Horses in Brittany
equine culture in Britanny
Horses in Brittany have a clear historical, economic and cultural importance, since their introduction often attributed to the Celts. In Brittany, the horse, generally a Breton bidet, was mainly used as a saddle animal until the middle of the 19th century. As roads improved, most breeders specialized in draft horses and carriage horses. They mainly settled in the west, in Basse-Bretagne, Trégor and Léon. The Breton draft horse, a renowned working animal, was exported in large numbers from Landivisiau in the early 20th century.
Horse breeding in Brittany also involved light breeds, notably the racehorses that sprang up with the proliferation of racecourses, in particular the Corlay horse. While Breton draft horse breeding remains predominant, equestrian sports are now well established. Once the draft horse of farmers and an auxiliary of the armed forces, the horse's role has changed, but it still evokes a strong attachment. Brittany boasts five equestrian centers, including the Haras Nationaux de Lamballe and d'Hennebont. The horse is at the heart of many Breton traditions, including pardons, tales, legends and songs.
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This entry incorporates text from “Horses in Brittany” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.