Horse breed Percheron: photo, price and description of the breed

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The name of the Percheron horse breed comes from the name of the French province of Perche, where they were bred. The emergence of this breed occurred gradually and for many centuries.

History of the breed

After constant crossbreeding (since the 13th century) of Eastern Arabs with Western heavy trucks, the Percheron breed was bred. However, most sources refer to the period of their occurrence to the middle of the 19th century. At this time, the most famous and brightest horses of the Percheron breed were bred.

In the rest of the centuries, their gradual and regular improvement took place. At well-known stud farms, the crossing of the already existing Percheron horse with Arabian breed horses continued. This made it possible to bring out a large and strong heavy truck with a soft and at the same time active step. Later, for example, the Percheron breed became the basis for the development of the Belarusian draft breed.

Purpose of the breed

Perscheron horses were bred to work in a team, cart or carriage. They had to serve the knight with armor all day long without getting tired, and at the same time the rider himself had to not get tired of riding such a horse. She had to smoothly start into a trot and also smoothly stop. If the percheron is harnessed to a carriage, then the movement of the carriage should be soft and smooth so that the ride is as comfortable and convenient as possible for passengers.

Percheron horses were bred with the qualities that were in demand at that time. After the departure of the knights into history, the tribal breeders of the breed focus on such perchers, who carry weights in the city and the countryside. For the army, lighter individuals were bred so that they could easily and for a long time go under the saddle.

Over time, the Percheron breed began to be divided by height:

• Small percherons. They go for riding and can ride fast in a harness.
• Average. These are more suitable for harness riding. They were harnessed to carriages for the journey, delivering mail and doctors to their destinations on time.
• Large ones. These horses were used to carry very heavy loads or for agricultural work.

During the absence of the railroad and cars, there was a high demand for the Percheron horse, the price was very high. The development of a hardy, strong and at the same time soft, with Arabian delicacy, breed was a big breakthrough in breeding horses.

Horse breedersbred and sold percheron all over the world. The demand for them has increased rapidly. Percherons worked in the fields and helped the army, carried cargo and delivered people to different cities. Horses of this breed were almost universal. They easily learned everything that a man taught them. The horses did an excellent job with almost all equestrian functions and were multifunctional for humans.

Exterior Percheron

The Percheron horse has a beautiful aesthetic appearance. The photo shows a good exterior - a large strong horse with a wide bone and a massive chest. The height of the withers of the percherons is from 1.60 m, the girth of the chest is from 2 m, the length of the body along the oblique is 1.7 m. The indications differ depending on the sex and the functional purpose of the percheron.

The suit of percheron also undergoes changes depending on the time - from roan or red to black and gray. Currently, it is customary to consider the suit of the Percheron breed only gray, usually in apples, and black.

Percherons have one very rare quality - it is a smooth and non-stop ride both in harness and under saddle. The endurance and patience of this breed is the most valuable quality and puts it on an elite level in the equestrian world.

Some Percherons have had their tails docked for a long time. It was a tribute to fashion or customs, or a guarantee of safety when riding in a team. The tail of a horse is absolutely essential to protect it from insects. Only in 1996, with the help of animal advocates, was a ban on docking of tails inpercherons.

Percheron size

A horse of the Percheron breed has a very diverse growth, depending on the type and purpose of the horse. There are large percherons, they reach at the withers up to 2 m and even higher. There are horses of medium and small stature, in which the height at the withers is from 1.5 m to 1.75 m. Percherons of small stature are quite rare. Medium and large horses are more common.

The tallest percheron recorded at the beginning of the 20th century is a horse with a height of more than 2.13 m at the withers and a weight of 1.37 tons.

Breed adaptation

Due to the centuries-old breeding of the Percheron breed, it has acquired an excellent ability to adapt to existing conditions. It is easily kept outdoors in French weather - mild winters and plenty of natural green grass forage.

Percherons can live and adapt to any conditions - from sultry heat to severe cold. Due to the gradual breeding of the breed, they have been adapted to various climatic conditions and now have some resistance to the most common equine diseases.

Character and disposition of Percheron

Percheron has a good disposition and great patience. However, he is quite active and mobile. Percheron has a quick reaction and quick-witted mind. They do not require careful and special conditions of keeping, for example, as some demanding riding breeds of horses.

Horses of this breed are fast learners. They are smart andunderstanding and have a calm disposition. Percheron is very easy to teach to plow or teach to perform in the arena of the circus. He is pliable, has a good disposition. Such a horse is efficient and graceful.

History of breeding

The 19th century saw the peak of the breed's popularity. Percherons were widely bred and actively sold throughout France. This breed was bought by such countries as the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay. The Percheron Societies, which were created to breed pure breeds, are becoming widespread.

The first such societies were created in the USA. They helped spread and reproduce the breed. Horses were brought into the country and bred for use in field work. They plowed and harrowed the land, for example, in Canada, 8 percherons were harnessed to a plow, and they plowed up to 6 hectares per day.

Since the middle of the 20th century, with the advent and rapid development of mechanization, the activity of their distribution has decreased, and the Percheron horse is less used. The size, growth and conformation of the breed become important elements for the preservation and continuation of the pure breed. Percheron is moving away from rural work and is more often used as a transport, in sports and recreation.

Breeding in Russia

Russia began importing Percherons in 1891. The best breeding stallions with mares from France were brought to the Khrenovskoye stud farm. Over time, the plant brought out a new type of percheron, which differed from the European or American types. In 1941, the Khrenovsky plant was transferred to the Oktyabrsky plant in Ulyanovsk.

Ulyanovsk plant successfully distributed the horse of the breedpercheron. Photos and prices of sold "Ulyanovsk French" could be seen in all known horse markets. However, in 2011, the plant went bankrupt, and the court sold the percherons for debts.

The stud farm in Tambov has been engaged in Percherons since the 60s of the last century. There were 26 horses of this breed at this plant. The stud farms of Voronezh and Bryansk were also engaged in their breeding.

As a result of the breeding of Percherons by Russian stud farms, the following new breed lines emerged: Ixoda, Apra and Bardadyma, Vyuitry. However, due to the lack of constant renewal of the breed, the last three lines were lost, and at the moment only Percherons from the Ixod line have survived.

For the growth or preservation of Percherons, regular updates and replenishment at the stud farm with Western Percheron stallions are needed. The most recent breeding replenishment was in 1991 at the Oktyabrsky plant in Ulyanovsk.

Russian percherons have a number of differences compared to Western ones, which are larger and stronger. With the right crossbreeding of such breed lines, it is possible to improve the quality of new horses of the Russian Percheron line.

Coordination of the distribution of the breed at the level of factories on a large scale in Russia at the moment practically does not occur. Percherons are bred and raised by private breeders and hobbyists. This reduces their number in Russia, but at the same time increases their value.

Cost

At the moment, you can buy a Percheron horse in any country in the world. The price for it at the age of 5-10 years is on average8-10 thousand dollars. The cost of a foal for 6 months will be cheaper. - 1.5 g, but it must be grown up he althy and properly educated, which will also add costs. The percheron horse will cost more, the photo, description and pedigree of which prove the presence of famous horses of this breed in the family.

They are sold by both breeding breeders and individuals. The price depends not only on the age and condition of the horse, but also on the purity of the breed, the conditions of the seller and other related factors.

Development of Percherons

Mares of Percheron breed perfectly bear foals. From lighter and less massive species, excellent foals are born for hunting or for sport. All foals of percherons, as well as heavy trucks, have late maturation. A foal has a childhood period of up to 2 years.

Percheron foals need enough nutrition and lots of movement. They must walk a lot in the sun and air, only in this case they will form the correct physical constitution and develop the bone structure.

Percheron foals can stay outdoors for a long time and eat pasture grass. They quickly adapt to new conditions, and the period of adaptation and acclimatization passes very quickly, sometimes even imperceptibly.

Modern Percherons

At the end of the 20th century in St. Petersburg, 7 French Percherons appeared in the B altika company. A team of 4 huge gray horses rides around the city with a large barrel in the form of an original advertisement for the B altika company. The company has 3 mares for procreation.

Percherons have proven themselves in the circus. They are wonderful performers: spectacular, powerful, beautiful, at the same time graceful and graceful in movement. In Russia, for example, the 21-year-old white percheron Pompey has been performing in the arena for many years. The well-known tightrope walker Shanikova Ya. superbly shows the number with hoops with him.

Regardless of what the name of the breeds of horses is and what fame they have, any of them is part of an interesting, multifaceted and educational world that immerses everyone in the good. The horse is an assistant on the field, a comrade in battle, a doctor for depression and cerebral palsy, and also a reliable friend.