Ardennes Horse - Uses

Uses

Horses from the Ardennes region were used in the Crusades in the 11th century by knights led by Godfrey of Bouillon. They were used during the 17th century by Marshal Turenne as remounts for his cavalry. In the French Revolution, they were considered to be the best artillery horse available, due to their temperament, stamina and strength. Napoleon used large numbers of Ardennes horses to pull artillery and transport supplies during his 1812 Russian campaign. They were said to be the only breed used by Napoleon that was hardy enough to withstand the winter retreat from Moscow, which they did while pulling a large amount of the army's wagon train. They were also used to pull artillery in World War I, when they were depended upon by the French and Belgian armies. Their calm, tolerant disposition, combined with their active and flexible nature, made them an ideal artillery horse. The breed was considered so useful and valuable that when the Germans established the Commission for the Purchase of Horses in October 1914 to capture Belgian horses, the Ardennes was one of two breeds specified as important, the other being the Brabant.

Today, the breed is used mainly for meat, due to its extensive musculature. Horse meat is a dietary staple in many European countries, including France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland. However, they are increasingly used for farm, forest and leisure work. Their nimble action, stamina and good temper make them increasingly used for competitive driving across Europe, and they have also been used as mounts for therapeutic horseback riding. The breed is known for its ability to work in rough, hilly terrain.

Ardennes horses have been used as foundation bloodstock to develop several other draft horse breeds and subgroups. These include the Baltic Ardennes and Russian Heavy Draft. The Swedish Ardennes is well established in that country, where it is in demand for use in forestry. It was first recognized as a separate sub-group in the 19th century, but today is considered a separate breed, even though its ancestry is entirely from the Ardennes horses of Belgium and France. Another closely related breed is the Auxois. Ardennes horses were also used in the 1920s to improve the Comtois by adding size. Along with the Breton and the Anglo-Norman, the Ardennes horse was used to create the Sokolsky horse. Similarly, the Trait Du Nord was created through a mixture of Ardennes and Belgian blood.