The Canadian has a well-proportioned body and sturdy legs with good bone. Lazy D Ranch
Canadian Horse Breeder’s Association
59 rue Monfette Suite #108
Victoriaville, Quebec G6P 1JA, Canada
www.lechevalcanadien.ca
“Big, brave heart.” “More athletic than a warmblood, calmer than a sport horse, faster learning than a hot blood, and more beautiful than any breed I have ever met!” “Very hard to find equals in other breeds.” These are some of the comments recorded by judges about the incredible Canadian horse.
Despite such glowing reviews, the Canadian breed may be one of the best kept secrets of the century. It is an unsung hero in the development of the United States and a horse well known to North American colonists. Although a major contributor to Central American horse breeds, today even many Canadian residents are unaware of the breed. It is a 340-year-old Canadian secret.
The Canadian Horse can be called a general utility animal, with strength and endurance that is legendary. It is said that the Canadian is capable of generating more power per hundred pounds of body weight than any other breed. This low maintenance animal is intelligent, willing, incredibly athletic, and sound. It is a hardy breed and easily lives up to its nickname, “the Little Iron Horse.”
History
The Canadian Horse, or Le Cheval Canadien, originated from horses sent to Quebec in 1665 by King Louis XIV, who instructed that only the best animals of the kingdom be sent. Thus the two stallions and twenty mares that went to New France (Canada) were from his Royal Stables of Normandy and Brittany, which at that time were the two most renowned horse breeding provinces of France. He also sent additional shipments in 1667 and in 1670, which together formed the basis of the new breed, called the French Canadian horse of the Old Regime. The Old English name for it was simply French Canadian horse.
The horses that were sent were of Breton, French Norman, Arabian, Andalusian, and Spanish Barb descent. The heavy Breton draft horse, although small, was noted for its soundness and vigor. The Norman horse closely resembled the Breton, but gave more evidence of infusion of oriental blood, possibly Arabian, Turkish, or Barb. Most likely the French Canadian descended from Andalusian sires brought into Normandy and La Perche (habitat of the Percheron breed) for breeding purposes.*
As a general purpose horse, the French Canadian was unsurpassed, useful both on the winter roads of Lower Canada and in light farm work. It was once remarked that the habitants would “never possess a better or more suitable breed of horse for this country than the real Canadian of good size.”
After almost one hundred years in Canada, the breed’s appearance was scarcely altered from its prototype, as it still closely resembled the Norman and Percheron. Until the British conquest of 1780, the French Canadian bred true to form without any mixture of foreign horses. After the conquest, other horses began to be imported from the British Isles and the United States in increasing numbers. These horses were crossed with the French Canadian and contributed to the development of new, distinctive varieties within Lower Canada, as well as diversification of the entire Canadian horse population.
New settlements that were established by the loyalists in 1784 in the future Upper Canada obtained most of their horses from the St. Lawrence Valley rather than from the United States. The result was that the French Canadian horse came to provide the foundation for the later development of the common horses of Upper Canada.
In the United States
About the time of the American Revolution, the Canadian was becoming very well known. Many (perhaps most) of the French Canadian horses were sold or traded to northern New England freighters or farmers. Articles written in New England in the 1700s and early 1800s praised the Canadian Horse. The historian Taillon described the Canadian as not only a sturdy and versatile steed, but also as being “small, but robust, hocks of steel, thick mane floating in the wind, bright and lively eyes . . . spirited, gentle. . . .”
The distribution of the horses broadened to include the western settlements in Detroit, Illinois, and the Great Plains, where they mixed with feral horses. Others spread to further destinations, such as those Benedict Arnold drove from Quebec over the ice of Lake Champlain to be shipped to the West Indies. Those that did reach the West Indies met with favor, for they could stand the climate better than either American or British horses. It is believed they contributed to the paso gaited breeds there.
Numerous French Canadian horses were also brought to the western part of Vermont. Within a few years (probably before the War of 1812 and certainly before 1820), they interbred to a considerable extent with the nondescript local horses.
The result was that by the 1820s and 1830s, New England’s horses became so noted for their strength, endurance, and freedom from disease that the operators of the celebrated line of stages running between Boston and Portland preferred them above all others. Their popularity with the drivers was legendary.*
The trade southward for French Canadian horses continued actively up until the outbreak of the War of 1812, and then resumed and grew rapidly afterwards. The Canadian continued to be known as a driving horse in the northern states in the mid 1800s, and it was considered a prize to own one. Droves were collected by American dealers each year, mostly at Montreal, Quebec City, Trois-Rivieres (the Eastern Townships), and Lower Canada. In 1849, William Evans remarked, “There is a constant market at Montreal and other places for the sale of Canadian horses . . . to . . . the United States.” By that time, the Canadian Horse numbered more than 150,000.
The purebred Canadian horse as it existed in 1850 was scarcely altered from its breed type of one hundred years before. Although there were considerable variations within the pure French Canadian breed, all of its members still had a clearly impressed general character stamped on each. Thus there was no disagreement among observers as to what the typical French Canadian horse of the mid nineteenth century was like. In spite of more than a century of separate breeding, it still very closely resembled the small horse of Normandy and the Percheron. When Edward Harris of Moorestown, New Jersey, the importer of the first Percherons brought to the United States, was looking for a way to describe the diligence of a Percheron, he stated, “Those who are acquainted with the thorough-bred Canadian Horse, will see in him a perfect model, on a small scale, of the Percheron horse.” Edward A. Barnard, director of agriculture for the province of Quebec, writing in the early 1880s, was of the same opinion: “We know from experience in France, that they [the Percherons] are as good a breed as can be found of their size and they resemble the French-Canadian horse more closely than any other breed in the world.”*
So great was the drain into the United States of the pure Canadian Horse, particularly during the American Civil War, that numbers in Canada were reduced alarmingly.* The Canadian horse played a major role in the history of that war; it has even been said that the North won simply on the fact that its soldiers had the better horse—the Canadian. Its primary role was being an artillery mount due to its versatility as a riding/driving horse and its endurance, strength, quiet disposition (important traits under battle conditions), and easy-keeping tendencies when given minimal forage. It was also used extensively as a cavalry mount. The Canadian was the true warhorse, but was never recognized as such. Some suggest that the Canadian’s fatalities in the American Civil War contributed greatly to the breed’s rapid decline in numbers throughout the late 1800s from its previously high population.
After hard use, sparse feed, and extreme weather conditions, the Canadian developed into the easy-keeping, strong, and hardy animal, fulfilling its reputation today as the Little Iron Horse.
Breed Influence
As the greatest contributor to the development of the common stock of Quebec, the French Canadian horse is worthy of the lasting respect of breeders and historians.* Even comparatively inferior Canadian sires had the capacity of improving the common stock. With the use of average or superior stallions, the results were often surprising, as George Barnard pointed out: “Many of our best, and some of our largest horses in this district [the Eastern Townships,] are out of common mares of less than 15 hands and got by Canadians of 14 [hands]. The offspring of such often grow to 15½ and sometimes to 16 hands and are both heavy and agile. The loss of the coarser marks of the parents in these crosses is sometimes astonishing.” Lower Canada was the only place where such stallions could be obtained, for the French Canadian horse was almost never bred in its purity in the United States.
Beneficial results of crossing the Canadian with the ordinary stock of the adjacent United States were universally admitted. In America, it was surpassed only by the Thoroughbred as a contributor to the development of the leading breeds at the end of the nineteenth century.
Breeders from Kentucky reported in 1853 that there had been “recently imported from Canada the Norman French horse and others from Vermont of the same breed, which have been crossed on our English race mare, and produced a most valuable stock.”
In 1830, it was reported that most of the trotters in the northern United States were of French Canadian origin. Perhaps the most important debtors to the Canadian were the families of Standardbreds, whether trotters or pacers. “The American trotting horse is an American creation,” states an article in the National Live Stock Journal in 1881, “[which] has been taken from various sources, but more lately from the short, quick-stepping French Canadians than from any other source. We run against the Canuck blood almost everywhere in our trotting pedigrees. . . . The Kentucky trotting pedigrees are full of it. . . . New York trotting pedigrees are full of it. . . . The New England pedigrees are full of it . . . and on Maine-bred horses, you encounter this Canuck blood on almost every page.”
As well as the Standardbred, many purebred French Canadian horses were entered into the early studbook of the American Saddlebred. Foundation sires of these breeds were often pure Canadian or were mated to Canadian mares. The Tennessee Walking Horse and Missouri Fox Trotter can also claim Canadian ancestry.
Additionally, it was in the early studbook of the Morgan, which certainly had a considerable amount of French Canadian blood. This is indicated by specific characteristics, such as the excellent legs and feet, and above all by the heavy, crimpy mane and tail.* Harris wrote in 1842 that French Canadian horses “are well known and highly prized in this section of the country [New Jersey], and still more to the north, where they have, undoubtedly, given . . . stamina and character to the horses of Vermont.”* (Vermont is homeland of the Morgan.)
In Michigan, the French Canadian horse preserved its identity for much longer than in Illinois. It seems to have remained entirely in the hands of the Old French settlers around Detroit, perhaps on account of a prejudice against it from others, who considered it a poor man’s horse. As late as 1872, a Detroit historian, writing about the French settlers’ horses, affirmed that “they receive literally no care whatever and roam in bands, scouring along the roads with the speed of liberty.”*
In the nineteenth century, throughout Upper Canada and the states of the Old Northwest, as well as in the Native American areas of the upper Mississippi Valley and the Canadian Northwest, there was a considerable intermixture of the blood of the French Canadian Horse with that of southwestern plains mustangs. Those found in Upper Canada in the 1820s and 1830s, especially among the Mohawks along the Grand River, represented one extreme. They were smaller than typical French Canadian horses, being under 13 hands, but in other respects they resembled Canadians so closely that it was difficult to identify any trace of mustang inheritance. At the end of the nineteenth century, the superiority of the northern Indian pony to the pure bronco in disposition, intelligence, and conformation was ascribed to the fact that the former was partly French Canadian in origin.*
Registry
Toward the end of the nineteenth century, however, the breed was in extreme danger of extinction. Due to the desire for large draft breeds and the advent of farm machinery, their numbers dwindled. A few concerned Canadian horse admirers tried to preserve what remained. They produced the first studbook in 1886 and founded the Canadian Horse Breed Registry, which has been administered by the Canadian Livestock Records Corporation since 1904.
In 1907, the Canadian federal government livestock commissioner started a new stud book with improved standards and formal inspections. Entries were permitted only to stallions and mares that could meet the newly defined standards. By late 1908, the studbook was officially closed to the addition of foundation stock. In the next year, a total of 2,528 horses had been presented for registration, but the commission saw fit to approve only 134 stallions and 835 mares, rejecting no less than 345 animals that had been in the previous studbook of 1886.*
Unfortunately, only horses primarily in Quebec were inspected, with some limited inspections possibly done in Ontario. There was neither adequate time nor funds to inspect horses elsewhere in Canada (particularly in the Prairies and Maritimes, where there was known to be quite a few Canadian Horses). Thus it occurred that Canadian Horses existed throughout North America, but were not recognized in the official stud book This, coupled with the advent of mechanization, eventually lead to the nearly complete disappearance of the Canadian Horse everywhere outside of Quebec and Ontario throughout the century.
In 1913, the Canadian Ministry of Agriculture set up a breeding program at Cap-Rouge, Quebec, where one of the foundation stallions was used for breeding. By the 1940s, eight bloodlines were established to supply uniformity of size, style, conformation, and vitality. When the federal government was occupied with the war, it closed down the operation in 1940 and sold off the breeding stock. The Quebec government reestablished the stud under the provincial department of agriculture at Deschambault, Quebec.
In the 1970s, the Canadian was once again threatened by extinction with less than four hundred registered horses in total and less than five registrations per year. Eleven years later, the Deschambault Research Station was closed and all stock sold at public auction. At this time, the peril of the breed was recognized and a concerted effort was made by diligent breeders to bring the Canadian back from the verge of extinction.
In 1991, when promotion of the Canadian Horses at Spruce Meadows and the Calgary Stampede began, there were only 1,500 Canadian Horses in existence. The breed status was classified as critical and endangered by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Since that time, the breed has steadily grown in numbers. With the increased numbers, the Canadian was upgraded from critical to the rare category. Today, the Canadian Horse is growing in popularity across North America, but the demand far exceeds the availability of these still rare horses, which number about four thousand.
This horse became one of the very few breeds granted breed status in Canada. In 1999, the Canadian breed was made the official heritage horse of Quebec. During this time, Canadian horse owners and admirers across the country united in strong support, lobbying for the breed to be recognized as the national horse of Canada. Never before had Canadian Horse enthusiasts, owners, and politicians pulled together in such a dedicated expression of patriotism and unity for this much loved breed. In 2002, the bill received royal assent and was made law. The Canadian is now officially the national horse of Canada, a long overdue and well deserved honor. The 340-year-old Canadian secret has finally been uncovered.
Breed Qualities
The Canadian exhibits power, agility, finesse, strength, vigor, and natural balance. It is elegant and noble in carriage and movement. Bones are dense and clean; joints are lean and clean. Its joints bend freely and have lots of action. It is an enthusiastic, but gentle horse, being versatile, easy-keeping, resistant to disease, and strong, as well as known for its endurance and robustness. Mares are extraordinarily fertile and reproduce regularly until the age of twenty or older.
Canadian horses have fine heads and arched necks, along with long, thick, and often wavy tails and manes. They have sturdy legs with good bone and exceptionally hard, strong feet.
Good natured and truly versatile, the Canadian can be found doing almost any type of equine discipline. Perhaps best known for their driving ability, Canadian horses have won many prestigious driving awards throughout North America and in Europe. Generally easy to handle, their calmness, hardworking nature, and people oriented personality make the Canadian Horse ideal for use in the tourism industry. They pull carriages and are used as backcountry trail horses in the mountain parks. Some serve on the Montreal and Calgary City police forces and are used for mounted patrol.
This young Canadian mare displays the breed’s agility, finesse, and vigor. Jacqueline Kinsey
The Canadian’s strength and docility make it ideal for dressage, hunter/jumper competitions, eventing, driving, endurance riding, packing, ranch work, and logging.
Standards
As a general purpose animal, the Canadian shows a well proportioned body, good setting of limbs, sturdy legs with good bone, and has exceptionally hard, strong feet. The forearm and gaskin are especially well muscled. The mane and tail are thick, long, and usually wavy.
Canadians are recognizable by their finely chiseled heads and arched necks. The head shows intelligence, spirit, and no excess of nervousness.
Generally, the Canadian Horse is black, but colors also range from bay or brown to light chestnut. Although there once were gray horses in the breed, it appears that the gene for gray coloration was lost when the breed numbers became severely depleted during the 1970s.
Stallions should weigh from 1,050 to 1,350 pounds, and mares from 1,000 to 1,250.
Canadians should exhibit:
• Head: square, or rather shorter than longer, with all over straight lines; lean, carried high and slanting from the bottom and from back to front; forehead and face are broad and flat
• Ears: set well apart, thin, mobile, and rather shorter than longer
• Eyes: wide apart, flush with head (neither sunken nor protruding); large, moderately convex, bright, kind, and active; eyelids are thin, distinct, clean, and mobile
• Nostrils: large, mobile, and wide apart
• Lips: thin, firm, mobile, and covered in delicate skin
• Mouth: rather small
• Jaw: slightly wide through the jaw and broad at the lower angle, with a wide, lean, well hollowed jaw cavity
• Cheeks: well developed, firm but lean
• Throat: medium width across; throatlatch slightly smaller
• Neck: fairly arched, broad at base and narrower at the top, medium length, sides slightly rounded and firmly muscled, elegantly attached to head and gracefully merging into shoulders
• Mane: proud mane with an abundance of long, fine, wavy hair
• Chest: broad and deep, girth well developed; large, protruding and firmly muscled breast
• Ribs: long, broad, well arched
• Withers: lean, large at the base, thin at the top; clean, long, slightly raised and extending toward the rear
• Back: strong, straight, well proportioned, broad, and short
• Loins: broad, well proportioned to back, well attached to croup, and strongly muscled
• Belly: well supported and melding with curve of ribs and with short, well-rounded flanks
• Shoulders: long, sloping, and well muscled
• Forearms and elbows: long, in right direction, with firm covering of muscles; elbows broad, parallel to axis of body, as well as being set apart
• Knees: lean, long, broad, substantial, clean, and bending neither inward nor outward
• Front cannons: short, flat, substantial, lean, clean, and perpendicular, with tendons well detached
• Fetlocks: broad, substantial, lean, and clean; hair acceptable
• Front pasterns: substantial, average length, moderately sloping
• Front feet: average size, standing squarely, frontline following angle of pastern, and heels open; equal size, landing vertically on the ground; hollow sole and thick wall; well-developed fork
• Hips: slightly protruding and symmetrical
• Croup: average; fairly broad, slightly sloped, and well muscled
• Tail: large at root, attached rather high, and carried well, with abundance of fine, long hair
• Buttocks: broad and substantial, with strong well developed loin muscles
• Stifles: clean, close to belly, and turned slightly outward
• Thighs: descending as close to hock as possible; firm, dense, and well muscled
• Legs: long, heavy but not plump, well-developed muscles, and slightly bowed to the outside, with heavy cord well-detached from bone
• Hocks: clean, lean, wide, substantial, flat-faced, parallel to incline of body, and flexible
• Back cannons: short, broad, flat, lean, clean, and perpendicular; tendons well separated from bones; large and firm
• Back pasterns: broad, substantial, lean, clean, long, and slightly sloping
• Back feet: same size and qualities as front feet, but less developed with more of an oval shape and with higher and more spread-apart heels
• Height: 14 to 16 hands, although during the survey taken in 2000, the majority of responding members considered the ideal size for the Canadian horse to be between 15 and 16 hands
• Weight: proportionate to horse
• Silhouette: showing power and health, as well as agility through perfect alignment of the horse’s various components that are well balanced and of good quality
• Finesse: simultaneously showing quality and strength; coat soft and shining, mane thick and long, skin soft and elastic, bones dense and clean, joints lean and clean
• Gaits: free and vigorous movement; hocks, knees, fetlocks, pasterns all bending well in higher movements; harmonious
• Appearance: graceful gait and carriage, symmetrical shape, standing squarely
• Temperament: energetic and spirited without nervousness; calm and docile
• Colors: black, chestnut, bay, and dark brown
* Jones, Robert Leslie. “The Old French Canadian Horse: Its History in Canada And The United States,” The Canadian Historical Review 28(2): 125–155.
Credits: Canadian Horse Breeders Group, Rocky Mountain District; Canadian Horse Breeders Association; Lazy D Ranch; Gary and Elaine Ayre; Tammie and Dennis Dyck; Tammie Eastman; Dave Flato; and Yvonne Hillsden