The Ardennes : One Of The Ancient Breed Of Horses
The Ardennes is a very ancient breed of horse country in the dress usually bay or roan
. It is primarily and historically high in the Ardennes region which gave it its name, and by extension the entire north-eastern France, but also in Belgium and Luxembourg. Famously referred since Roman times when it was used to back the armed forces, the Ardennes was known until the early nineteenth century as one of the best breeds of saddle horses and light harness for towing of equipment artillery soldier. Under the Napoleonic empire, the Ardennes are well known to have survived the Russian campaign, in which 13,000 horses were killed.
Many crosses and careful selection of breeders oriented agricultural work from the mid-nineteenth century gradually made the workhorse heavy and powerful as we know it today. Designed to pull farm equipment, the Ardennes was also a great improver of breeds during the golden age of horse, which won him being exported to Sweden where he gave birth to a new breed: the Swedish Ardennes. Like all other breeds of horses, the end of the horse-drawn and tractor use led to the decline of livestock production and a drastic reduction of its workforce.
Confined to the role almost unique animal meat for about two decades, enjoys the Ardennes in the early twenty-first century a renewed interest due to the ecological aspect of its use for maintenance of parks, forests, hauling and recreation in general, but also his ability on all sorts of terrain. In France in 2009, it has become the fourth race of horse most represented in terms of staffing. Belgian breeders have developed by crossing a new line for the coupling of competition: the Aratel.Because of its historical relationship with its region of origin, rich in legends, the Ardennes is related to the frame of the four heroic son Amon, the horse Bayard.
Ardennes race is unique among the breeds of horses currently on Belgian territory to be mentioned since antiquity . The presence of horses in the Ardennes is in fact reported by the Greek historian Herodotus, who also noticed the qualities of the riders in Northern Gaul . These horses are then mentioned by Julius Caesar himself, who writes that he found in the "second Belgium, which were part of the Ardennes, animals" hardy, tough and tireless "at the time of war of Gaul . The local wild horse population was already very popular for various armies back . It seems that a garrison of 500 horses in Carignan was present in 284, and Mouzon was a center for breeding and training for the Roman cavalry in 440 .
During the reign of Nero, we formed a team of mares Ardennes for this emperor who boasted of being one of the best drivers of the chariot circus .
During the nineteenth century and before the discovery of horse Solutra is sometimes attributed to the Ardennes from the East, or at least the influence of Arabian horses in the Middle Ages is it suggested. The abbey of Saint-Hubert was then in its greatest prosperity and an abbot brought standards of the Limousin, which descended directly from Arab stallions and mares remained in France following the defeat of the Emir Abd al- Rahman ibn Abd Allah al-Rhafiqi in 732 in the plains between Tours and Poitiers.
Later, the frequent contacts established between Belgium and the East by the expeditions of the Crusades which gave Godfrey of Bouillon on the throne of Jerusalem made clear to the abbots of St. Hubert the benefits of pure-bred Arabian. Arab stallions were introduced in the Ardennes and crossed with local mares, since improved with the intervention of the standard Limousin .
According to one legend passed by the inhabitants of the Bulge, the Ardennes is a horse that Godfrey of Bouillon took the path up to the castle of Jerusalem during the First Crusade. The Ardennes horse appears to have had a good reputation during the Crusades that followed .
During the Renaissance, Marshal Turenne paid tribute to the qualities Ardennes horses that went up his horse while camping in the country of Trier.
The organization of livestock breeds of horses only dates from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, when it accompanied the development of agriculture. Previously, horses and Belgian Ardennes formed under the Napoleonic empire, strains reared in what was a single country . The Ardennes horse breeding has always depended on human needs for war , where it was originally used as much as that horse saddle horse.
by: Anna Kerry
What You Should Know About Horse Boarding Ma Bristol's Horseworld - Caring for Horses since 1952 Horse of the King: Clapton wants Italia Ferrari 458 with V12 Staying Updated With Horse Races Scores Win Big With The Right Horse Racing Results Aspects Of Horse Care You May Not Be Aware Of Saddles For Horses Bits For Horses Horse Riding Reins What Type Of Horse Rug Do I Need? How To Pick The Right Cutting Horse Saddles Horse Riding Chaps Help Reduce Stress - Get A Horse Or A Dog