Photo: INRA DIST · CC BY 2.0 horse breed · 671 on Animalso
Percheron
- Animal
- Horse
- Type
- Draft horse
- Origin
- France
- Height
- 170 cm
- Weight
- 850 kg
About the Percheron
The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in western France, part of the former Perche province, from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray or black in color, Percherons are well-muscled, and known for their intelligence and willingness to work. Although their exact origins are unknown, the ancestors of the breed were present in the valley by the 17th century. They are believed to descend from war horses. Over time, they began to be used for pulling stagecoaches; and later, for agriculture and hauling heavy goods. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Arabian blood was added to the breed. Exports of Percherons from France rose rapidly in the late 19th century, and the first purely Percheron stud book was created in France in 1893.
More horse breeds from France
Angevin horse France Photo: Eugène Gayot · Public domain 
Anglo-Norman horse France Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor · Public domain 
AQPS France Photo: Tsaag Valren · CC BY-SA 4.0 
Berrichon horse France Height 1.58 cm Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor · Public domain 
Bidet breton France Photo: Revue Sport universel illustré · Public domain Other draft horse breeds
Brennou horse France Photo: Eugène Gayot · Public domain 
Carrossier noir du Cotentin France Height 1.5 cm Photo: L. Moll & Eug. Gayot · Public domain 
Cauchois horse France Photo: Théodore Géricault · Public domain 
Charentais horse France Photo: Rélier Léonard · Public domain Photo credits17 photographs on this page
- Percheron — INRA DIST · CC BY 2.0 · file page
- Angevin horse — Eugène Gayot · Public domain · file page
- Anglo-Norman horse — Wikimedia Commons contributor · Public domain · file page
- AQPS — Tsaag Valren · CC BY-SA 4.0 · file page
- Auvergne horse — Stephanemartin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · file page
- Auxois — Cjp24 crop by Peli · CC BY 3.0 · file page
- Barraquand horse — Michael Barbereau WMFr · CC BY-SA 4.0 · file page
- Berrichon horse — Wikimedia Commons contributor · Public domain · file page
- Bidet breton — Revue Sport universel illustré · Public domain · file page
- Boulonnais — Amélie Tsaag Valren · CC BY-SA 4.0 · file page
- Brennou horse — Eugène Gayot · Public domain · file page
- Breton horse — Goulwena MOEL · CC BY-SA 3.0 · file page
- Camargue horse — Peter Broster · CC BY 3.0 · file page
- Carrossier noir du Cotentin — L. Moll & Eug. Gayot · Public domain · file page
- Castillonnais — Tylwyth Eldar · CC BY-SA 4.0 · file page
- Cauchois horse — Théodore Géricault · Public domain · file page
- Charentais horse — Rélier Léonard · Public domain · file page
Photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under the licence each one names. How Animalso credits photographs.