The Canadian:
This truly Canadian breed finally gets the recognition it
has earned -
by Jenniferr Jacula
On
The Canadian Horse descends from horses sent by the King of
France, Louis XIV, to the early settlers of
These horses were bred with no outside influence from other
breeds for 150 years. They survived great hardships, were given little or no
feed, forcing them to eat what they could find by foraging, even stripping bark
from trees. They were worked extremely hard, often working on the farm all day,
and racing under harness in the evening, sometimes on icy roads or over frozen
lakes. There were no warm barns, and the horses that lived through the extreme
weather conditions evolved into what the breed remains today -
Twice, the Canadian Horse has faced extinction; twice,
dedicated enthusiasts and breeders have brought it back. Today, the breed
numbers over 3,000 animals, and call almost every province in Canada home, as
well as several states, with a total of 165 animals in the U.S.
Characteristics of the breed include an upright, arching
neck, a proud head, large, strong forequarters, a short back, round barrel,
abundant mane and tail, large, flat bone and well-muscled legs, iron-hard feet
that resist chips, cracks, and disease, and a lively, but sensible, temperament.
The breed standard is between 14 and 16 hands high, and all Canadians are
chestnut, brown, bay, or black. The horses generally have few white markings.
They are above average in intelligence, and most are inquisitive, friendly, and
extraordinarily tough. Sickness, lameness, or reproductive problems are
practically unheard of. Most Canadians are very easy keepers, maintaining their
weight on less feed than what other, smaller breeds require.
Originally used as a driving, riding and farm horse, the
Canadian Horse has retained the qualities so admired by the settlers that
brought this horse across the continent. Extremely versatile, the Canadian
Horse can do it all. They excel at jumping, dressage, and three-day eventing, mountain riding and as pack horses, as well as
endurance and competitive trail, ranch work, western events, selective logging,
driving for pleasure and competition, farming, and recently, cavalry
re-enactments. Pound for pound, the Canadian Horse is perhaps the strongest
horse on the planet.
The Canadian Horse has contributed significantly to the
creation of other North American horse breeds. The Morgan Horse owes much of
its early development to the Canadian Horse, as does the Standardbred.
The Canadian Horse was used extensively in the American Civil War and many of
those horses escaped to join the ranks of the American Mustang. Through the
Morgan, Standardbred and Mustang, even the Quarter
Horse must take a bow to the contribution the Canadian Horse has made to North
American breeds.
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