.
THE OLD TYPE During the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, the Ardennais horses were stocky, lively animals that were both ridden and used as excellent light draught horses. During the French Revolution (1789), and in the following years of the Empire, they became renowned as the best artillery horses in Europe. Large numbers pulled the French guns and transported food supplies during Napoleon's disastrous Russian campaign in 1812, and it was said that they were the only horses hardy enough to withstand the rigors of the winter retreat from Moscow and bring home a substantial part of the Emperor's wagon train. Some of those hardy, lighter Ardennes post-horses were still to be found in north-east France, in Bassigny and on both sides of the upper Marne, around Chaumont, until the 1970s. Otherwise, there is little evidence o this old, lighter type remaining today. Copyright 2011-2012 Clover Oaks Farm. Site Design by eMotion Digital Media . All Rights Reserved.
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