Postier Breton

Origin: Northwestern Brittany (France).

Color: Chestnut, bay, and roan (red, strawberry, and more rarely, blue).

Avg Height: 15.1 hh

Avg Weight: 1100 to 1700 lbs

Build: The square head of the Breton has a straight profile and should have large, open nostrils and bright, kindly eyes. The mobile ears are small and set rather low on the head. The neck follows the general outline of the body, being short, arched and thick. It runs into the shoulders that, although sloping, are shorter than might be expected. Nonetheless, the Breton is active, fast and free at the walk and trot. The outline is attractively short and square, with the body broad, strong and deep and the hindquarters showing great power. The limbs are short, strong and very muscular in the thighs and forearms. The hooves are well shaped, hard and not too large. The legs are virtually "clean", carrying little or no feather. It is customary for the tail of the Breton, like that of Norman Cob, to be docked. It is thought to give the horse a jaunty look and prevents the rein from becoming caught up under the tail. The Postier is smaller than the heavy draft.

Temperament: Docile and willing to work, but usually a little more lively than the heavier Bretons.

Main use: Breton Postiers, sharing the same stud book with the heavy drafts since 1926, are selectively bred, and are required to pass performance tests in harness. These tests are traditional events at festival days. The Postier Breton is still popular in France, and is exported to North Africa, Japan, Spain and Italy to be used as an improver of less-developed stock.

Special abilities: The Postiers inherit the exceptional energy at trot from the Percheron and Boulonnais, and are ideal for light draft and farm work.

History: The breeders of Brittany are as skillful as any in Europe. Since the Middle Ages, the area has produced its own distinctive, Breton types based on the primitive, small, hairy horses of the Black Mountains. At one time, there were four derivatives of the Breton, two pacers or amblers, a general purpose ride-and-drive and a heavier draft horse. The riding type was even raced at local meetings. This lighter variety of the Breton draft breed contains Norfolk Trotter blood introduced in the nineteenth century. It was formerly used for work with light artillery. The far more active, almost clean-legged, Breton Postier is a lighter version of the Suffolk Punch and was once the pride of the French Horse Artillery. The Postier has crosses of Boulonnais and Percheron, both active, refined animals with the powerful Norfolk Roadster in their ancestry.