Merlerault
.jpg) A Merlerault horse in 1852, in Encyclopédie pratique de l'agriculteur published by Firmin-Didot and Cie, t. 5, 1877. | |
| Other names | Merlerautin |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | France |
| Distribution | Le Merlerault |
| Use | To ride and tilbury pulling |
| Traits | |
| Height |
|
| Distinguishing features | A square head, shoulder well defined, short hindquarters, graceful legs. |
The Merlerault is a formerly common breed of horse that originated in the canton of Le Merlerault. Bred under the Old Regime, this reputedly elegant half-bred was used to ride and pull tilburys.
Names
[edit]Another common name for these horses is "Merlerautin".[1]
The breed is sometimes erroneously referred to as "Mellerauds", notably by M. Cardini, who also claims (incorrectly) that Merlerault horses were once raised semi-wild in the woods.
History
[edit]The Merlerault is the oldest known breeding cradle of horses in Normandy.[2][3] A breeding tradition has existed there for centuries,[4] with secular and religious guilds establishing stud farms as early as the Middle Ages.[5] However, according to Jacques Mulliez, the breed of this name is not that old,[6] despite traditions dating back to the Crusades or the Merovingian kings.
Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, designated the Le Merlerault region as Normandy's horse production center;[2][7] this first stud farm was replaced in 1730 by the Haras du Pin.[2]
According to Bernard Denis (2012), Merlerault horses are "probably an artificial breed" created by the nobility from purebred horses.[8] This breed was very popular at the end of the Old Regime.[8] Le Merlerault supplied the nobility with saddle horses in the 17th and 18th centuries.[4]
Description
[edit]
The Merlerault is an elegant half-breed[9] of medium size, with a square head on a well-set neck.[10] The shoulder is well defined, the hindquarters short, the legs graceful but sometimes a little spindly.[10] The hocks may lack sharpness, and the animal is lightly built, with broad shoulders, agility, and speed.[10]
Uses
[edit]The Merlerault horse is particularly suited to ride and tilbury pulling.[10]
Distribution
[edit]The breed originated in the Alençon area, particularly in the department of Orne.[11]
In the middle of the 19th century, the Merlerault was the second most numerous horse breed in Normandy after the Cotentin.[12]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Charnacé, Guy de (1869). Les races chevalines en France (in French). Paris: C. Delagrave.
- ^ a b c Frémont (1967, p. 56)
- ^ Frémont (1967, p. 50)
- ^ a b Frémont (1967, p. 103)
- ^ Frémont (1967, p. 55)
- ^ Mulliez, Jacques (1983). Les chevaux du royaume: histoire de l'élevage du cheval et de la création des haras (in French). Montalba. p. 56.
- ^ Du Hays (1866, p. 7)
- ^ a b Denis (2012)
- ^ Gast (1889, p. 41)
- ^ a b c d Moll & Gayot (1861, p. 609)
- ^ Odolant-Desnos, Joseph (1834). Orne; La France; description géographique, statistique et topographique (in French). chez Verdière.
- ^ Houël, Ephrem (1842). Traité des courses au trot (in French). Vol. 6. p. 3.
Bibliography
[edit]
- Denis, Bernard (2012). "Les races de chevaux en France au xviiie siècle. Et les idées relatives à leur amélioration". In Situ (in French) (18). doi:10.4000/insitu.9677.
- Du Hays, Charles (1866). Le Merlerault, ses herbages, ses éleveurs, ses chevaux, et le Haras du Pin-la Plaine d'Alençon-le Mesle-sur-Sarthe (in French). Paris: Librairie Agricole de la Maison Rustique.
- Frémont, Armand (1967). L'Élevage en Normandie : étude géographique (in French). Caen: Presses universitaires de Caen. ISBN 978-2-84133-480-3.
- Gast, Edmond (1889). Le cheval normand et ses origines : situation hippique de la France, étalons nationaux ; Orne, Calvados, Manche, différents élevages, généalogies, portraits ; courses au trot ; remontes militaires ; percherons... (in French). Paris: J. Rothschild.
- Mégnin, Jean-Pierre (1895). Le cheval et ses races: histoire des races à travers les siècles et races actuelles (in French). Vincennes Aux bureaux de l'Éleveur.
- Moll, Louis; Gayot, Eugène Nicolas (1861). La connaissance générale du cheval : études de zootechnie pratique, avec un atlas de 160 pages et de 103 figures (in French). Didot. ISBN 978-0274430161.