Canadian horse facts for kids
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| Alternative names | French Canadian Horse |
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| Country of origin | Canada |
| Breed standards | |
| Canadian Horse Breeders Association | Breed standards |
| Canadian Horse Heritage and Preservation Society | Breed standards |
| Horse (Equus ferus caballus) | |
The Canadian horse (called cheval Canadien in French) is a special horse breed from Canada. It's known for being strong and muscular, and usually has a dark coat. People often use these horses for riding and pulling carriages.
This breed came from horses brought to Canada in the late 1600s by King Louis XIV of France. Over time, they mixed with other British and American horse breeds. In the 1700s, Canadian horses became popular in the northeastern United States. They even helped create several new horse breeds there.
At one point, there were three main types of Canadian horses: a strong draft type, a trotting type, and a pacing type. In the 1800s, thousands of Canadian horses were sent to other countries. Many were used as cavalry horses during the American Civil War, and sadly, many died. Because so many were exported, the number of purebred Canadian horses dropped very low. This led to rules being made to protect them, like creating a special book to record purebred horses.
In the early 1900s, special breeding programs helped the breed grow again. But then, new machines like cars and tractors became popular, and two world wars happened. This caused the Canadian horse population to drop again, almost to extinction. In the 1980s, people who loved the breed started a program to promote it. This made more people interested in the Canadian horse. By the 1990s, their numbers were higher. Studies in 1998 and 2012 showed that even though there weren't many of them, they had a good mix of genes, which is important for a healthy breed. However, groups that protect animals still say the Canadian horse is at risk because its population is still quite small.
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What Makes the Canadian Horse Special?
Most Canadian Horses are dark. They are usually black, bay, or brown. You might also find a few chestnut horses, sometimes with lighter manes and tails. Very rarely, you might see a grey Canadian horse.
These horses are usually about 14 to 16.2 hands tall. Stallions (male horses) weigh about 1,050 to 1,350 pounds (476 to 612 kg). Mares (female horses) weigh a bit less, around 1,000 to 1,250 pounds (454 to 567 kg).
Looks and Personality
The Canadian horse has a short head that sits high, with a wide forehead. Their neck is curved and elegant. Their chest, back, and hips are wide and very strong. Their shoulders and rear slope gently, and their tail is set fairly high. Overall, they look strong and quick. Their thick, wavy mane and tail, curved necks, and finely shaped heads remind people of Andalusian and Barb horses. Their trot (a type of horse gait) is quite showy.
Canadian horses are also very tough and "easy keepers," meaning they don't need a lot of special food to stay healthy. Today, most Canadian horses are used for riding and driving. They are also known for being good at jumping. You can see them in many different horse sports, as well as for fun riding. They can also do light farm work, trail riding, and work as stock horses on ranches.
How Canadian Horses Get Their Names
Unlike many other breeds, Canadian horses have a special naming system. Their name starts with a prefix from the farm where the foal (baby horse) was born. Then comes the father's (sire's) name, and finally, the foal's own name. Each year, a different letter of the alphabet is chosen for the foal's name to start with. This helps keep track of which year a horse was born. Older horses might not follow this rule, but it's now required for all new purebred Canadian horses. In the past, horses were identified by tattoos, but now they use microchipping.
History of the Canadian Horse
The Canadian Horse's story began with horses sent to Canada by King Louis XIV in the late 1600s. The first group arrived in 1665. It included two stallions (male horses) and twenty mares (female horses) from the Royal Stables in France. Only 12 mares survived the long trip. Two more groups of horses followed in 1667 and 1670. These horses were a mix of strong draft horses and lighter riding horses. Some could pace, and others could trot. We don't know exactly where all these horses came from, but they probably included Bretons, Normans, Arabians, Andalusians, and Barbs.
The king would let farmers or religious groups use these horses. The horses stayed the king's property for three years. Even though conditions were tough, the horses did very well in Canada. They were even nicknamed "the little iron horse" and "the horse of steel." Their numbers grew quickly. By 1709, there were so many that the government tried to limit how many horses farmers could own.
During the 1700s, the "French Canadian Horse" spread through parts of what is now Michigan and Illinois in the United States. Many lived wild. During the Expulsion of the Acadians in the mid-1700s, the English took the Acadian's animals, including horses. Some of these horses were sent to Sable Island, and their descendants became the Sable Island horse. In the late 1700s, Canadian horses were bred with horses imported from the US and Britain. By the 1800s, they were used for light farm work, riding, and driving. A famous Canadian painter named Cornelius Krieghoff often painted Canadian horses, showing them as hardworking animals, especially in winter scenes.
In 1849, there were thought to be over 150,000 Canadian horses. Many were sent out of Canada every year. Some went to the West Indies, where they might have helped create gaited breeds like the Paso Fino. By the mid-1800s, Canadian horses were common in the northeastern US. They were used for racing, as roadsters (horses used for fast driving), and for pulling heavy wagons and stagecoaches because they had so much stamina. They also helped develop other breeds like the Morgan horse, the American Saddlebred, and the Standardbred.
Thousands of Canadian horses were used as artillery and cavalry horses during the American Civil War. Many of them died. One horse historian even said that the North won the war partly because their soldiers had better horses – the Canadian horse.
Saving the Breed
By 1880, due to exports and war, Canadian horses were almost gone. In 1885, the Canadian Horse Breeders Association was formed to help save the breed. They started a special book to record purebred horses. In 1886, a law in Quebec made it illegal to export Canadian horses.
In 1913, the Canadian government started a breeding program to make the horses bigger while keeping their famous endurance. They succeeded in making stallions taller and heavier. However, new machines and the two World Wars caused the program to end in 1940. All the breeding horses were sold. But the province of Quebec started the program again, which lasted until 1979.
From the 1970s to Today
By the 1970s, the Canadian horse was not very popular, and there were only about 400 worldwide. Only a few new horses were registered each year. But some dedicated breeders started a campaign to save and promote the breed. This led to a Canadian team winning a big driving competition in 1987.
The breed's popularity began to grow. By the mid-1990s, there were between 2,500 and 3,000 Canadian horses. The Livestock Conservancy, a group that tracks rare breeds, changed the Canadian horse's status from "critical" to "rare." As the breed became more popular, some people wanted to change its look to fit modern show trends. In response, the Canadian Horse Heritage and Preservation Society was formed in 2002 to protect the original type of Canadian horse.
The Canadian Horse Breeders Association is still the official group that registers Canadian horses. They make sure that only purebred horses are recorded. In 2012, 208 new Canadian horses were registered, mostly in Quebec. The Livestock Conservancy still considers the breed "threatened." This means there are fewer than 5,000 of them worldwide. Rare Breeds Canada also says the breed is at risk.
Studies of horse DNA have shown that the Canadian horse has a lot of different genes, which is good for a small breed. This means they are healthy and not too closely related to each other. The Canadian horse is related to strong draft horse breeds like the Percheron and Clydesdale.
The Canadian horse is an important symbol of Canada. In 1909, the Canadian Parliament declared it the national breed. In 2002, it became an official animal symbol of Canada by law. In 2010, the province of Quebec named it a heritage breed.
Canadian Horse Sub-types
At the time when the Canadian horse was most popular, there were three main types. These types are now considered to have disappeared or merged back into the main Canadian horse population.
Canadian Pacer
One important type was the Canadian Pacer. These horses were probably a mix of pacing horses from France and Narragansett Pacers from New England. They were famous for being able to race on ice. Many were sent to the United States. The Canadian Pacer influenced the Tennessee Walker, the American Saddlebred, and the Standardbred breeds.
The fastest Canadian Pacers were called "Canucks." They came from Quebec, near the St. Lawrence River. People started racing them during the long, cold winters. These races often happened on the smooth, frozen rivers, which were perfect racetracks. This made the pacers from Quebec very famous.
Several Canadian horses brought to the United States had a big impact on American horse breeding. For example, a roan-colored stallion named Copperbottom came to Kentucky in the early 1800s. He became a popular breeding horse, and his offspring spread across the eastern US. Another roan stallion, Tom Hal, was a successful pacer himself. He started an important family of pacers in the US. His descendants included famous harness racing horses like Little Brown Jug and Adios. Another important pacing horse from Canada was a black stallion named Old Pilot, who started the Pilot family of trotting horses.
Images for kids
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A Canadian Horse
