Boulonnais Horse - Breed Characteristics

Breed Characteristics

The Boulonnais today stands from 14.3 to 16.3 hands (59 to 67 inches, 150 to 170 cm) or more. It has a short, elegant head with a broad forehead and a short, muscular neck. Members of the breed have full chests, rounded rib cages and sloping shoulders. The legs are fairly short but robust and strong. Unlike other draft breeds such as the Shire or Clydesdale, it has no heavy feathering on its lower legs. The breed is generally branded with a small anchor mark on the left side of the neck. Due mostly to the many additions of Oriental blood, the Boulonnais has an elegant appearance that is not often seen in heavy draft breeds and it has been called "Europe's noblest draft horse". The fineness of the skin and delicate appearance of the veins has allowed the horse to be described as looking "like polished marble", leading to its "White Marble Horse" nickname.

In 1778, the French National Stud performed an initial survey of the breed and found that most were black or dark bay. During the 1800s, gray horses began to appear, and it was the predominating color by the end of the century. Gray became a popular color during this time due to the use of the horses to haul fish at night – gray horses were more visible in the dark, and therefore more valuable. In the later years of the 20th century, breeders again began to prefer darker colors such as bay and chestnut. Today, chestnut, gray and black are the only colors allowed by the French breed registry, with the vast majority of horses being gray – a popular phrase says that the horses have coats "the color of the clouds from the coast".