Poitou Donkey - History

History

The exact origins of the Poitou are unknown, but donkeys and their use in the breeding of mules may have been introduced to the Poitou region of France by the Roman Empire. The baudet de Poitou (donkey of Poitou), and the Mulassière (mule breeder) horse breed (also known as the Poitevin) were developed together for the use of producing superior mules. In the Middle Ages, owning a Poitou donkey may have been a status symbol among the local French nobility. It is not known when the Poitou's distinctive characteristics were gained but they seem to have been well-developed by 1717 when an advisor to King Louis XV described:

There is found, in northern Poitou, donkeys which are as tall as large mules. They are almost completely covered in hair a half-foot long with legs and joints as large as a those of a carriage horse.

In the mid-1800s, Poitou mules were "regarded as the finest and strongest in France", and between 15,000 and 18,000 were sold annually. In 1884, a studbook was established for the Poitou donkey in France. During the first half of the 20th century, the mules bred by the Poitou and the Poitevin continued to be desired throughout Europe, and were called the "finest working mule in the world". Purchasers paid higher prices for Poitou mules than for other mules, and up to 30,000 mules were bred annually in the Poitou region, with some estimates putting the number as high as 50,000. As mechanization increased around World War II, mules became outmoded, and population numbers for both mules and donkeys dropped dramatically.

Poitou donkey and mule breeders were extremely protective of their breeding practices, some of which were "highly unusual and misguided." Jacks were kept in closed-in stalls throughout the year once they had begun covering mares, in often unhygienic conditions. Once the mares had been covered, a folk belief held that if they were underfed, they would produce colts, which were more valuable, rather than fillies. This often led to mares being starved during their pregnancies. Colostrum, vital for foal development, was considered unhealthy and withheld from newborns. A lack of breeding records resulted in fertility problems, and there was a significant amount of foal mortality, due to jacks being used to cover horse mares before jennies of their own kind, resulting in late-born foals that were vulnerable to cold fall and winter temperatures. Despite these husbandry issues, one author, writing in 1883, stated that "mule-breeding is about the only branch of of agricultural industry in which France has no rival abroad, owing its prosperity entirely to the zeal of those engaged in it."