Anglo Norman Horse

Anglo Norman Horse : The country of origin, of the Anglo-Norman horse, is France. It ancestries- Norman Draught horses are known for a thousand years. Ancient Romans crossed small, hardy Bidet horses with large mares to create a sturdy horse for war uses.

This heavy breed was crossed with German, Arab and Barb blood in the 1600s. Later the English Thoroughbred and the French Norfolk Trotter, which is now extinct, were crossed and they create the Anglo-Norman horse.

Precisely the Anglo-Norman horse was developed in Normandy in the 19th century by crossing Norfolk Trotter, Thoroughbred, and Arabian stallions with local mares. The needs of a draft and working animals reduced so that it became too great changes on the breeds. Because of the speed and stamina, a need for a lighter horse for riding and cavalry was more important, thus in many places in the world were made many crossbred combinations and new horse types. As all warmblood horses, they came in different sizes and weight carrying capacity.

Because of that, there is a weight classification, from which the horses that have the ability to carry a medium weight rider are the most numerous. There are also two types of Anglo-Norman a saddle type and a draft type. The breed includes many others that have been developed by careful line breeding, such as Nonius, Condor, Furioso II etc.

In the middle of the 20th century, the breeders all around France crossed regional breeds with the saddle type Anglo-Norman. The goal was to produce a horse that will have great abilities in speed, stamina, and agility. The efforts have paid off and the best sports horses in France appeared they were named - Le Cheval de Selle Francais - which means the French Saddle Horse.