The heavy cart holds an enormous stone;
The work horse sweats from bit to croupier,
Pulls and the horseman whips him, and the slippery path
Rises up, and the sad horse's breast fills with blood.
He pulls, drags, groans, pulls again and stops;
The black whip circles overhead;
It's Monday; the man was drinking at the Porcherons yesterday -
A wine full of furor, of shouting, of curses;
Oh! such is the formidable law that delivers
One being to another, the frightened beast to the drunken man!
The overwhelmed animal cannot manage a step;
He senses the shadow weighing on him, doesn't know,
Under the block that crushes him and the whip that stuns,
What the stone wants, what the man wants,
And the horseman is no longer but a storm of blows,
Falling upon this slave labourer who pulls whatever he's hooked up to,
Who suffers and knows nor repose nor Sunday;
If the cord breaks, the man strikes with the handle,
If the whip breaks, he strikes with his foot;
And the horse, trembling, haggard, crippled,
Lowers his sad neck and his muddled head;
Beneath the blows of the steel-tipped boot you hear
The abdomen of the poor mute sounding!
He groans; just a minute ago he was moving;
But he no longer moves, his force is spent,
And the furious blows rain down; his agony
Makes a final effort; his foot misses its mark,
He falls, and there he is, broken beneath the shaft;
And in the shadow, as his burden redoubles,
He looks at Someone with his troubled eye;
And you see it slowly go out, humble, dulled,
This eye, full of the dark stupors of infinity,
Where briefly shines the horrifying soul of all things.
Alas!
Picture
"The Horse Misery". Drawing by Steinlen, L’Assiette au beurre, no. 219 from 10 June 1905
National Library of France, engravings and photography department
Complainte of the little white horse. Paul Fort, Les Ballades françaises, 1896-1958.
Published in 1908, this highly popular poem was set to music by Georges Brassens in 1952.
The little white horse caught in the rough-weather, he was so brave!
He was a little white horse, everyone behind and him ahead.
It was never fine weather in this poor landscape,
There was no spring, neither behind nor ahead. There was no spring, Neither behind nor ahead.
But still he was always happy, leading the villagers
Through the dark rain of the fields, everyone behind and him ahead.
His carriage kept going after his nice little wild tail.
This is when he felt happy, them behind and him ahead.
But one day, caught in the rough-weather, a day, although he was so good,
He died struck by a white lightning, everyone behind and him ahead.
He died without seeing fine weather, he was so brave!
He died without seeing spring, neither behind nor ahead.
Picture
"The Horse Misery". Drawing by Steinlen, L’Assiette au beurre, no. 219 from 10 June 1905
With acerbic realism, this illustration portrays the hard life of horses in the early 20th century. It shows an animal of mere skin and bones (a consequence of malnutrition and overuse) hitched to a wagon. While the driver is protected from rain and cold under a hat and a long cloak, the horse is left without choice. Despite the slippery conditions and fatigue, it must keep moving, the whip not being far off. This image reveals the deficient care given to carriage horses in the early 20th century.
National Library of France, engravings and photography department
« But work was continuing in the pits: the signalling hammer beat four times; a horse was being lowered. This was always something of a spectacle, for sometimes the animal would be so terrified that it would be pulled out of the cage dead. At the top of the shaft, it would fight desperately when it was put into a net; then, once it felt the ground disappear from under its feet, it would remain petrified; as it disappeared from view, it would be absolutely still, its huge eyes staring ahead. This particular one was too big to pass between the guides, so it had to be suspended from underneath the cage, its head turned back and roped to its side. The descent lasted almost three minutes, the mechanism being slowed down as a precaution. And down below, the tension mounted as everyone waited. What was going on? Were they going to leave it stuck there hanging halfway down in the darkness? At last the horse appeared, immobile as a stone, its look frozen and its eyes dilated with terror. It was a bay horse, about three years old, named Trompette.
"Careful!" shouted old Mouque, who was charged with receiving the animal.
"Bring it this way. Don't untie it yet."
Very soon Trompette was lying on the iron flooring in a heap. He didn't budge, but seemed lost in this nightmare, this infinite black cave full of strange noises. They began to untie him when Bataille, who had recently been unharnessed, approached; he stretched out his neck to sniff the new companion who had just dropped down out of the sky. The miners stepped back to give him room, and they joked: what did he think of this new smell? But Bataille ignored their mockery and grew animated. He must have scented the good smell of clean air, the forgotten smell of the sun on the grass. And he broke out into a loud whinny, musical and light, with a note of tender sadness in it like a sigh. This was his song of welcome, combining the joy of those old things that had come along like a puff of fresh air, with the melancholy of seeing the arrival of yet another prisoner who would never leave again."
From 1838 to 1848, Baucher presented a horse show, which was the talk of all Paris, to the public at the Cirque des Champs-Elysées.
"I had the pleasure of seeing M. Baucher ride his beautiful Partisan. This M. Baucher is a very clever horseman, who has taught the most unruly steed ever brought from England, to execute quadrilles and steps of which even M. Vestris — the great Vestris passed away this year, amid a public indifference that would have surprised him – poor man! — would be very jealous. According to Baucher's system, the horse has no longer will, intelligence, nor memory. It is no more than a machine, or, if you prefer, a force obeying the slightest movements sent by the rider without any possible resistance. Thus Partisan was mastered, at once. The very first day, thus mounted, the terrible horse became immediately a quiet, docile animal. All that is asked of him, he does, without trouble, and without effort. He goes, he comes, he stops, he rears, he leaps, he flies, he walks, he turns upon one leg, then upon the other, he gallops with his hind legs, he beats time like M. Habeneck; you have no idea of his ease, his grace, his elegance, his lightness. Is it a man? Is it a horse? How is it? No one knows. The cavalier is as calm as the animal he rides. He is in the saddle, and with all your attention, you cannot tell how, the one bearing the other, they can execute all these feats of strength, which yet are not feats of strength! In fact, you neither see the hands nor the legs of the cavalier move; you would say, that the horse acts of himself, and because it is his good pleasure. When Partisan stops, with his two fore feet fixed upon the ground, whilst he makes plain marks with the hind foot; or else when he stands upon his hind feet, and moves his fore feet in correct time, the vulgar are tempted to exclaim, It is a miracle! The miracle is, that there is no miracle, it is the most simple thing in the world; this beautiful effect is the result of equilibrium, and depends upon the weight of the horseman being properly balanced, from the front to the back, or from the back to the front. But what precision is necessary, for instance, when the horse ought to move only the two diagonal legs! With what exactness must he burden or relieve, such or such a part of the animal! But then a horse thus mounted is the beau ideal of the horse genus and the cavalier genus. Until the present time, in point of horses rode in public, you have seen only actors; Partisan is a true horse!"
Image
Baucher and his horse Partisan.
Cadre noir in Saumur
Circus riders
"Never was there a greater assemblage of difficulties, a more slippery area, more frightful paths, more perfidious leaps, even at the ditch of the Bceuf Couronne, than at the Olympic Circus! If you go there, you will perhaps be fortunate enough to see the reins of some young horsewoman break, before your eyes, and without the price of seats being raised for it. Not a day passes, in which the equilibrium of some of the riders does not fail them; sometimes it is the horse which goes too fast, sometimes they go too fast for the horse; what faithful emblems of the passions! One girl broke her arm, and when she was raised up, smiled upon the petrified crowd; another sprained her leg, and held herself erect upon the other one; the audience thought it was a part of her performance. There are some, who furious at seeing themselves dismounted before the assembly, chase their trembling coursers, and then there is the most incredible, reaction between the rider and the horse; the horse falls on his knees, and asks pardon with his two hands joined! The lady pardons him, and takes pity on him.... It is a horse!"
Image:
Male rider dancing atop two horses with a female rider, print, 19th century
Bibliothèque-musée de l'Opéra © BnF
Adrien Cranile (Arcelin), Solutré, 1872
"At sunset, a beautiful sight awaited us.
While we were hunting reindeer in the mountains, another group was headed to the plains on the banks of the Saône, where large herds of cattle and wild horses grazed. The hunters had managed to circle five or six hundred horses and herd them by shrieking and waving wolf skins in the air.
I said earlier that the camp was dominated in the north by a high rock which, ending abruptly on the western end by a pointed and sharp precipice plunging steeply on three sides, sloped gently and softly to the east.
The hunters who successfully cornered horses on this slope pushed them, while protecting all exits, towards the over 300ft upper escarpment overlooking the valley. We saw from below five or six hundred crazed beasts climb the mountain’s bare slope in a cloud of dust sounding like a distant clap of thunder.
The living wave climbed and climbed and we could barely breathe as we waited for the horrible, imminent scene of destruction.
The first horses that came to the edge of the escarpment clung their legs together, sensing the drop. Their desperate neighing reached us, and a surge moved down the rest of the column. Nevertheless, the wave thickened towards the tip of the rock, and any resistance was futile against the mass and number. Suddenly, clouds of smoke and flame burst like a long rope of fire, closing off any retreat of the unfortunate beasts. Never have I seen anything more beautiful than this rock turned crimson by the setting sun silhouetted in the sky above the surrounding hills, acting as gigantic pedestal for so many victims wrapped in the devouring spirals of a pyre of which the blazing droppings flowed slowly at the bottom of the valleys. The light of the sun and fire blended into the invasive mists of evening above our heads, like a large raging storm.
Indeed, were a furious wind to blow past the narrow esplanade, sweeping everything on the bare rock, the outcome of this tragic hunting would not have been more immediate. Burned and blinded by the flames, the last in the group rushed straight ahead with an impetuosity that nothing could stop, and the whole herd tumbled down the cliffs.
It was a terrible avalanche, black and powdery, mixed with shrieks and thuds, which terrified us. The men hurried to finish off the wounded. We returned so as not to watch this butchery."
Image :
Engraving by Émile Bayard, following Figuier, L., L’Homme primitif, 1870.
"Ralli cars and basket wagons hitched to tiny ponies and driven by the delicate hands of the prettiest women in Paris trot down the road in the middle [...] There is nothing more fun to see these reduced and often highly maintained teams, themselves reminiscent of children's toys due to their size and the joy they give to their drivers. The two-wheeled, varnished wood cart drawn by a young horse is especially used by people who are used to demonstrating their independence and have no need to carry a groom. It is an excellent vehicle for those looking for explanations from sole riders and who do not want their livery, and hence their name, to be associated with some daily discussions that they prefer to keep secret [...] Young mothers have a strong preference for the pony-chase, which allows them to drive one or more of their children without her husband. This is the only truly serious carriage driven by a women which is a pleasure to be seen driven: she sits rather than is perched, leading two ponies bright enough so that one can perceive her command, and light enough on the bit and gaits that her hands and arms hardly seem to work; there is, accordingly, a perfect balance between the team and the forces a woman is expected to exhibit."
Image :
English cart, drawing by Vallet, 1893, Le Figaro illustré, May 1893
National Car and Tourism Museum, Compiègne © RMN-Grand Palais / Gérard Blot
"One can be a very skilled rider, a very experienced hunter with hounds, a very lucky jockey, a skilful breeder and a very good driver and yet not have the qualities that merit the title of horseman. (...) A horseman uses this animal wisely and makes an effort to keep it in good health for a long time with no flaws or character defects, while still keeping it working reasonably. Despite their talent, the rider or the driver who, to win a bet or simply for bragging rights, ruins or kill a horse by overworking it cannot be regarded as a true horseman."
Picture:
Patrice Franchet d'Espèrey, national riding school
"On the Avenue des Acacias one can see carriages truly for women. At the head of this series, it is best to place the eight-spring barouche, which remains the best afternoon riding carriage [...]. In 1830, and even later, the fashion dictated that one attend with others; the trend today is to go alone buried beneath furs [...] The equally elegant eight-spring brougham has the advantage of being warm and friendly to declining beauties. The half-day, easy to hold, is worth that of the most favourable boudoir lighting. We know some people triggering genuine pangs as soon as their eight-spring barouche stops next to the pedestrian path. The passers-by would surely less crowd around these people if they were sitting in the great light of an open carriage."
Image :
The meeting, engraving by Eugène Guérard, mid-19th century
National Car and Tourism Museum, Compiègne © RMN-Grand Palais / Gérard Blot
Today the general public unfortunately associates falconry on horseback to a spectacle performed in operetta costumes and to carrying raptors on the hand. Nothing is further from reality: these masquerades that have nothing to do with hunting.
Traditionally the horse is primarily a means of transport for the falconer and his bird; in visual flights, in tracking flights over large distances, its role is crucial to maintaining visual contact with the falcon (a galloping horse travels at a speed of about one-third that of the falcon, which is a considerable advantage over a person walking) so as not to lose the bird, but also to arrive quickly to recover it for further flight and to care for it.
Current falconry conditions afford the horse its true dimension in the visual flight of ravens.
A quick gait and extreme mobility must be the primary qualities of a horse for falconry. Choice of horse, certain issues in its preparation.
Galloping quickly, making a short stop, turning, recommencing a gallop without flinching over difficult terrain and small natural obstacles: everyone says that their favourite breed fits the ideal bill. The Iberian horse, the polo pony and the cutting horse could appeal to many; the preferred horse of a master of hounds is an Anglo-Arab whereas his wife swears by the thoroughbred Arabian horse; my preferences lies with the thoroughbred. Widely used by hunters, the trotter lacks, in my opinion, the high speed required and is more difficult to balance and to render highly mobile.
Image :
Henri Desmonts and his horse Jim training
[The victoria is favoured by ravishing beauties]
"The little space it occupies often allows her to move where a large barouche would be forced to stop, and it is surely this ease to move which has enabled the success it holds for an entire category of pretty women as busy as the most ardent stock broker in pursuit of opportunities for speculation. An excellent vehicle for catching up and mingling with the phaetons and George IV phaetons led by singles men, it allows its female passenger to fling a passing word or gesture to set a time and place to meet. Carriages ride wheel to wheel during the time necessary to exchange essential information, and the servant driving the victoria does not need an order to slow down or increase the pace when the discussion is over, because he has heard everything [...] A car in which an elegant woman has the right to show off is the large, eight-spring phaeton. She makes very good impression once she takes her place, which is best displayed as driven by her husband."
Image :
Small George IV phaeton with Tarbes horses, engraving by Albert Adam, 1874
National Car and Tourism, Compiègne © RMN-Grand Palais / Agence Bulloz
There are several equestrian disciplines in which lightness is a major advantage, and falconry on horseback is one of them.
When I think about a horse for falconry, I first think about its vision and its responsiveness to visual stimuli: if it rushes away from a falcon fluttering its wings ten meters away, then there will be a lot of work to desensitise it; if, however, it continues to calmly chew its grain while you struggle around with bird right above it head, then you have got yourself a serious candidate.
During the day, you have to dismount and remount several times in the saddle: the smaller the horse, the easier it will be.
The third required quality is courage and a sure foot. If your future hunting horse stumbles at every step, if it lays down at turns, if the passage of a ditch sets off a crisis, then you have got your work cut out for you.
Those who already picture themselves leaving their home riding their favourite horse with their falcon on their wrist are in for disappointment, at least if their goal is to fly and capture.
A minimum of two horses is essential, one for the falconer and the other for a "squire" responsible for keeping the horses in hand when the falcon has made a catch in a place only accessible on foot: a garden, crops or a golf course fairway or green. However, you should not have more than five or six horses to protect your public image and the safety of the falcons.
A support vehicle, which can transport relay falcons and will aid in finding a bird that has switched into its "migration" mode, is also essential.
Image :
Henri Desmonts and his horse Jim hunting
Horse tack, riding equipment
Saddle: If you fly several hawks at the same time you will be in the saddle for a long time. As such, it is necessary that it be comfortable for the person riding and the animal ridden: I prefer "training" saddles with a deep seat, which do not impede the passage of small natural obstacles.
Mouthpiece: Snaffle bridle? Bridle? Double bridle? It is mostly a matter of preference and skill. It is necessary that your horse responds readily to the effects of reins held in the right hand and to guiding against pulls.
Halter and leads: These are very useful tack items. You will come across the need to tie up your horse to take care of the falcon. Hunting or hiking equipment is perfect.
To attach the reins and prevent them from catching the horse's legs when you dismount to recover your falcon in an inaccessible location, two Aylmeri jesses attached to one of the pommel rings are very useful: a reef knot helps to avoid saddlery costs.
Image :
Henri Desmonts and his horse Jim hunting
Mounting on the near side or off side
The question is worth looking into. Emperor Frederick II devotes an entire chapter to it and astutely analyses the question. If the falcon, carried on the left hand, struggles when the rider puts his or her left foot in the left stirrup, it runs the risk of alighting on the horse's neck, clenching its claws and provoking violent reactions from the horse. When putting the right foot in the right stirrup (off side), the rider places his or her left hand on the seat of the saddle or on the cantle bag and so does not run this risk.
For the off side, with the falcon carried on the left hand, one can also consider allowing the game bag – such is valid for falconry on horseback alone – to hang on the right haunch and so the falconer is not bothered by it when sitting down.
Image :
Henri Desmonts and his horse Jim hunting
[The action takes place in 1848]
"Then there swept past him with a glitter of copper and steel a magnificent landau to which were yoked four horses driven in the Daumont style by two jockeys in velvet vests with gold fringes...
And the town coach dashed towards the Champs-Élysées in the midst of the other vehicles—barouches, britzkas, wurths, tandems, tilburies, dog-carts, tapissières with leather curtains, in which workmen in a jovial mood were singing, or one-horse chaises driven by fathers of families. In victorias crammed with people some young fellows seated on the others' feet let their legs both hang down. Large broughams, which had their seats lined with cloth, carried dowagers fast asleep, or else a splendid machine passed with a seat as simple and coquettish as a dandy's black coat...
At times, the rows of carriages, too closely pressed together, stopped all at the same time in several lines. Then they remained side by side, and their occupants scanned one another. Over the sides of panels adorned with coats-of-arms indifferent glances were cast on the crowd. Eyes full of envy gleamed from the interiors of hackney-coaches... Then, everything set itself in motion once more; the coachmen let go the reins, and lowered their long whips; the horses, excited, shook their curb-chains, and flung foam around them; and the cruppers and the harness getting moist, were smoking with the watery evaporation, through which struggled the rays of the sinking sun. Passing under the Arc de Triomphe, there stretched out at the height of a man, a reddish light, which shed a glittering lustre on the naves of the wheels, the handles of the carriage-doors, the ends of the shafts, and the rings of the carriage-beds..."
Picture
Riding through the Bois de Boulogne, painting by Ernest Alexandre Bodoy, circa 1888
© RMN-Grand Palais (domaine de Compiègne) / René-Gabriel Ojéda
In July 1783 (?), the French public admired the equestrian performances of Philip Astley’s son.
http://books.google.fr/
"19 July [1783]: a new kind of show recently attracts the curiosity of the public: these are riding exercises and both serious and comic, surprising feats of strength and flexibility, presented by one Mr. Astley in London. Most of these exercises are already known, but that which has not yet been practiced, and which truly charms experts is the agility, flexibility and nobility of Mr. Astley's son, a young man 17 years old with attractive proportions and the loveliest face in the world, and dancing with infinite grace on horses running at high speed. He mainly performs the Devonshire minuet, the composition of Sigr. Vestris during the great choreographer's stay in London in 1781; and it is said that he performs it as precisely and nobly as the French dancer on stage, that he has infinitely more aplomb. Sigr. Vestris was curious to see him, and could not help agreeing that he would never have believed such a prodigy possible if he had not seen him."
Image
Astley's Amphitheatre, estampe, 19th century
Bibliothèque-musée de l'Opéra © BnF
Théophile Gautier described the acts performed at the Cirque des Champs-Élysées, which was then reserved for equestrian exercises and gymnastics.
"First off, the great advantage of the Cirque [des Champs-Élysées] is that the dialogue is composed of two monosyllables, the hop from Mademoiselle Lucie and the la from Auriol. Is this not better that the mad waffle of melodramatic heroes, the smut of the comédie en vaudeville, the twisted phrases of the French, all tasteless, mindless platitudes that often cut into the other theatres? (...) And so here is a theatre where you are free from mistakes in French, from plays on words, where you are not forced to listen, where you can chat with a neighbour, where you are not suffocated as by other dramatic dampers: the air flows and circulates, the riders' flying scarves gently fan you; and if you look up, you will see, through the cracks of the velarium, the blue velvet blanket spotted by the stars of the clear summer night; the moon comes sometimes to mix in a familiar fashion its bluish reflection with the red light of the oil lamps. What could be more pleasant? The only drawback we could find is that there are no backrests behind the benches. But, after all, they are not necessary, as nobody wishes to sleep.
One could say that it is always the same white horse running in circles with a man standing on one foot. - Yes, but you can forever watch the horse with its rider posed as Zephyrus, and he would circle around until the end of time with your attentive eye always upon him. The interest of this drama staged on four legs consists in waiting to see whether the man will fall and break his neck. Nothing could be simpler and less complicated, and yet there is no theatre where the audience is as attentive."
Image:
Palmyre Annato at the Cirque National des Champs Elysées, colour print, 1875
The Prince de Joinville looks back on the high-school and vaulting courses he followed at the Cirque Franconi with other prestigious alumni such as Eugène de Beauharnais.
"After the gymnastic lessons came riding lessons, for which we were taken to the Cirque Olympique, I and my two elder brothers being always put in the charge of a single tutor. But as he invariably found the riding school too cold, he used to go and shut himself up in the manager's room, and leave us to the tender care of Laurent Franconi and the rough riders, which amounted to leaving us to ourselves. This icy cold arena, in the Place du Château-d'Eau, consisted of one immense hall, where the place of the pit was taken up by a circus or riding school for all sorts of horsemanship, which circus was connected with the stage by inclined planes, whenever a military piece with battles in it was performed. In this circus Laurent Franconi made us practise "la haute école," and his assistants, Bassin and Lagoutte, taught us to vault on horseback, astride and sitting, and standing upright — after every fashion, in fact. And to our great amusement, too, these lessons, falling as they did on Sunday afternoons, generally coincided with the rehearsals on the stage, in which we joyfully took our share during the intervals we were allowed for rest, scaling the practicable scenery, or taking part with the artists in certain interludes not mentioned on the programme."
Image:
Porcelain plate from the "Cirque Franconi" series, between 1840 and 1844
Collection: Gallé-Juillet Museum in Creil © RMN-Grand Palais / Martine Beck-Coppola
"On the way back, in the crush of carriages returning via the lakeshore, the barouche was obliged to slow to a walk. At one point the congestion became so bad that it was even forced to a stop. The sun was setting...A last ray of sunlight descending from the distant heights of the falls threaded its way along the carriageway, bathing the long line of stalled carriages in a pale reddish light. Glimmers of gold and bright flashes from the wheels seemed to cling to the straw-yellow trim of the barouche, whose deep blue side panels reflected bits of the surrounding landscape... Only the horses--a superb pair of bays--snorted with impatience...The carriages remained motionless. Here and there amid the series of featureless dark patches formed by the long line of broughams — quite numerous in the Bois de Boulogne that autumn afternoon — shone the corner of a mirror or the bit of a horse or the silvered handle of a lantern or the gold braids of a footman sitting high up on his seat. Occasionally one caught a glimpse of female finery in an open landau, a flash of silk here or velvet there... Despite the lateness of the season, all Paris was there: Duchess von Sternich in an "eight-spring", Mme de Lauwerens in a quite handsomely rigged victoria; Baroness von Meinhold in a ravishing reddish-brown hansom cab; Countess Wanska, with her piebald ponies; Mme Daste and her famous black "steppers", Mme de Guende and Mme Teissiere, in a brougham; and little Sylvia in a dark blue landau... the duchesse de Rozan in a coupé égoïste with white-speckled livery; the comte de Chibray, in a dogcart; Mr. Simpson in the most elegant of coaches; the whole American colony; and, bringing up the rear, two academicians in a fiacre.
The first carriages finally succeeded in extricating themselves, and one by one the whole line slowly began to move...A thousand lights began to dance, flashes darted among the wheels, and harnesses glinted as teams strained against their traces...the glitter of harnesses and wheels, the amber glow of polished panels set ablaze by the setting sun, the shrill accents added by splendid liveries set up high against the open sky and sumptuous finery spilling out over carriage doors--all of this was swept along in a dull rumble, punctuated only by the hoofbeats of trotting horses. The whole parade moved steadily along in a uniform motion, sights and sounds unvarying from first to last, as if the lead carriages were pulling the rest after them...Reaching the edge of the lake...the carriages turned with agile grace..."
Picture:
La promenade en voiture, a painting by Eugène Guérard, around 1855
National Car and Tourism Museum, Compiègne © RMN-Grand Palais
[Praise for Constantin Guys, first published in 1863]
"I have already said that M. Guy's brush, like that of Eugène Lami, was wonderfully fitted to depict the glories of dandyism and the elegance of society lionesses. In this particular series of drawings we are presented with sporting, racing, hunting occasions in their innumerable aspects, with horse and carriage exercise in the woods, with proud dames or a delicate miss controlling, with practised hand, steeds of impeccable contour, stylish, glossy, and themselves as capricious as women. For M.G. not only knows about the horse in general, but applies with equal success to expressing the individual beauty of horses. Some drawings depict a meeting, a veritable encampment, of numerous equipages, where, perched up on the cushions, the seats, the boxes, shapely youths and women, attired in the eccentric costumes authorised by the season, are seen watching some solemn turf event, the runners disappearing in the distance; another shows a horseman cantering gracefully alongside an open light four-wheeler, his curveting mount bowing, it might seem, in its own way, whilst the carriage follows an alley streaked with light and shade, at a brisk trot, carrying along a bevy of beauties, cradled as in the gondola of a balloon, lolling on the cushions, lending an inattentive ear to compliments, and lazily enjoying the caresses of the breeze.
Fur or muslin wraps them to the chin and flows in waves over the carriage door. The domestics are stiff and perpendicular, motionless and all alike...
Another merit which is not unworthy of mention here is the remarkable knowledge of harness and coachwork. M. G. draws and paints a carriage, and every kind of carriage, with the same care and the same ease as a skilled marine artist displays over every kind of ship. All his coachwork is correct, every detail is in its right place, and does not need to be gone over again. In whatever position it is drawn, at whatever speed it may be going, a carriage, like a vessel, derives, from the fact of motion, a mysterious and complex gracefulness which is very difficult to note in shorthand. The pleasure that the artist's eye gets from it comes apparently from the series of geometric that the object, already so complex in itself, vessel or carriage, describes successively in space.
We are betting on a certainty when we say that in a few years the drawings of M.G. will become precious archives of civilised life. His work will be sought after by discerning collectors, as much as those of Debucourt, of Moreau, of Saint-Aubin, of Carle Vernet, of Lami, of Devéria, of Gavarni, and of all those exquisite artists who, although they have confined themselves to recording what is familiar and pretty, are nonetheless, in their own ways, important historians... Less skilful than they, M.G. retains a profound merit, which is all his own; he has deliberately filled a function which other artists disdain, and which a man of the world above all others could carry out. He has gone everywhere in quest of the ephemeral, the fleeting forms of beauty in the life of our day, the characteristic traits of what, which the reader's permission, we have called "modernity." Often bizarre, violent, excessive, but always full of poetry, he has succeeded, in his drawings, in distilling the bitter or heady flavour of the wine of life.
Picture:
The Walk, by Eugène Guérard, engraving, 19th century.
National Car and Tourism Museum, Compiègne © RMN-Grand Palais / Stéphane Maréchalle
Riding master of the king at the Tuileries indoor school, he started a reputable horse riding school. His book École de cavalerie [School of Cavalry] (1733) served as reference for all the schools of Europe.
Riding master at the Saumur indoor school from 1815 to 1822, then head riding master at Versailles and finally Saumur from 1825 to 1835.
Monsieur Cordier par Espérandieu, 1835, huile sur toile, n° 957.5.3129 © Château-Musée de Saumur
The three school jumps (courbette, croupade and cabriole) were introduced in Saumur by Jean-Baptiste Cordier.
© Cadre noir de Saumur
He presented his horse Partisan at the circus. The author of Méthode d'équitation basée sur de nouveaux principes [Horse Riding Method Based on New Principles] (1842), he introduced a second mode from 1867.
Portrait de Baucher par Chambay, photographie, n° 957.5.2650, © Château-Musée de Saumur
This balanced position enables the mobility of the horse in its normal movements.
Isard sur le Pic © Cadre noir de Saumur
Student of Baucher and Aure, head riding master in 1864. His slogan: "Calm forward straight"
Général L'Hotte à cheval par Jean de VERNON, vers 1957, n° 977.4.1 © Cliché Château-Musée de Saumur
Discovered in 1872, the Palaeolithic deposit at the Duruthy rock shelter was excavated several times and delivered a series of objects linked with diverse occupation periods attributed to the Upper Paleolithic. In 1961, Robert Arambourou's excavations unearthed numerous Middle Magdalenian artefacts including several representations of horses carved in ivory, white limestone or sandstone. One of these pieces is a 30cm-long sculpture carved in the round depicting a kneeling horse. It was found beside horse jaws and skulls.
Collection: Landes General Council / Abbaye d'Arthous © CG40/Yves Veron
At the Roc-aux-Sorciers rock shelter (15,000 BP), the horse’s place is more marginal, as the arrangement is dominated by ibex and female depictions. Attitudes are also more individualised: the “uncovered” horse stands atop connected legs and turns its head back and another animal lowers its head toward the ground. These figures executed in low and light relief occupy the upper part of the frieze. At the lower part, an engraved and etched horse grazing is associated with other incomplete equines.
Geneviève Pinçon
The sculpture bears witness to a rare technique in rock art, seen at several sites that are not comparable to “sanctuary” caves, but are rather rock shelters serving as habitats. Measuring 16.50m in length, the Cap Blanc rock shelter (15,000 BP) showcases a sculpted frieze that spreads across nearly the whole of the shelter and includes some fifteen figures of which at least half are horses. Depicted in profile and facing the right or left, the figures are hieratic and quite stereotypical. Three are impressively sized works (between 1.38m and 2.20m long) and are sculpted in high relief on a champlevé background.
Photo: C. Bourdier and O. Huard / Centre for National Monuments
Palaeolithic Cap Blanc rock shelter (Marquay, Dordogne). Frieze sculpted on the back vertical wall.
Photo: C. Bourdier and O. Huard / Centre for National Monuments
Detail of the horse head at the left end, with the modelling of the nostrils, lips and lower jaw (15,000 BP).
Photo: C. Bourdier and O. Huard / Centre for National Monuments
Central part of the frieze, occupied by the largest horse (15,000 BP).
Photo: C. Bourdier and O. Huard / Centre for National Monuments
With forty depictions spread across the entire cave, the horse is the fourth most depicted species in the bestiary of Chauvet (36,000 BP). Half of the depictions are full animals, while the rest are limited to a head or front end. The stylistic treatments and techniques used are very diverse, including sketched designed or engraved profiles or the stump-drawing and scraping technique used -by the same artist- in the panel of horses which superimposes four animals, the snouts of which are all aligned following a perfect diagonal. Here, the figures are created by using the stump-drawing highlighted with scraping technique. Located in the foreground, the horse's head results from an especially difficult-to-execute technique: the outlines are drawn in charcoal, the coloured filling mixes charcoal bistre and brown hues and finger-applied clay, a series of fine engravings marks out the profile, while the lips are highlighted with a final stroke of a deep charcoal black.
Photo: French Ministry of Culture and Communication, Rhône-Alpes Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs, Regional Archaeology Service
Depiction of four horses with stump-enhanced heads The veil of iron-oxide coloured calcite on the drawing demonstrates its age.
Photo: French Ministry of Culture and Communication, Rhône-Alpes Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs, Regional Archaeology Service
Finger-drawn sketches on a now-carbonate plastic clay film. The delineations on the horse's body may reveal the mats of shedding the coat underwent in the spring.
Photo: French Ministry of Culture and Communication, Rhône-Alpes Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs, Regional Archaeology Service
The Niaux cave consists of a set of galleries covering over 2km and integrated into a vast underground network. However, 80% of the animals depicted in the cave are concentrated in the “Black Hall” (12,000 BP). There, 20 full or partial horses beside bison and occasionally ibex spread out over six large panels. The figures were made with charcoal using a drawing technique. Various stylistic methods such as filling animal bodies using small lines, using hatchings to render anatomical details such as the mane and hair and the flattened M-shape to represent the colour difference between the stomach and the flank render the figures very realistic. They result in similarities between the horses of the Black Hall and certain species of wild horses, such as Przewalski's horse.
© Sites Touristiques Ariège/SESTA - E.Demoulin
Guy Perazio © Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication
At the Lascaux Cave (19,000 BP), the two most depicted species are the cow and the horse. They are present on numerous panels and are nearly always beside each other. In the Axial Diverticulum, the gallery that starts at the Hall of Bulls in front of the cave entrance, the "Chinese Horses" panel shows the association of three horses and a large red cow. These horses bear witness to different painting techniques: brushstrokes for contour lines and for tails which, as is frequent at Lascaux, wind down to the ground and projecting dyestuff for manes and coats.
Norbert Aujoulat © Centre national de la Préhistoire
At the Lascaux Cave (19,000 BP), the two most depicted species are the cow and the horse. They are present on numerous panels and are nearly always beside each other. In the Axial Diverticulum, the gallery that starts at the Hall of Bulls in front of the cave entrance, the "Chinese Horses" panel shows the association of three horses and a large red cow. These horses bear witness to different painting techniques: brushstrokes for contour lines and for tails which, as is frequent at Lascaux, wind down to the ground and projecting dyestuff for manes and coats.
Norbert Aujoulat © Centre national de la Préhistoire
The third “Chinese Horse” depicts a model that proves particularly elaborate contours thanks to the superposition of black and yellow solids.
Norbert Aujoulat © Centre national de la Préhistoire
Norbert Aujoulat © Centre national de la Préhistoire
The panel of dotted horses in the Pech-Merle Cave (20,000 BP) is a 4m-long set depicting two horses alongside a number of other figures, including several stencilled handprints. The horses have a stocky body prolonged by a neck and limbs tapering off towards the ends. However, the treatment of the coat represented by 169 black and red dots is what characterises these figures. Other lines of dots are present on either side of the horses and border their contours. These dots were spit-paint (blowing the pigment with the mouth). They are common in the Quercy caves and often appear, as at Pech-Merle, alongside stencilled handprints obtained following the same technique. The head of the right-hand horse is part of a rock relief and demonstrates the use of the wall by Palaeolithic artists.
Photo: P. Cabrol © Centre de Préhistoire du Pech Merle
The panel of dotted horses in the Pech-Merle Cave (20,000 BP) is a 4m-long set depicting two horses alongside a number of other figures, including several stencilled handprints. The horses have a stocky body prolonged by a neck and limbs tapering off towards the ends. However, the treatment of the coat represented by 169 black and red dots is what characterises these figures. Other lines of dots are present on either side of the horses and border their contours. These dots were spit-paint (blowing the pigment with the mouth). They are common in the Quercy caves and often appear, as at Pech-Merle, alongside stencilled handprints obtained following the same technique. The head of the right-hand horse is part of a rock relief and demonstrates the use of the wall by Palaeolithic artists.
Photo: P. Cabrol © Centre de Préhistoire du Pech Merle
Created with reindeer antlers, this piece is interpreted to be a dart or spear thrower. It was unearthed in the excavations conducted by Edouard Piette in the Mas d'Azil Cave in the late 19th century and is now attributed to the Middle and Upper Magdalenian.
Three horse heads are treated in a sensitive and realistic fashion. Two are detached from the object's body; treated in relief on the trunk of the object, the third depicts an animal with eyes closed, tongue hanging out and a portion of the skull visible. These elements suggest an échorché or decaying head, a rare representation among the found Paleolithic artefacts.
Collection: National Archaeology Museum © RMN-Grand Palais / Loïc Hamon
Created with reindeer antlers, this piece is traditionally regarded as a dart or spear thrower, although certain authors have questioned this such a consideration due to the absence of a hook at the top and the presence of a hole at the bottom. The artist used the natural form of the support to create an object rendering the dynamism of a horse in motion. Resting on its hind legs sculpted in relief at the end of the piece's trunk, the horse picks up his front legs under his body to jump with the neck and head stretched forward.
Collection: National Archaeology Museum © RMN-Grand Palais / Jean Schormans
A cut contour is a small piece of which the contour matches the silhouette of an animal or one its parts and the details rendered by etching or champlevé. In the Middle Magdalenian, many objects of this type were created with the horse's hyoid bone, which is above the larynx in the anterior midline of the neck. Its overall general shape evokes a horse's head. The Isturitz site has provided many objects of this type: the contour was regularised and the anatomical details made with a more or less deep engraving. The object has two holes that suggest it was used as decoration.
Collection: National Archaeology Museum © RMN-Grand Palais / Loïc Hamon
Excavated in the late 19th century, the Espélugues Cave harboured a rich deposit from the Magdalenian, which opened up an abundant series of artefacts. This includes a horse statuette built from mammoth ivory and depicting an animal standing with its head stretched forward in line with the back. Anatomical details are represented by precise engravings or incisions: the eye, nose, mouth, modelled cheek and coat.
Collection: National Archaeology Museum © RMN-Grand Palais / Loïc Hamon
Map taken from Archéologie du cheval [Archaeology of the Horse], by Arbogast, R.-M., Clavel, B., Lepetz, S., Méniel, et al., Paris, Errance, 2002 (following Uerpmann 1995 and modified Weeler-géoatlas base map).
With the kind authorisation of Éditions Errance
The Roissy tombs demonstrate the importance of the horse-riding aristocracy in the Parisii people (a Gallic people living in what is today Paris). In one of them, a deceased, probably male person lay on a two-wheeled chariot with rich grave goods. The goods – following the “plastic” style – are representative of the mastery of the art of bronze achieved by the artisans of the time. At either side are many food offerings of pieces of meat and ceramic vessels.
Learn more: www.inrap.fr
© Sylvain Thouvenot / Inrap
The presence of horses in a Celtic burial is rare. The discovery of the Gondole tomb in Auvergne, with its eight Gallic riders buried with their horses, is an exceptional case.
Learn more :http://www.inrap.fr/archeologie-preventive/
http://www.inrap.fr/archeologie-preventive/Ressources-multimedias/
© U. Cabezuelo/Inrap 2002
Collection : Musée du Pays châtillonnais - Trésor de Vix / A. Maillier
Collection : Musée du Pays châtillonnais - Trésor de Vix / A. Maillier
Collection : Musée du Pays châtillonnais - Trésor de Vix / A. Maillier
Collection : Musée du Pays châtillonnais - Trésor de Vix / A. Maillier
Collection : Musée du Pays châtillonnais - Trésor de Vix / A. Maillier
Originally covered by a tumulus, this tomb contained a woman’s body lying atop a four-wheeled chariot and decorated with bronze ornaments. Among the many jewels that adorned here were a gold, Orientalising-style torque adorned at the ends with winged horses. This tomb bears witness to the richness of the principalities in the early Iron Age and to the aristocracy’s liking for horses as a means of transport and decoration.
Collection : Musée du Pays châtillonnais - Trésor de Vix.
Dating from the 4th-century BCE, this tomb contains a man in his thirties, who lies beside a two-wheeled chariot. Horses fragments originating some one hundred years after the grave were found at the centre of a tomb. These fragments may reflect the existence of sacrificial rites subsequent to the burial.
Collection: National Archaeology Museum © RMN-Grand Palais / Thierry Le Mage
Coins appeared in Gaul around the 6th century BCE. From the 5th century onwards, certain Gallic peoples began to mint their own money, as evidenced by this horse stater, following a very synthetic and graphic style unique to the Parisii (a Gallic people living in what is today Paris).
Collection: National Archaeology Museum © RMN-Grand Palais / Gérard Blot
Dating from the 4th-century BCE, this tomb contains a man in his thirties, who lies beside a two-wheeled chariot. Horses fragments originating some one hundred years after the grave were found at the centre of a tomb. These fragments may reflect the existence of sacrificial rites subsequent to the burial.
Collection: National Archaeology Museum © RMN-Grand Palais / Thierry Le Mage
The tomb unearthed in 2012 in Thézy-Glimont held a human, cattle and a horse. This burial reflects the practice of horse-related rituals in the late Iron Age.
Leaflets and photo: Amiens Métropole
Identified since the Middle Ages, the Arles circus is also the best known; it was located in a flat area near the Rhône. Outside the city walls, the foundation piles discovered make it possible to precisely date the construction of 149 CE. It measured 101 metres wide by 450 metres long and could accommodate nearly 25,000 spectators. It was abandoned in the 6th century.
Ancient Arles Departmental Museum © M. Lacanaud
Collection: Lyon-Fourvière Gallo-Roman Museum
Collection: Lyon-Fourvière Gallo-Roman Museum
Collection: Lyon-Fourvière Gallo-Roman Museum
Collection: Lyon-Fourvière Gallo-Roman Museum
Saint-Romain-en-Gal Archaeological Museum
There is nothing left of the Vienne circus but the pyramid adorning the centre of a 250m-long strip (spina) installed in a 50m-wide arena surrounded by a building which is estimated at 460 metres.
The existence of a circus at Lugdunum (Lyon), evidenced by three stone inscriptions, was confirmed by discoveries made in 1986 at Rue Henry Le Chatelier, on the Loyasse plateau, the northern spur of Fourvière Hill. Work uncovered the foundations of four masonry girders to support the seats. Relating to structures discovered in 1912, 1949 and 1957, these remains have made it possible to establish the existence of an arena measuring 60 metres wide and 360 metres long.
Collection: Lyon-Fourvière Gallo-Roman Museum
The central spina (barrier) of the Arles Roman circus was rediscovered in the 14th century. The obelisk adorning it was installed in front of the Town Hall in the 17th century.
© Ville d'Arles / Photo H.-L. Casès
The horses hunted at Solutré were indeed herded by hunters, but at the bottom of the cliff and towards a rugged terrain dotted with large broken-off blocks of the cornice and, therefore, suitable for an ambush.
Maquette H. Bidault et E. Proux. Cliché Eschmann
© SMGS - Syndicat mixte de valorisation du grand site de Solutré
The Tarpan is a wild horse at times considered to be the ancestor of current horse breeds. The last specimen died in the late 19th century at the Munich zoo. From 1936 onwards, Tadeusz Vetulani, a Polish scientist, bred back a similar horse breed, the Konik, from Polish ponies. Some specimens were introduced on the Solutré hill in memory of the original wild horses.
© Noël Coye
The Republican Guard's large-scale escort of 157 horses is deployed on 14 July. It accompanies the President from the Place de l'Étoile to the Place de la Concorde.
© Garde républicaine
King René's Tournament Book holds an important place in the literature of tournaments. Its author, René d'Anjou, enjoyed considerable prestige in this field, especially since 1444, when he organised some of the finest tournaments of the century for the marriage of his daughter Margaret and Henry VI of England. In this book, René d'Anjou depicts the clash between the Duke of Brittany (the appellant lord) and the Duke of Bourbon (the defending lord). During tournaments, horses were dressed in embroidered coverings matching their riders’ outfits and highlighting the colours and heraldic signs of the kingdoms or families on which they depended (ermine for Brittany and fleur-de-lis for the Duke of Bourbon). Thus outfitted, their horses were to serve riders in duels with their speed, strength and courage. Both strategic and aesthetic, the combat was mainly used to affirm the splendour of a nobility confronted with the development of war techniques favouring an increasingly light and mobile cavalry, which would soon mark the death knell for a certain way of life.
© Bibliothèque nationale de France. Département des manuscrits, MS fr 2693 fol 27v – 28
David Aubert, writer for the Duke of Burgundy from 1459. In this capacity, he collaborated with the illuminator Loyset Liédet on these Croniques abregies commençans au temps de Herode Antipas, persecuteur de la chrestienté, et finissant l'an de grace mil IIC et LXXVI [Abridged Chronicles Starting from the Time of Herod Antipas, the Persecutor of Christendom and Ending in the Year of Grace One Thousand IIC and LXXVI]. This image of the Third Crusade is indicative of the importance of horse soldiery, each member of which carries the colours of his kingdom and which reached its peak at that time.
© Bibliothèque nationale de France. Département des manuscrits, MS 5089 Arsenal
In 1008 or 1010, a group of settlers consisting of men, women and children moved to Colletière (Isère), on the shores of Lake Paladru. Living off of animal husbandry, fishing and agriculture, these farmers had many horses, evidenced by the pieces discovered: horseshoes, harnesses, trees, spurs and bits. Studies and the discovery of many weapons at the site have revealed that these horses were not eaten, but used for military purposes and ridden by “knight”-peasants. Also, excavations have uncovered remarkable enamel cabochons. These pieces were surely attached to the horse's harness just below the animal’s ear. This attention paid to the appearance of the mounts (and, of course, their riders) illustrates the special place of horses in society.
© Musée dauphinois
In 1008 or 1010, a group of settlers consisting of men, women and children moved to Colletière (Isère), on the shores of Lake Paladru. Living off of animal husbandry, fishing and agriculture, these farmers had many horses, evidenced by the pieces discovered: horseshoes, harnesses, trees, spurs and bits. Studies and the discovery of many weapons at the site have revealed that these horses were not eaten, but used for military purposes and ridden by “knight”-peasants. Also, excavations have uncovered remarkable enamel cabochons. These pieces were surely attached to the horse's harness just below the animal’s ear. This attention paid to the appearance of the mounts (and, of course, their riders) illustrates the special place of horses in society.
© Musée dauphinois
In 1008 or 1010, a group of settlers consisting of men, women and children moved to Colletière (Isère), on the shores of Lake Paladru. Living off of animal husbandry, fishing and agriculture, these farmers had many horses, evidenced by the pieces discovered: horseshoes, harnesses, trees, spurs and bits. Studies and the discovery of many weapons at the site have revealed that these horses were not eaten, but used for military purposes and ridden by “knight”-peasants. Also, excavations have uncovered remarkable enamel cabochons. These pieces were surely attached to the horse's harness just below the animal’s ear. This attention paid to the appearance of the mounts (and, of course, their riders) illustrates the special place of horses in society.
© Musée dauphinois
Extensively depicted in illuminations and found in many collections in Europe, toys marked social differentiation from childhood: toy lead soldiers for the upper classes and terra cotta toys for the less fortunate. The toy horse was present across all social strata. Given its manufacturing technique of melting lead and tin, the horseman at the National Museum of the Middle Ages was likely intended for children of wealthy parents. However, the wood horse -made with a stick at the end of which a head was fitted- could belong to both a child in a wealthy family (which seems to be the case in this painting) or a poor child. It should be noted, however, that while the production material and quality marked social class differences, in most depictions, boys alone played with the horse.
Collection: National Museum of the Middle Ages © RMN-Grand Palais / Franck Raux
On 12 April 1507, after a blitz siege, Louis XII entered Genoa. The conquest was related by Jean Marot, the king’s poet. It is the subject of a manuscript for Anne of Brittany, the king's wife. Eleven full-page paintings are attributed to Jean Bourdichon, the king’s official painter. The king’s triumphal entry was made on horseback, under a dais carried by four men. The splendidly decorated horse accentuated the ruler’s prestige.
© Bibliothèque nationale de France. Département des manuscrits, fr 5091 f. 22 v
The condottiere Bartolomeo Colleoni was a leader of an army of mercenaries who fought in the pay of Venice. The Most Serene battled in those times against Milan, which finally signed a peace treaty in 1441. In 1448, in recognition of his services, the city granted the position of General Captain of Venice to the mercenary. At his death, the Condottiere bequeathed a portion of his fortune to the Republic of Venice, demanding in exchange a statue in his honour at the Piazza San Marco. Built by one of the most famous artists of the time, Andrea Verrocchio, the statue pays tribute to the power of the warrior. However, it was not placed at the Piazza San Marco (due to a law prohibiting it), but rather on the Campo San Giovanni e Paolo. The bronze figure is visible from the Ponte del Cavallo (the bridge of the horse) . Up close, the fine work is remarkable in the most minor details of the depictions of Colleoni’s armour and his horse tack.
National School of Fine Arts, Paris (MU 12588). Photo: Jean-Michel Lapelerie
Sought after by Marie de’ Medici to celebrate the memory of her husband, the equestrian statue of Henry IV was commissioned in Florence from Giambologna, but was eventually created by his student Pietro Tacca. It was inaugurated in 1614. The first of its kind in France, this statue is highly symbolic: placed at the junction between the first stone bridge over the Seine by the last of the Valois and the tip of the triangle-shaped Place Dauphine, devised by the first Bourbon king and his minister Sully, it marks the dawn of a kingdom that the regent wanted to be peaceful and unified thenceforth. Learn more: « ["The rider of Pont-Neuf: history, restoration and secrets of the equestrian statue of Henry IV"] In Situ, n°14/2010
Collection: Pau National Castle Museum / Jean-Yves Chermeux
Sought after by Marie de’ Medici to celebrate the memory of her husband, the equestrian statue of Henry IV was commissioned in Florence from Giambologna, but was eventually created by his student Pietro Tacca. It was inaugurated in 1614. The first of its kind in France, this statue is highly symbolic: placed at the junction between the first stone bridge over the Seine by the last of the Valois and the tip of the triangle-shaped Place Dauphine, devised by the first Bourbon king and his minister Sully, it marks the dawn of a kingdom that the regent wanted to be peaceful and unified thenceforth.
Learn more: « ["The rider of Pont-Neuf: history, restoration and secrets of the equestrian statue of Henry IV"] In Situ, n°14/2010
Collection: Pau National Castle Museum
The Oiron castle was built in the 16th century by the Gouffier family, particularly Claude (1500-1570), the Grand Equerry of King Henry II, an aesthete who made his home a shrine for art dedicated to rare books and the most unusual objects. A veritable gallery of horse portraits, the castle’s left wing housed the painted depictions of Henry II’s most beautiful rides, together with the name of the stud farm where the horses were bred. Lost in time, the paintings were remembered in 1992 by the painter Georg Ettl, who painted the horse silhouettes at the original locations.
© Centre des monuments nationaux
The Oiron castle was built in the 16th century by the Gouffier family, particularly Claude (1500-1570), the Grand Equerry of King Henry II, an aesthete who made his home a shrine for art dedicated to rare books and the most unusual objects. A veritable gallery of horse portraits, the castle’s left wing housed the painted depictions of Henry II’s most beautiful rides, together with the name of the stud farm where the horses were bred. Lost in time, the paintings were remembered in 1992 by the painter Georg Ettl, who painted the horse silhouettes at the original locations.
© Centre des monuments nationaux
55 meters long and 6 meters wide, the gallery at the Oiron castle was completed around 1550 by an anonymous artist. The walls are fully painted with a cycle depicting the Trojan War, with numerous depictions of horses. The Singular Combat panel is probably the combat between Paris and Menelaus.
© Centre des monuments nationaux / C. Fekete
© Centre des monuments nationaux / C. Fekete
© Centre des monuments nationaux / C. Fekete
Pegasus alludes to the king’s renown.
© Centre des monuments nationaux / C. Fekete
The version followed by the painter is not that of Homer, but of Dictys Cretensis, thus enabling the artist to depict an equestrian battle.
© Centre des monuments nationaux / Darri
In the early 13th century, horses used for war began to be equipped with an iron barding to protect their chest, shoulders and flanks. The silhouette of the knight in armour thus became massive and impressive. From the Renaissance onwards, armourers played with this silhouette to produce prestigious and fantastical works following the spirit of the times. Commissioned by Ferdinand I of Habsburg (1503-1654) as a diplomatic gift for King François I, this set was made by Jörg Seusenhofer of Innsbruck (active in 1528, died in 1580), the court armourer, and engraved by Degen Pirger circa 1539-1540. This gift never reached its destination and was brought to France three centuries later by Napoleon in 1806. This set is made with embossed and gilded engraved iron. It has several complementary parts to turn it into tournament armour, according to the circumstances. François I’s armour weighs about 20kg and measures 1.99m in height. The total height of the silhouette with the frame is almost 2.50m.
© Musée de l'Armée, Paris (inv. G117 et G554), Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Pascal Segrette
Arquebus maker for Henry IV and then Louis XIII and inventor of the flintlock mechanism widely used in Europe, Marin le Bourgeoys (c.1550-1634) also received training as a painter. He painted this equestrian portrait of Henry IV, which is characterised by its lack of pomp. The king is shown here with his regular countryside equipment in blackened armour and his horse harnessed without ostentation.
© Musée de l'Armée (Inv. 2010.26.1), Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Tony Querrec
This work from the former St. Peter's Basilica in Rome is considered one of the archetypes of the equestrian portrait in the Renaissance.
Louvre Museum © RMN-Grand Palais / Christian Jean
Interview by Pascal Liévaux.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
The splendour of a horse’s trappings is a reflection of the magnificence of its rider. The bit is an often metal piece of horse tack inserted into the horse's mouth.
© cliché Bernard Renoux, Château-Musée de Saumur, no. 957.5.170
Under the Ancien Régime, equitation was a school of life reserved for the nobility: the king had to know how to ride a horse. European royal courts also enjoyed majestic stables. From the 16th century onwards, academic equitation made its way into France under the leadership of two riders returning from Italy: Antoine de Pluvinel and Salomon de la Broue. They originated the equitation in the French tradition, today inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This learned equitation sought to train the animal with particular regard to prestige and efficiency. On a battlefield, a well-trained horse was a better ally. At the same time, this training stood out from purely military riding due to its aesthetics. In fact, mastering the horse proved an excellent tool for distinction for the nobility. Riding instructor of the young Dauphin Louis XIII, Antoine de Pluvinel would thus open the first Equestrian Academy in Paris in 1594, reserved for the young nobility.
To read the book:
fonds-ancien.equestre.info
The royal equestrian portrait continued into the 19th century. In the painting’s foreground, surrounded by his sons who are also in the saddle King Louis-Philippe presents himself as a riding ruler, calmly leading his horse with one hand alone. The white animal seems to be perfectly at the orders of his master, despite the bustle of those around it. In the background, the equestrian statue of Louis XIV, erected under Louis Philippe, is visible and echoes the royal power. Like his predecessor, the king is shown riding on horseback, a symbol of greatness.
Collection: Versailles, castles of Versailles and Trianon © RMN-Grand Palais / Rights reserved
In this portrait, the king stands out in his position as horse rider. White as the standard flagship of the French monarchy, the horse is magnified by its royal trappings, matching the ruler’s clothing in red and gold colours. The horse’s prancing contrasting with the rider’s calm further reveal the mastery of the man over his mount. Ready to wage war, assault or launch into a gallop, the king stands out. In this state of grandeur and magnificence, he is the embodiment of power.
Collection: Versailles, castles of Versailles and Trianon © RMN-Grand Palais / Rights reserved
Trained at the Versailles indoor school and founder in 1830 of a famous indoor school at Rue Duphot in Paris, the Count of Aure was appointed Chief Ecuyer in Saumur in 1847. He was especially famous for advocating outdoor riding, encouraging races, hunting and outdoor school work.
© Château-Musée de Saumur, n° 957.5.3130
In 1997, archaeological excavations in Braine unearthed horse skeletons. Used during World War I for both the cavalry and military transport (artillery, supplies, transport of wounded soldiers, etc.), these horses were also victims of the combats held. The small size of the three horses found in Braine seems to prove that they were riding horses. Scientists have determined that these animals were unshod before burial. Lacking iron, the army often took shoes from horse cadavers to be reused for live animals.
© Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication / Yves Desfossés
German photo. Alain Jacques document collection
Interview by Pascal Liévaux.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication.
Gas attacks were common during World War I. Horses, like men or dogs, also benefited from gas masks. Placed on the animal’s snout, they protected the horses from toxic gases.
Army Museum, Paris
The naturalised horse at the Army Museum in Paris could be Vizir, one of Napoleon’s favourite mounts. One can make out the Imperial "N" on the animal’s thigh. Sometime between 1801 and 1802, the Sultan of Turkey offered this thoroughbred Arabian horse to the Emperor. It was mounted several times in combat, e.g. at Eylau in 1807. This was the majestic horse painted by Horace Vernet in 1812 at the request of Grand Equerry Caulaincourt. First naturalised in 1826, he was removed from his display case and then exported to British soil where the Manchester Natural History Society stuffed it in 1843 before offering it to Napoleon III in 1868. Deposited in the reserves of the Sovereigns’ Museum (Louvre), it was then forgotten. It was not until 1904 that it was found and recovered by the director of the Army Museum.
© Paris - Musée de l'Armée, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Pascal Segrette
For horse and man, the retreat from Russia was one of the worst episodes in military history. The stories are many of soldiers who, to stay alive and avoid freezing, opened the stomachs of recently dead horses to be wrapped into their still-warm entrails. On this canvas, Joseph-Ferdinand Boissard de Boisdenier took on a realistic approach to the tragic episode of the retreat from Russia. A Hussar and an Imperial Guard cavalry soldier remain powerless against death and cold, while their company continues travelling in the distance. Lying on a dead horse, they were gradually numbed by the cold. The emaciated face of the man in red trousers is as rigid as the muscles of the horse on which he lies, erasing the difference between man and animal enveloped by the same fate.
Rouen Museum of Fine Arts © RMN-Grand Palais / Gérard Blot
In June 1905, the magazine L'Assiette au beurre published a special issue, "The Horse Misery" for which Steinlen made six drawings illustrating in particular the sad fate of working horses.
National Library of France, engravings and photography department
The long hours of work for the "tractor horse" occasionally ended without the intake of the amount of water necessary to keep the horse hydrated. Tired and exhausted, the men in charge of the animals did not always have the strength to go fetch water, resulting in horses contracting substantial intestinal stones, which were surely highly painful. However, they had to continue their work each and every day.
© C. Degueurce - Musée Fragonard de l’École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
In the streets, repeated striking against the pavement gave rise to very painful and debilitating injuries and diseases such as quittor (17th to 20th century, since disappeared), due to the changes in the use of the horse. Despite lameness, the animal was still in demand for work. However, once lameness set in to the point where the horse could not walk, its owner had to act. At that time, blacksmiths and hippiatrists had only one solution to "cure" the disease: dessolure, or the removal the sole or even the fork of the foot and subsequent bandaging until regrowth (some 20 days). This was a particularly painful method for horses.
© C. Degueurce - musée Fragonard de l’École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort.
© CMCU, service écomusée, cliché D. Busseuil
The breast collar was usually reserved for horses injured by their collars in order to keep them active. To place a horse down into the bottom of the pit it was necessary to suspend it vertically with its limbs tied up and fettered. The "covered" technique of net lowering immobilised the animal in a large dark coat so that it could not see anything and remained calm during the manoeuvre. At times, the horses were simply covered with a descent mask specifically created for this purpose.
Collection écomusée © CMCU, service écomusée, cliché D. Busseuil
The Miners' Chapel (opened in December 1876 and included since 1998 in the heritage and tourism development project in the municipality of Faymoreau) has presented the work of a contemporary artist, Carmelo Zagari, since 2001. His work includes 19 stained-glass windows that tell the story of 19 topics revolving around the daily lives of the erstwhile Faymoreau miners. On one of them, a green horse seems to await the order of his companion in misfortune. This creation thus pays tribute to the erstwhile miners and regional history.
Rights reserved Carmelo Zagari - Centre Minier Faymoreau
In 1868, a new harnessing tool became mandatory for mining horses: the barrette, or leather helmet. This large layer of thick leather was attached to the harness's front and headstall. Its purpose? Protect the horse's neck and the front side against repeated collisions with the often low gallery ceilings. It appeared in the wake of numerous injuries to the animals' heads. At times the bridles also had blinders for protection. Hitching to the collar was the most common method to pull convoys.
Collection : Photothèque des Mines de potasse d'Alsace (MDPA) / Association Groupe Rodolphe
One observes the remains of dead horses, dog hides nailed to the walls and tendons being dried.
To read the work of Parent-Duchatelet, A. J.-B. — 1827.Recherches et considérations sur l’enlèvement et l’emploi des chevaux morts, et sur la nécessité d’établir à Paris un clos central d’écarissage, tant pour les avantages de la salubrité publique que pour ceux de l’industrie manufacturière de cette ville, Paris, Bachelier, Librairie-éditeur des annales mensuelles de l’industrie manufacturière et des beaux-arts.
© BIU Santé (Paris)
To read the work of Parent-Duchatelet, A. J.-B. — 1827. Recherches et considérations sur l’enlèvement et l’emploi des chevaux morts, et sur la nécessité d’établir à Paris un clos central d’écarissage, tant pour les avantages de la salubrité publique que pour ceux de l’industrie manufacturière de cette ville, Paris, Bachelier, Librairie-éditeur des annales mensuelles de l’industrie manufacturière et des beaux-arts.
© BIU Santé (Paris)
This object was found broken at the bottom of a pit in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis). Restored, it shows a wooden table separated in the centre and bordered by a bone framework on which 24 arrows are pressed and carved on cow or horse sides. This ancestor of backgammon, which was called "table game" in the Middle Ages, is one of the oldest examples known at present in France.
© UASD / E. Jacquot. Archaeological research: Nicole Rodrigues
Corrèze departmental archives
© Haras du Pin Tourisme
Fonds Tanneguy de Sainte-Marie © Haras du Pin Tourisme
Fonds Tanneguy de Sainte-Marie © Haras du Pin Tourisme
The "Versailles of Horses", as it is called, was designed between 1715 and 1736 at the request of Louis XIV. At the time, it was called the Exmes stud farm (due to the presence of Buisson d’Exmes, near Argentan, which was the land on which it was designed). Its purpose: produce quality horses for the military remount and the Maison du Roi at Versailles. At the time, there was still no talk of homogeneous and controlled "breeds", but rather of "types" of horses. As such, the "beautiful horse" stood apart from the "would-be horse, used by people in the country", as stated by the Marquis de Brancas. Monitoring births and selecting individual reproducers and mothers thus allowed for a control of horse quality. It was inevitable that the setting of this place recalled the grandeur of the sovereign. Today, four breeds give identity to the premises: the Percheron, French saddle, French trotter and English thoroughbred.
Mediatheque of Architecture and Heritage – Diffusion RMN
The "Versailles of Horses", as it is called, was designed between 1715 and 1736 at the request of Louis XIV. At the time, it was called the Exmes stud farm (due to the presence of Buisson d’Exmes, near Argentan, which was the land on which it was designed). Its purpose: produce quality horses for the military remount and the Maison du Roi at Versailles. At the time, there was still no talk of homogeneous and controlled "breeds", but rather of "types" of horses. As such, the "beautiful horse" stood apart from the "would-be horse, used by people in the country", as stated by the Marquis de Brancas. Monitoring births and selecting individual reproducers and mothers thus allowed for a control of horse quality. It was inevitable that the setting of this place recalled the grandeur of the sovereign. Today, four breeds give identity to the premises: the Percheron, French saddle, French trotter and English thoroughbred.
Mediatheque of Architecture and Heritage – Diffusion RMN
© Société hippique percheronne / Photo : Catherine Manceau
Discovery tour of Stable no. 1. Property of the national stud farms - Haras du Pin
© Haras du Pin Tourisme
The Nonius is a breed of Hungarian origin.
© Haras du Pin Tourisme
The Percheron horse is part of the "heavy" horse family. Unlike lighter horse breeds used for riding, the Percheron is an excellent draft horse. While its use sharply declined in the 20th century with industrialisation and the arrival of machines to work the field, it continues to be used for certain agricultural pull work, such as skidding. In addition, certain local groups use it for different jobs (e.g. garbage collection). Finally, its manners, kindness and aesthetics make it an excellent driving horse for both leisure and competition.
© Société hippique percheronne / Photo : Rhonda Cole
Extract from Atlas statistique de la Production des chevaux en France [Statistical Atlas of Horse Production in France], 1850. Documents for use in the natural and agricultural history of horse races in the country. Compiled by Mr. Gayot, inspector general of stud farm management.Published by the order of the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce.
© Haras du Pin Tourisme
In France around 1914, the crossing of thoroughbred stallions and native mares gave rise to a breed known as "half-blood" [demi-sang]. Around 1958, this demi-sang was then crossed with half-blood Anglo-Arabs from the southwest to give rise to the famous French saddle horse. Its genetics, the result of multiple selections and crosses, is a standard in sports and recreation on the international scene. A top-level athlete, the French saddle horse stands out notably in show jumping and the three-day event. According to the National stud farms, the breed is characterised by five qualities: elegance, strength, balance, respect and intelligence.
© France-Haras
The French trotter was born in the mid-19th century amidst the appearance of the first trot races. A cross of purebred stallions and Norman mares and then contributions from the Norfolk Trotter of Great Britain, the breed is highly present in the region of Basse-Normandie. Faced with an ever-increasing number of horses in the 1990s, the French Horse Breeding Society was forced to take measures to limit the number of mares serviced in a year. By selecting the best broodmares, the products thus gain greater quality. On average, a third are selected for the races and others for leisure, show jumping, treks or hunting with hounds as possible channels.
© Haras du Pin Tourisme
The Henson horse was the product of the desire of two men, Lionel and Marc Berquin, to create a breed ideal for trail riding. In 1983, the Henson Horse Association was founded and began to cross breeds (first-generation individuals between Fjord ponies and riding horses) to obtain the perfect outdoors horse - kind, robust and hardy. The breed was officially recognised by the French Ministry of Agriculture and the National stud farms in 2003.
© Florent Cocquet - http://www.arcantide.com - all rights reserved
The Henson horse was the product of the desire of two men, Lionel and Marc Berquin, to create a breed ideal for trail riding. In 1983, the Henson Horse Association was founded and began to cross breeds (first-generation individuals between Fjord ponies and riding horses) to obtain the perfect outdoors horse - kind, robust and hardy. The breed was officially recognised by the French Ministry of Agriculture and the National stud farms in 2003.
© Florent Cocquet - http://www.arcantide.com - all rights reserved
The Henson horse was the product of the desire of two men, Lionel and Marc Berquin, to create a breed ideal for trail riding. In 1983, the Henson Horse Association was founded and began to cross breeds (first-generation individuals between Fjord ponies and riding horses) to obtain the perfect outdoors horse - kind, robust and hardy. The breed was officially recognised by the French Ministry of Agriculture and the National stud farms in 2003.
© Florent Cocquet - http://www.arcantide.com - all rights reserved
Interview with Aude Bourgeois, veterinary, coordinator of Menagerie du Jardin des Plantes collection, Paris National Natural History Museum, 26 June 2012, 5'.
Interview by Sophie Lebeuf. Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
The Henson horse was the product of the desire of two men, Lionel and Marc Berquin, to create a breed ideal for trail riding. In 1983, the Henson Horse Association was founded and began to cross breeds (first-generation individuals between Fjord ponies and riding horses) to obtain the perfect outdoors horse - kind, robust and hardy. The breed was officially recognised by the French Ministry of Agriculture and the National stud farms in 2003.
© Florent Cocquet - http://www.arcantide.com - all rights reserved
The Przewalski's horse is not a direct ancestor of our domestic horses. Both lines diverged some 160,000 years ago. In fact, the Przewalski's horse karyotype is composed of 66 chromosomes, as opposed to the 64 in our domestic horses. However, the hybridisation of the two species is possible and feasible.
Smaller and more robust than our domestic horses, Przewalski's horse cannot be domesticated. Today, three Przewalski's horses live at the Menagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris, and are part of the European programme for the species's conservation established in 1968. The reintroduction of Przewalski's horses into their natural habitat is necessary for the balance of biodiversity. As it is, the horse is one of the key links in the food chain of the desert steppe. A herbivore, it participates in a location's plant balance. In addition, it is itself a prey of predators such as wolves. Its disappearance in the local ecosystem therefore entails significant imbalances.
© Museum national d'histoire naturelle / F-G Grandin
In 2013, there were 12 horse butchers in Paris.
Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs of the Île-de-France / Agnès Chauvin
This horse butcher is one of the 12 horse butchers still in operation in Paris in 2013.
Médiathèque de l'architecture et du patrimoine / Christelle Inizan
In order to foster horsemeat consumption, the veterinary Émile Decroix sponsored a grand horse meat banquet on 6 February 1856. 132 public figures were invited to the Grand Hôtel de Paris, near the Opera, including Edmond de Goncourt and even Gustave Flaubert. The purpose of this dinner was to highlight the benefits of this meat, which was considered healthy and safe. On the banquet menu: noodles in horse broth, horse salami and sausages, boiled horse, horse à la mode, stewed horse, horse fillet with mushrooms, potatoes fried in horse fat, horse-oil salad and finally, rum and horse-marrow cake. This was accompanied by a Château Cheval-Blanc.
versailles, châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon © RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles)
Each type of horse riding has its own outfit and each type of rider his or her own clothing, the symbols of membership in a social group. Thus, a dandy may adopt the outfit of a rider, even if he does not mount a horse. For some twenty years, a mini cultural revolution broke out in this realm and overturned previously held codes: helmets replaced riding hats and "mini-chaps" substituted boots. While the 19th-century horseman sought a mixture of danger and safety, new-generation riders seek zero risk (which is a pipe dream). On competition grounds and at equestrian centres, riders therefore wear padded trousers, side vests and even airbags capable of absorbing the shock of a possible fall. This desire for protection reveals many changes in attitudes and practices.
© Alain Laurioux
Today, the number of equestrian centres, equestrian clubs and other equestrian education centres is on the rise. Nearly 7,000 private, public and associative equestrian organisations exist in France. Accordingly, to ensure quality education, cavalry and infrastructure along with comprehensibility at the national level, the French Equestrian Federation implemented a seal of approval. There are currently 1,600 French riding schools that meet this standard of quality and provide approved education. In fact, to qualify for competition, riders must pass examinations or "gallops", which allow them to not only acquire a certain level of riding, but also to understand the basics of hippology and the daily caring of horses.
© Fédération française d’équitation
Equestrian tourism is increasingly developing: the National Committee for Equestrian Tourism of the French Equestrian Federation has nearly 90,000 members. Since 1961, the National Committee for Equestrian Tourism organises Equirando every two years, which brings together thousands of participants from all over Europe.
The development of trail riding throughout France, has created a large network dedicated to this end, with routes, signposted trails, rest house networks and the necessary seals. Among the most famous circuits are the Drôme à cheval, supported by the general council and departmental tourism committee, the Jura du Grand Huit, the Ariège à cheval and the regional committee of equestrian tourism in Brittany. In addition, many tourism businesses have followed the enthusiasm to offer trail rides throughout the world.
© Alain Laurioux
Interview by Pascal Liévaux.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication.
Interview by Pascal Liévaux. Camera:
Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication.
The specificity of the sidesaddle is in the "pommels" (or horns or butts), which are protuberances that hold the rider's legs in place and thus to buttress the shaking of the gaits. Until 1830, the right leg alone was held in place. The "third pommel" then appeared, providing the left leg with greater stability in the stirrups. History says that the sidesaddle's forerunner appeared in the 15th century under the influence of Catherine de Medici. The queen, finding her ankle and calf pretty, placed her right leg over the pommel of the saddle to show them off. Until then, women sat on a horse as on a seat, with both legs hanging from the same side and feet resting on a kind of board.
© Château-Musée de Saumur, cliché Bernard Renoux
The feminisation of the horse-riding public in recent decades has spread to the "toy horse." For a long time, these toys were more akin to male games, such as the hobby horse, which played an educational role, whereby boys learned to simulate duels in the saddle, for instance. Making its appearance in the 1980s, My Little Pony quickly became the darling of little girls everywhere. This "toy doll" thus spread a very different image of the horse, not as a companion in war and daily life, but as a friend to cuddle and groom.
© 2012 Hasbro. All rights reserved. Photo: Sophie Lebeuf
Women in the upper social classes have always had a relative amount of access to horse riding, if only as transport. The sidesaddle position took more than a millennium to develop. In Antiquity, women sat on a horse as on a seat, with both legs hanging from the same side of their horses. Uncomfortable, this position only allowed them ride at a walk. In the Middle Ages, women kept the same position, but sat behind a rider they held by the waist. They could also sit on a "sambue", a more or less padded packsaddle with a board to put their feet on. A man on foot or horseback then guided their mount. In the 16th century, the first sidesaddle began to emerge and offer female riders greater independence.
Collection: Orléans Museum of Fine Arts © RMN-Grand Palais.
In the late 19th century, circuses were a place where it was fashionable to see and be seen. In this highly masculine circle, female riders gradually stole the star from men. Often the students of riding masters, they also presented their own numbers and stood out in grace, elegance and sensuality. In this fashion, Caroline Loyo (1816-1887), a student of François Baucher (1796-1875), became a veritable star of the stage and the first rider to perform high school figures in sidesaddle. At seventeen she performed for the first time at the Cirque de Paris run by Laurent Franconi (1776-1849). Other female riders followed in her step, such as Émilie Loisset (1854-1882), Blanche Allarty (1872-1962) and even Élisa Petzold (1850 - ?). Often demi-mondaines, these showwomen would at times turn the heads of upper class men who attended their performances. On the circular track, they sought to prove that horse riding is not an exclusively male science.
MuCEM Collection, Museum of Civilisation in Europe and the Mediterranean © Photo RMN-Grand Palais / Franck Raux
Interview by Sophie Lebeuf.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
Interview by Sophie Lebeuf. Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication.
Interview by Sophie Lebeuf.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
Small, very small (less than 90 cm at the withers), the toy horse is no less a horse. This type of breed is experiencing some infatuation amongst young children and their parents, who see it as more of a pet (some are no bigger than a dog) than a horse. This trend reveals a new approach to the animal, which becomes a sort of living "plush" toy that children cuddle, care for, brush and groom. However, attention must be paid to the excesses of this approach. The needs of this animal remain the needs of a horse: room to run, proper nourishment, etc.
© Pierre Laroche – Filmagri
© Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms fr 616, fol. 114
The massive use of horse pulling by bus companies was accompanied by a continued reflection on the cost and quality of the shoes, which eventually translated into the development of "périplantar" fitting, a.k.a. Charlier fitting.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Before the invention of custom motors, barges were towed by horses along towpaths. The animals belonged to the bargeman, who lived in the boat, or to carters who hired out their services.
Photo: Camille Biendiné (1862-1941). Collection: La Somme departmental archives, 35 FI 1265
Horse has played a major role in the development of industry. For example, at the beginning of potash mining in Alsace in 1910, horses provided transportation for sedans. The first locomotives appeared in 1921 and gradually replaced horses, who disappeared in 1936.
Collection : Photothèque des Mines de potasse d'Alsace (MDPA) / Association Groupe Rodolphe
The first omnibuses were deployed in Paris in 1828 in order to cheaply carry residents along stops dotting some regular lines. The General Omnibus Company was created in 1854. Its fleet reached more than 500 carriages and about 6,500 horses covering a total of 25 lines. Heavy carriages pulled by three horses had 40 seats with a rear deck and a spiral staircase to the upper deck on a double-decker.
© Ministère de la Culture - Médiathèque du Patrimoine, Dist. RMN-Grand
The break was used for the daily exercise of the horses and especially for training young horses: their energy and inexperience would otherwise have endangered any other type of coach, which could not resist any possible shocks or possible overturning. The break was hitched to two horses: the teacher, trained and sure, and the student, the young horse to be trained.
Its French name, squelette, is due to the lack of any body part and its bare, fully apparent structure, as if it were a skeleton. It is reduced to the essential elements — a strong axial shaft connecting wooden, sturdy axles and supporting a narrow platform where the training break's assistants stand, from which they can jump quickly to restrain the horses if needed and to which they can easily return up the large steps.
In the national stud farms, which still have 41 of them, the training breaks are used to train either thoroughbreds or draft horses.
France, collection privée. Photo Sylvain Halgand
This illumination is one of three images that make up the frontispiece of Régime des princes, a book written in 1279 by Gilles de Rome, tutor of Philip the Fair. This manuscript was designed in 1450 for the aldermen of Rouen. The frontispiece depicts the three orders of medieval society: men of faith, aristocrats and workers, represented here by peasants plowing a field with a horse, not an ox. This illustration shows how, in the 15th century, horse-drawn traction became commonplace.
© Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des manuscrits, ms français 126, fol. 7
Commissioned by John I, Duke of Berry, to the Limbourg brothers around 1410, the manuscript was embellished after the death of the sponsor and artists by an anonymous painter in the 1440s and completed in 1486 by Jean Colombe. For some authors, this leaf was made by the anonymous painter in 1440. The horse is depicted with a shoulder collar while pulling a harrow. In the background stands the Château du Louvre.
© RMN-Grand Palais (Domaine de Chantilly) / René-Gabriel Ojéda Ms65, folio 10 verso
La Manche departmental archives, 3Fi_1978_465
How is a draft horse trained? A trainer gradually tames the horse and familiarises it with working. It teaches the horse to pull, obey, bear the collar and perform exercises.
Agricultural scale models were used for educational purposes from the 19th century to the 1960s. The observation, assembling and dismantling of scale models were an essential part of courses and exams. The models of the Agronomic Institute of Grignon were used to teach agricultural engineers. This scale model of a horse-drawn rake is equipped with a lever-and-pedal feed raking system.
Collection: Vivant-AgroParisTech Museum, Inv 2006.5.118
Agricultural scale models were used for educational purposes from the 19th century to the 1960s. The observation, assembling and dismantling of scale models were an essential part of courses and exams. The models of the Agronomic Institute of Grignon were used to teach agricultural engineers. This scale model of a horse-drawn rake is equipped with a lever-and-pedal feed raking system.
Collection: Vivant-AgroParisTech Museum, Inv 2006.5.119
© Musée d'Orsay, fonds Edmond Lebel Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Patrice Schmidt
This map shows the post routes of the kingdom on which referenced coaching inns were located at regular intervals. The distance between them gradually expanded over the centuries, a sign of both improvements in the construction and maintenance of routes and the technical innovations enjoyed by vehicles.
In the 19th century, stagecoaches capable of carrying more passengers gradually replaced the mail coaches.
© Photo L’Adresse Musée de La Poste, Paris / La Poste
In the early 19th century, mail transport was provided by this type of horse-drawn carriage: letters and small parcels were placed at the rear of the vehicle while three people could sit in front of the cabriolet. Throughout the century, stagecoaches capable of carrying more passengers gradually replaced the mail coaches.
© Musée Carnavalet / Cabinet des arts graphiques / G. Leyris
A coaching inn included numerous buildings: the inn, where travellers and postilions rested, buildings to house horses, personal and carriages, as well as fodder for feeding horses.
© Photo L’Adresse Musée de La Poste, Paris / La Poste
Csikós means "guardian of sheep flock" in Hungarian. In the past, ownership of horses placed these horse people above cattle or sheep herders on the social scale. Known for their horse training, particularly for the use of a long, artisanal whip, the Csikos number only a few dozen today and work primarily as breeders for the Epona stud farm. However, this traditional pastoral society continues operating in the puszta of Hortobàgy, a vast marshy plain in Eastern Hungary inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
Till Westermayer (CC-BY-SA)
This painting depicts a now-extinct agrarian tradition practised by the Camargue gardians. Until the late 19th century, the mares of manades, or herds of half-wild horses, were used for threshing grain. Animal-powered threshing was most often practised in a field on a threshing floor of earth were the sheaves were brought. The horses were then guided by a conductor standing in the centre of the floor. Armed with a whip, the driver drove the animals around the floor. While in traditional threshing, the horses were tied in pairs, Rosa Bonheur depicts free horses twirling and leaping at the instigation of the whip.
© Musée des beaux-arts de Bordeaux / Photo L. Gauthier
Gardian stirrups owe their shape to the shoes worn by the first gardians. Indeed, until the late 19th century, Camargue equitation was a popular practice. Riders were mostly peasants who rode in clogs. It was therefore necessary that the stirrups be large enough to accommodate the front of the clog and hold the rider's leg without risking catching their feet. As such, they are closed on the front. Today, these stirrups are part of the gardian's traditional trappings, even if their footwear has changed (boots or laced high shoes).
Collection: Camargue Museum, PNR de Camargue. Digitisation: David Huguenin (no. 8301731).
On his Camargue horse, the gardian holds a long stick at the end of which is fixed a trident, which allows him to sort cattle. While the gardians did not wear special clothing in previous centuries, an array of clothing was created at the beginning of the 20th century at the initiative of the Marquis de Baroncelli-Javon. Seeking to build a strong local identity, defend and maintain the local traditions of the past, he was at the origin of the "Nacioun Gardiano" people. Also, he insisted that a specific outfit be worn by gardians, especially at public events and festivals, in order to establish a local identity. One may indeed notice the long-sleeve, closed-cuff shirt, the gardian trousers, the vest and the wide-brimmed hat. Also notable is the coloured tie, bow or lace on a closed-collar shirt. The Marquis also insisted that the trapping be that of a typical gardian ride and that the horses be mainly the Camargue breed.
Collection: Camargue Museum, PNR de Camargue. Digitisation: David Huguenin (no. 8301731).
Gardian stirrups owe their shape to the shoes worn by the first gardians. Indeed, until the late 19th century, Camargue equitation was a popular practice. Riders were mostly peasants who rode in clogs. It was therefore necessary that the stirrups be large enough to accommodate the front of the clog and hold the rider's leg without risking catching their feet. As such, they are closed on the front. Today, these stirrups are part of the gardian's traditional trappings, even if their footwear has changed (boots or laced high shoes).
Collection: Camargue Museum, PNR de Camargue. Digitisation: David Huguenin (no. 8301731).
Interview: Sylvie Grenet.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication; courtesy of Mairie de Paris
Interview: Sylvie Grenet.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication; courtesy of Mairie de Paris
A Trait du Nord mare named Loriane is used to collect waste in the town of Hazebrouck in Flanders (Nord Department). Beyond the playful aspect, the horse can save energy and reduce noise pollution.
© Jean-Léo Dugast
Interview: Sylvie Grenet.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication; courtesy of Mairie de Paris
© Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
The inspection is carried out for census purposes in order to settle accounts.
97 horses are identified by the coat colour:
For further distinctions, some are called "estellés".
La Manche departmental archives, 2 J 1054 [parchment 42.5 x 18 cm]
During the Hundred Years' War, the Battle of Crécy saw the army of the Kingdom of France face an army from England, with the active presence of the sovereigns Philip VI of Valois and Edward III of England. The battle ended with a crushing English victory. Though less in number, they used vigorous and quick archery to decimate a cumbersome French cavalry lacking mobility and coordination. This illumination places a strong emphasis on the return of archery, which is set in the foreground and marks the beginning of the decline of horse soldiery.
© Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms français 2642 folio 159v
The Battle of Agincourt resulted in King Henry V of England's under-numbered armies' crushing victory over the French.
The cavalry was arranged behind the infantry entrenched behind the shields of the archers planted upright into the ground. The infantry opened its ranks to allow for the passage of the cavalry charging at a gallop then returned in disorder towards its own infantry in order to prepare a new charge.
As in Crécy, the Battle of Agincourt was marked by the victory of foot soldiers and projectile weapons over horse soldiers. It also marked the end of the supremacy of horse soldiery and the advent of ranged weapons for battle.
© Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms français 2680 folio 208
In 1515, in Marignan, the role of the 300-unit-strong French artillery was decisive. Its fire shattered the Swiss infantry and opened holes into which men-at-arms on horseback could rush. This enabled the Gendarmerie to lead many charges and break down the Swiss infantry. As such, the Gendarmerie was no longer alone in determining the outcome of battles.
© RMN-Grand Palais (Domaine de Chantilly) / René-Gabriel Ojéda
The first major battle of the French Wars of Religion took place near Dreux. The battle was a series of equestrian charges and counter-charges, with the advantage constantly shifting between sides until the Catholics gained victory over the Protestants.
Louvre Museum, L138LR no. 21 © RMN-Grand Palais / Thierry Le Mage
With the advent of the light cavalry and its firearms, a new tactic -the "caracole"- appeared: facing an army arranged in hedgehog defence, two or three companies of riders grouped into a squadron formed six ranks. The first advanced at a trot or slow gallop, discharged its pistols on the enemy soldiers and then withdrew from the front. Each rider turned to the other side and discharged at a gallop to leave place for the second rank. It then withdrew behind the sixth rank to recharge its weapons and continued in this manner until ammunition and horses were exhausted.
Pau National Castle Museum, P64-25-16 © RMN-Grand Palais / René-Gabriel Ojéda
© Musée de l'Armée, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Émilie Cambier
Two types of horses were used in armies - chargers or light horses and Percheron horses ridden by men-at-arms.
© musée de la Renaissance, château d'Éouen © RMN-Grand Palais
Two types of horses were used in armies - chargers or light horses and Percheron horses ridden by men-at-arms.
© musée de la Renaissance, château d'Éouen © RMN-Grand Palais
The initial goal was to march directly to Brussels on the wishes of Louis XIV, who would lead the army in person. On the advice of Turenne, who saw the taking of Brussels to be difficult, the king turned to another goal. The army appeared on June 21 at the foot of the city walls. The city and the citadel would fall in less than a week. Painted by one of the king's official painters, the painting places the king / horse relationship in an openly warlike context, although the horse is depicted more so as a means of transport, thereby demonstrating the change in the military strategies of the time, where the royal horse was mainly a vehicle or medium for the glory of the ruler.
Versailles Museum mv 2140 © RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot
From 26 to 29 November 1812, the remains of the Grand Army crossed the Berezina on two pile bridges, built under the command of General Eble. This painting recalls this episode and focuses on the loss of almost all of the cavalry and artillery teams in this campaign. Napoleon, in order to launch the German 1813 campaign, had to requisition and purchase nearly 77,000 horses and also gather many riding and draft horses from Italy and Spain.
© Saumur Cavalry Museum
The French cavalry of the First Empire is certainly the most effective cavalry of the entire military history of France. Used with great skill by the Emperor, it is divided into two main types: light cavalry with intelligence and protection missions, and heavy cavalry, with mainly a mission of breaking ranks. This picture represents a hussar assault under the First Empire, led by General Lassalle (1775-1809) at Friedland. Shaken by the fire of the infantry and artillery, the enemy is responsible for "in wall" galloping, to enhance the effect of shock speed.
© Saumur Cavalry Museum
This brace was used by General Daumesnil (1776-1832), whose leg was amputated after an injury at the Battle of Wagram. It is thought that this model was designed for him.
© cliché Bernard Renoux, Château-Musée de Saumur, n° 957.5.1256
The Battle of Eylau took place in the north of East Prussia. It lasted two days, with heavy artillery use. Murat, however, led one of the largest cavalry charges in history with 12,000 men, marking a crucial French victory with a bitter tinge: nearly 20,000 deaths on both sides, and 10,000 wounded Russians who died from a lack of care.
Versailles Museum mv 2140 © RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot
The Imperial Guard of Napoleon III is certainly the most beautiful French troop of the second half of the 19th century. Besides the quality and elegance of the uniforms, mounted horses have a beautiful appearance and are higher in size, thanks to English and Arabic blood. These horses will prove less resilient and less enduring than those of the first Empire during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. The captain of the 2nd Cuirassiers Guard (1856-1865) exemplifies the triumph of elegance at the expense of the efficiency necessary in wartime.
© Saumur Cavalry Museum
The Battle of Sedan took place on 1 September 1870. It was an absolute defeat for the French army and resulted in the capture of Napoleon III. Particularly noteworthy were the desperate attempts of General Margueritte's horse soldiers on the Illy plateau to the northwest of the citadel of Sedan, whose repeated but unsuccessful charges resulted in the disorderly withdrawal of French troops inside the citadel.
Museum of Civilisation in Europe and the Mediterranean © Photo RMN-Grand Palais - F. Raux
The second battle of Wörth took place on 6 August 1870 in Alsace at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. It became famous for two cavalry charges, that of General Michel at Morsbronn and that of Bonnemains about two hours later. They both resulted in heavy casualties in the face of heavy fire from Prussian infantry regiments.
Versailles, castles of Versailles and Trianon © RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles)
In 1944, new armoured weaponry no longer used horses. The mounted cavalry ceased to exist.
La Manche departmental archives, 13 Num 5329, cl. American national archives
Two modes of transport used by the French army during the First World War: the American Red Cross's ambulance (Alpine Ambulance 1/65) beside the horse-drawn carriage.
BDIC-Collection Valois.
Interview by Sylvie Grenet. Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
Interview by Sylvie Grenet.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
Interview by Sylvie Grenet.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
Care provided to horses by soldiers at the Alfort Veterinary School, interwar period?
Val-de-Marne departmental archives
Competition draft of the war memorial erected by Jacques Froment-Meurice in the square of the Cavalry School at Saumur. Dedicated "to the memory of cavalry officers, military vets, NCO s, sergeants and riders dead for France", the monument was inaugurated by Maréchal Franchet d'Esperey on November 15, 1925.
Photo : Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Politician, poet and hunting enthusiast, Gaston Phoebus was the author of The Book of the Hunt, which remains a reference manual for hunting. Hunting is traditionally divided into two types: "big-game hunting", which consists of tracking large animals such as deer, boars or wolves, and "small-game hunting", for a pack of dogs hunting small game, such as the hare here.
© Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms fr 616.
Politician, poet and hunting enthusiast, Gaston Phoebus was the author of The Book of the Hunt, which remains a reference manual for hunting. Hunting is traditionally divided into two types: "big-game hunting", which consists of tracking large animals such as deer, boars or wolves, and "small-game hunting", for a pack of dogs hunting small game, such as the hare here.
© Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms fr 616.
© Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms 12399, folio 59
© Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms 12399, folio 61v
© Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms 12399, folio 73
There are still some proponents in France of falconry on horseback, such as Étienne Fougeron, who practises falconry in Beauce.
Interview by Sylvie Grenet.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication. Two original works by Étienne Fougeron are presented in the video.
Réalisation : Gilles Bouteiller © Crescendo Films
Louis XIII, the brother of Gaston d'Orléans, was the Falconer King par excellence. He had a team of falcons numbering nearly 400 birds which accompanied him on all his trips throughout the kingdom. Here was a common hobby for two brothers which could enable them to forget their differences, for a few hours at least!
Private collection
In this depiction of wolf (or fox) hunting, an aide takes hold of the prey captured by the eagle. One often had to help birds with muscular prey, as their violent defence risked injuring the bird: the horse was therefore of great importance to reach the places of capture as quickly as possible.
Louvre Museum, Arts de l'Islam collection
Musée de Cluny - Musée national du Moyen Âge© RMN-Grand Palais / Franck Raux
Thomas Mann was a member of the British Falconers' Club and flew the raven in the early 20th century in the county of Essex.
Mark Upton Collection
© Garde républicaine
© Garde républicaine
© Garde républicaine
La Manche departmental archives, 200 Fi 1/87
La Corrèze departmental archives, FRAD019_1Fi_1798
This painting by Gericault commemorates the popularity of horse racing for artists. The dizzying speed, the dramatic tension of the challenge pitting competitors and the sky about to burst make this painting a unique and singular work of art. The use of the flying gallop to represent the horse’s gait reminds of the expression "galloping ventre à terre", or "going an even gallop”.
Louvre Museum © RMN-Grand Palais / Gérard Blot
Cheval Français opts for humour in its latest advertising campaign. Robert Dutrot embodies the ultimate driver, i.e. the owner, breeder, trainer, chauffeur, stable-lad, jockey and driver. Similarly, the horse is called Tocard du Val des Bois ["Wood Vale Sure-Loser"]. This proves an intelligent way to play on the image of the cultural universe of the trot in stark opposition to the flaunted and pretentious standing of the gallop. A light nose-thumbing in this competition of values between the two worlds of racing.
© Le Trot / Robert Dutrot
Interview by Sylvie Grenet.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
Interview by Sylvie Grenet.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
Interview by Sylvie Grenet.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
The craze for racing starting in the late 18th century fostered the emergence in the 19th century of casino games focusing on races. The period saw the flowering of gambling houses all over Europe, with almost every room reserved for to the "little horses", ranging from multi-track mechanical horse races, games of bowls... Caro and Jost were at that time the two main manufacturers on the market.
The multi-track mechanical horse race, like the one presented here, enabled players to make bets between one another. By turning a crank, the horses moved around mechanically. At the stop of the mechanism, the horse closest to the winning post won the race.
© Musée du cheval de Chantilly
On the PMU’s logo, the trotter and galloper advance in unison. This dual representation is a reminder that the PMU’s parent companies are France Galop et Cheval Français. However, the racing worlds do not mix. The trot and the gallop are both fundamentally and culturally distinct worlds.
© PMU
Long the preserve of the military, it goes without saying that many of the great advances in equitation come their experiences. Thus, the jumping position taken today by riders, known as the "forward seat" or "2 point", begins to be adopted at the end of the 19th century under the leadership of Federico Caprilli (1868-1907), a cavalry captain. Until then, riders remained seated in their saddle when the horse crossed the obstacle. Caprilli invented the forward seat jumping position with the torso forward when jumping in order to relieve the horse's back. Some years later, Colonel Danloux (1878-1965), the riding master at the Cadre Noir de Saumur from 1929 to 1933, improved Caprilli's technique by promoting the flexibility of joints, particularly the knee. With the help of the Italian officer Alvisi, he developed a saddle enabling an easier and more comfortable adoption of this position in the face of the obstacle. The Danloux saddle, the benchmark for the first show jumping riders, was thus characterised by more pronounced blocks and a more hollow seat.
© Cadre Noir de Saumur
The major test of Eventing is cross. This test is intended to check the fitness of the horse. The course consists in a series of fixed natural obstacles (trunk holes , ford...). With a speed of 500-570 meters / min, a cross test can last up to twelve minutes for the most important competitions.
Eurydice Schauly comes from a family of riders. Her father, Didier, a former soldier and horseman from the Cadre Noir de Saumur, is now an international rider and trainer. He is, among other titles, world champion of military obstacles jumping. Donatien, her brother, is also a rider. He is a pillar of the France team. Eurydice is part of the future hopes of Eventing.
Photo : Renaud Fayet
The objective of the jumping competition is to check the freshness of the horse, its training at the bars and its physical ability to provide efforts.
Penelope Leprévost (Vice World Champion team in Lexington in 2010 and vice-champion of Europe team in Madrid in 2011) is now one of the pillars of the French team riders.
Photo : Renaud Fayet
The dressage competition includes several types of tests: the so-called "Grand Prize" where all the figures must be executed, and the "free" one, where the rider chooses his own figures among a minimum number, following the rhythm of music. This test aims at checking the level of training at all paces.
Photo Hélène Delavallade
"The Centaur Theatre is a family of ten horses and humans who have built a whole way of life and world of creation. A village of caravans, stables of carved wood, ten people and ten horses work every day to achieve a utopia. Of course, the Centaur does not exist. This is the utopia of a relationship, a symbiosis to be only one in two."
"Because it is impossible, because it is a utopia, the Centaur is for us a form of commitment. A commitment that drives us to invent a theater that does not exist, different shapes, a different language."
The creations of the company are sometimes akin to theater (The Maids, 1998), sometimes to circus (Macbeth, 2001) or to art films and dance (Cargo, 2004, Flux, 2009) or to an experience of living together (TransHumance - flagship project of Marseille European Capital of Culture 2013 ). Founded in 1989, the Centaur Theatre is located in Marseille since 1995. It is headed by Camille & Manolo.
www.theatreducentaure.com
© Christophe Billet
"The Centaur Theatre is a family of ten horses and humans who have built a whole way of life and world of creation. A village of caravans, stables of carved wood, ten people and ten horses work every day to achieve a utopia. Of course, the Centaur does not exist. This is the utopia of a relationship, a symbiosis to be only one in two."
"Because it is impossible, because it is a utopia, the Centaur is for us a form of commitment. A commitment that drives us to invent a theater that does not exist, different shapes, a different language."
The creations of the company are sometimes akin to theater (The Maids, 1998), sometimes to circus (Macbeth, 2001) or to art films and dance (Cargo, 2004, Flux, 2009) or to an experience of living together (TransHumance - flagship project of Marseille European Capital of Culture 2013 ). Founded in 1989, the Centaur Theatre is located in Marseille since 1995. It is headed by Camille & Manolo.
www.theatreducentaure.com
© Christophe_Monteil
"The Centaur Theatre is a family of ten horses and humans who have built a whole way of life and world of creation. A village of caravans, stables of carved wood, ten people and ten horses work every day to achieve a utopia. Of course, the Centaur does not exist. This is the utopia of a relationship, a symbiosis to be only one in two."
"Because it is impossible, because it is a utopia, the Centaur is for us a form of commitment. A commitment that drives us to invent a theater that does not exist, different shapes, a different language."
The creations of the company are sometimes akin to theater (The Maids, 1998), sometimes to circus (Macbeth, 2001) or to art films and dance (Cargo, 2004, Flux, 2009) or to an experience of living together (TransHumance - flagship project of Marseille European Capital of Culture 2013 ). Founded in 1989, the Centaur Theatre is located in Marseille since 1995. It is headed by Camille & Manolo.
www.theatreducentaure.com
© Christophe_Monteil
Alexis Gruss, riding master of the fourth generation, coming from a great family of the French circus, with his wife Gipsy, his children, Stephan, Firmin and Maud and his grandchildren, Charles and Alexander, are trustees and successors of an exceptional repertoire and know-how, especially in the three major equestrian specialties:
In the world of equestrian show, the work developed by Alexis Gruss for forty years, has brought the rediscovery and preservation of an historical heritage, revived and updated.
© K. El Dib, 2011
Alexis Gruss, riding master of the fourth generation, coming from a great family of the French circus, with his wife Gipsy, his children, Stephan, Firmin and Maud and his grandchildren, Charles and Alexander, are trustees and successors of an exceptional repertoire and know-how, especially in the three major equestrian specialties:
In the world of equestrian show, the work developed by Alexis Gruss for forty years, has brought the rediscovery and preservation of an historical heritage, revived and updated.
© K. El Dib, 2011
Alexis Gruss, riding master of the fourth generation, coming from a great family of the French circus, with his wife Gipsy, his children, Stephan, Firmin and Maud and his grandchildren, Charles and Alexander, are trustees and successors of an exceptional repertoire and know-how, especially in the three major equestrian specialties:
In the world of equestrian show, the work developed by Alexis Gruss for forty years, has brought the rediscovery and preservation of an historical heritage, revived and updated.
© K. El Dib, 2011
Alexis Gruss, riding master of the fourth generation, coming from a great family of the French circus, with his wife Gipsy, his children, Stephan, Firmin and Maud and his grandchildren, Charles and Alexander, are trustees and successors of an exceptional repertoire and know-how, especially in the three major equestrian specialties:
In the world of equestrian show, the work developed by Alexis Gruss for forty years, has brought the rediscovery and preservation of an historical heritage, revived and updated.
© K. El Dib, 2011
Alexis Gruss, riding master of the fourth generation, coming from a great family of the French circus, with his wife Gipsy, his children, Stephan, Firmin and Maud and his grandchildren, Charles and Alexander, are trustees and successors of an exceptional repertoire and know-how, especially in the three major equestrian specialties:
In the world of equestrian show, the work developed by Alexis Gruss for forty years, has brought the rediscovery and preservation of an historical heritage, revived and updated.
© K. El Dib, 2011
Dr. Paradi’s circus.
To show dada!!!!! 2013 creation
"DJANGO , SEATTIE, JUBIO
Complicit horses, wild, academic, majestic.
They save us from the flies that control us.
They break boundaries.
Source of life, liberty, truth, sensuality,
reunion... "
Extract from the brochure
© Jean-Pierre Estournet
Dr. Paradi’s circus.
To show dada!!!!! 2013 creation
"DJANGO , SEATTIE, JUBIO
Complicit horses, wild, academic, majestic.
They save us from the flies that control us.
They break boundaries.
Source of life, liberty, truth, sensuality,
reunion... "
Extract from the brochure
© Jean-Pierre Estournet
Dr. Paradi’s circus.
To show dada!!!!! 2013 creation
"DJANGO , SEATTIE, JUBIO
Complicit horses, wild, academic, majestic.
They save us from the flies that control us.
They break boundaries.
Source of life, liberty, truth, sensuality,
reunion... "
Extract from the brochure
© Jean-Pierre Estournet
Dr. Paradi’s circus.
To show dada!!!!! 2013 creation
"DJANGO , SEATTIE, JUBIO
Complicit horses, wild, academic, majestic.
They save us from the flies that control us.
They break boundaries.
Source of life, liberty, truth, sensuality,
reunion... "
Extract from the brochure
© Jean-Pierre Estournet
A veritable circular urban monument, the circus built by the architect Hittorff in 1841 became the architectural model for all permanent circuses built later in all the major cities of France. It is protected as historic monument.
Musée d'Orsay © RMN-Grand Palais / Hervé Lewandowski
The first omnibuses were deployed in Paris in 1828 in order to cheaply carry residents along stops dotting some regular lines. The General Omnibus Company (CGO) was created in 1854. Its fleet reached more than 500 carriages and about 6,500 horses covering a total of 25 lines. Heavy carriages pulled by three horses had 40 seats with a rear deck and a spiral staircase to the upper deck on a double-decker. In 1889, new, lighter carriages succeeded them. Accommodating 30 people, they were drawn by two horses.
National Car and Tourism Museum, Compiègne © RMN-Grand Palais / Daniel Arnaudet
Rodez national stud farm
© J.-L. Libourel, 1997
This type of car is also known as a pleasure car or a lake touring car. Used for tourism around alpine lakes, these carriages feature a body open on one side containing a single seat for two people placed on the vehicle's axle. Sitting facing the lake they are travelling around, passengers do not have to turn their heads and twist their necks for hours to admire the lake landscape.
National Car and Tourism Museum, Compiègne / Photo Hutin, Compiègne
Dog-carts are open carriages used for hunting. Two slatted compartments are outfitted in the body under the seats to transport dogs. Dog-carts exist with either two or four wheels.
France, collection A. et N. Grassart © J.-L. Libourel
Square and set on simple suspension, the small brougham is distinguished from the more luxurious, round large brougham set on "C" springs or eight-spring double suspension.
Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, château d’Espeyran © DRAC-CRMH Languedoc-Roussillon / Jackie Estimbre
A luxury-made phaeton with a flat-bottom body without wheel crossing set on shafted mail suspension with straight square-shaped springs at the front and telegraph springs on the back. "...highly fashionable among those who enjoy driving themselves."
(Le Journal des Haras, t. I, 1828).
© DRAC-CRMH Languedoc-Roussillon / Jackie Estimbre
The large-model break with a raised seat at the back for grooms was used mainly for hunting trips to the country. Compartments drilled with small vents for dogs were outfitted in the body under the two facing seats.
Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, château d’Espeyran © DRAC-CRMH Languedoc-Roussillon / Jackie Estimbre
Smaller than their public counterparts and much more carefully built, private omnibuses carry guests or travellers as well as their luggage from railway stations to nearby castles or mansions.
Chaumont-sur-Loire, château © J.-L. Libourel
Horse-drawn coach Museum, Versailles © RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot
An uncovered and roofless hunting carriage consisting of an axial shaft supporting a long seat on which the hunters straddled one behind the other, their feet resting on each side on a footstool running along the carriage. Some wursts are equipped on the back with a roofed convertible hood for the ladies.
National Car and Tourism Museum, Compiègne © RMN-Grand Palais
Intended for the Baron's travels between his various properties in the Southwest, this all-weather state coach was designed for long journeys on often poorly maintained roads: a strong chassis, suspension and assemblies coupled with comfort inside the body lined with reps for four passengers and complete with plenty of luggage ("cows", hat boxes, trunks) and a "cellar" under the body to store essential items.
Horse-Drawn Coach Museum, Versailles © RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot
Built in 1809 for the funeral of Marshall Lannes, modified in 1820 for that of the Duke of Berry and then in 1824 for that of Louis XVIII, it then served for the funeral of the Duke of Bourbon in 1830, that of Marshall Mortier in 1835, that of the Duke of Orleans in 1842, that of Jerome Bonaparte, King of Westphalia in 1860, and for the presidents of the Third Republic, Sadi Carnot in 1894 and Félix Faure in 1899. It was restored in 1995 to its 1824 condition in the funeral of Louis XVIII, which was the best-documented state.
National Car and Tourism Museum, Compiègne © RMN-Grand Palais / Daniel Arnaudet
Horse-drawn coach Museum, Versailles © RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot
National Car and Tourism Museum, Compiègne © RMN-Grand Palais / Jean-Gilles Berizzi
National Car and Tourism Museum, Compiègne © RMN-Grand Palais / Jean-Gilles Berizzi
National Car and Tourism Museum, Compiègne © RMN-Grand Palais / Jean-Gilles Berizzi
Excerpt from a film made in Alsace in 1967, displaying the various stages of iron-rimming a carriage wheel following a technique perfected in the 19th century.
CNRS Audiovisuel, 1984
In the daylight from the street onto which the workshop mainly opens, the men and women workers execute various items of carriages before assembly. On the floor, town-coach and gig bodies and a sedan chair are being made. At the back of the workshop, a state coach and a lounge chariot have already been mounted on their wheels.
Woodworkers draw and cut the panels which will be mounted on the carriage frame. Visible from the large bays of the workshop, steres (cubic meters) of wood cut up into planks dry in the air before being cut into panels.
On large tables the carriage panels are drawn using patterns and then cut. In the left part of the workshop, numerous carriage bodies are being assembled. At the back right, there is a machine to cut the wheel spokes.
On the left, a worker drills in the wheel rims, where the spokes will be placed; in the centre, two workers insert spokes in a hub; on the right, another positions rims and joins them with the spokes.
Workers busily fasten doors and assemble an axle and its tong springs. Leaning against the left wall, three fireplace mantles cover the area of the forges. At the back of the workshop is a mail-coach currently being built.
Workers garnish the wheels with their iron pieces: tyres, axles...
In the foreground, a sitting worker sews a piece of leather that he holds in place with a wooden tool, with the sewing clamp wedged between his knees. In the centre, a worker nails the interior trim of a carriage body in which he is standing. The opening to the street reveals a state coach mounted on its chassis.
A worker carving the moulding of the body of the large landau for "the coronation of Edward VII" in the workshops of the coachbuilder Hooper & Co in London in 1902.
This red and gold Daumont landau was regularly used for official ceremonies, receptions of heads of state, royal weddings (Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, Prince William and Kate Middleton), etc.
© Musée des arts et métiers-Cnam, Paris inv. N° 13571.123 / Photo: Dephti Ouest
© Stockholm, Nationalmuseum, collection Tessin-Harleman / Photo: Cecilia Heisser
Since their appearance at the start of the 1890s and until 1914, the majority of automobiles were outfitted by the only builders which were then in operation: horse-drawn carriage builders, who worked simultaneously on motor-driven and horse-drawn carriages.
© Musée national de la voiture et du tourisme, CMV.2011.0.006.16
© Musée national de la voiture et du tourisme, CMV.2011.0.007.27
© Musée national de la voiture et du tourisme, CMV.2011.0.017.06
© Musée national de la voiture et du tourisme, CMV.2011.0.017.29
Montpellier, private collection
Highlight models for undercarriage decoration: on the left, a badge (yellow) between two bordering bridles (black) and two detached bridles (yellow); on the right, a badge (black) between two detached bridles (black).
Built by Binder Frères in Paris, this gala coach was classified as a historical monument in 2005.
© Centre des monuments nationaux / Photo : Bernard Renoux
The Louis-Philippe Museum in Eu houses the ceremonial coach built in Paris for the king John V of Portugal. This state coach was classified as a historical monument in 1975.
Christophe Kollman © Service de l'Inventaire et du Patrimoine de Haute-Normandie
This park-drag carriage was classified as a historical monument in 1987.
© CG Basse-Normandie / Direction de l'Inventaire général et du Patrimoine / Photo : Jean-Claude Jacques
The National Car and Tourism Museum houses three large sets of vehicles: horse-drawn carriages, the first automobiles and cycles.
© Musée national de la voiture et du tourisme, Marc Poirier
Interview by Sylvie Grenet.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
Isabelle Bédat restores the cloth of the travelling brougham classified as historical monument and held at the Haras du Pin French National Stud farm.
Excerpt from Hippo...mobile !, a film by Olivier Clérot
A Pois Chiche Films production, 2010
Dominique Posselle restores a phaeton to be used for driving.
Excerpt from Hippo...mobile !, a film by Olivier Clérot
A Pois Chiche Films production, 2010
Interview by Sylvie Grenet.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
Interview by Sylvie Grenet.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
Interview by Sylvie Grenet.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
© Car and tourism national museum, Compiègne, CMV.2011.0.016.38
Interview by Sylvie Grenet.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
Interview by Sylvie Grenet.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
With tests in traditional carriage driving competition, these clips show the training for these competitions which are practised with modern carriages.
© Association française d'attelage
A faithful copy of one of King Louis XIV's ceremonial carriages, built by the Écuries Hardy workshop for the purposes of the film Vatel in 1999, the carriage was hitched to six white Boulogne race horses. The interior and exterior decoration was executed by the production designer Jean Rabasse and his team.The front and rear body panels are removable to make room for the camera to shoot interior shots.This carriage was reused in the film The King is Dancing by Gerard Corbiau and Milady by Josée Dayan.
Photo : Écuries Hardy http://www.ecurieshardy.com
A pure creation, the white state coach adorned with silver foliage, the tomb of the heroine, disappears at night into a river's water.
This lounge chariot was also used for the film Rendez vous à Varennes by Edward Niermans with Alain Delon and Elsa in 1992 and for shooting Nicolas le Floch 4 by Nicolas Picard in 2011 in an attack scene shot in around Millemont in Yvelines.
Photo : Écuries Hardy http://www.ecurieshardy.com
A beautifully imagined carriage, the white and gold coach internally lined with white ostrich feathers, moving at the trot of two white horses with gold harnesses, hitched in tandem and self-leading without a coachman.
With the kind authorisation of Canal+
It is in this state coach built after an old model for the film Delusions of Grandeur by Gerard Oury in 1970 that the legendary scene was filmed, where the carriage is chased by the villagers, with Yves Montand behind and Louis de Funès in the coach. In this scene Louis de Funes (or rather, his double) passes through the bottom of the body and is ejected under the state coach at the rear.
To perform this stunt safely, the rear wheels were made excessively high (2.20 m in diameter) so that the stuntman was not decapitated while passing the rear axle.
The rear step was also temporarily removed to allow free passage and was then replaced.
Photo : Écuries Hardy http://www.ecurieshardy.com
Reproduction of a French Restoration-era stagecoach built from a Mühlbacher road-coach by removing the seats from the roof and replacing the trunk by a for traveller cabin.
The car has several places for travellers (inside and outside), the price of which varied depending on the comfort (outside seats exposed to the weather were cheaper).
This stagecoach was pulled by horses to Slovenia (near Maribor) for the filming of Du Rouge sur la Croix by Dominique Othenin Girard in 2006.
It was also taken to Austria and the Czech Republic for the television production of Napoléon by Yves Simmoneau in 2001.
Photo : Écuries Hardy http://www.ecurieshardy.com
Reproduction of a French Restoration-era stagecoach built from a Mühlbacher road-coach by removing the seats from the roof and replacing the trunk by a for traveller cabin.
The car has several places for travellers (inside and outside), the price of which varied depending on the comfort (outside seats exposed to the weather were cheaper).
This stagecoach was pulled by horses to Slovenia (near Maribor) for the filming of Du Rouge sur la Croix by Dominique Othenin Girard in 2006.
It was also taken to Austria and the Czech Republic for the television production of Napoléon by Yves Simmoneau in 2001.
Photo : Écuries Hardy http://www.ecurieshardy.com
Marstallmuseum, château de Nymphenburg, Munich © Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung www.schloesser.bayern.de
Sequence with the hansom cab driven by Fred Astaire and carrying Ginger Rogers.
With the kind authorisation of Éditions Montparnasse
This replica of an early public stagecoach developed by the minister Turgot was built in the Écuries Hardy workshops.
The body is quite small compared to its large frame, whose impressive height has never been explained.
This carriage has been used in many films: The Horseman on the Roof by Jean-Paul Rappeneau in 1985, Valmont by Milos Forman in 1988, Manon Roland by Édouard Molinaro in 1989, The Return of Casanova, by Edouard Niermans, 1991, L'Auberge de la Jamaïque by Gilles Béhat in 1995, Balzac by Josée Dayan in 1999, Charlotte Corday by Henri Hellmann in 2008, among others.
Photo : Écuries Hardy http://www.ecurieshardy.com
This replica of an early public stagecoach developed by the minister Turgot was built in the Écuries Hardy workshops.
The body is quite small compared to its large frame, whose impressive height has never been explained.
This carriage has been used in many films: The Horseman on the Roof by Jean-Paul Rappeneau in 1985, Valmont by Milos Forman in 1988, Manon Roland by Édouard Molinaro in 1989, The Return of Casanova, by Edouard Niermans, 1991, L'Auberge de la Jamaïque by Gilles Béhat in 1995, Balzac by Josée Dayan in 1999, Charlotte Corday by Henri Hellmann in 2008, among others.
Photo : Écuries Hardy http://www.ecurieshardy.com
From the Italian Renaissance onwards, the riders are going to bring their horses in a balance which is specific to higher equitation, called the ‘rassembler’. This balance alters the common posture of the horse in two aspects: in the back part (the part of the horse situated at the back of the rider), the swing of the hips entails the back legs to move forward under the horse together with a flexion of all the joints; and simultaneously the rising of the neck (upwards) lightens the front (the part of the horse situated in front of the rider). Here the horse settles into the rassembler and then comes out of it. When the back legs come close to the front legs, the surface occupied on the ground – a surface referred to as "sustentation area” – becomes reduced.
Picture credits: Pepper Only / French Ministry of Culture and Communication
The ramener is a horse’s posture indispensable to correctly overcome the difficulties of higher school, a.k.a. high equitation.
The base of the neck is lifted and rounded, the chamfer is slightly in front of the vertical and the nape remains the highest point. On this video, the horse is "on the hand”, which means that the mouth is in clear, soft and constant contact with active reins. The rider, bringing his horse on the bit with his legs, gets a flexion of the neck which establishes the collection. In this other sequence, the horse is "in the hand”: the collection is obtained with the hand alone which is acting on the relaxed mouth from a high neck. The reins are half active and the contact with the rider’s hand tends to become less important.
Picture credits: Pepper Only / French Ministry of Culture and Communication
The illustrations of this 17th century essay are proofs of the link between subtle equitation and war equitation. Tournaments are still mentioned while they are not in practice any longer.
To see the work:
fonds-ancien.equestre.info
The illustrations of this 17th century essay are proofs of the link between subtle equitation and war equitation. Tournaments are still mentioned while they are not in practice any longer.
To see the work:
fonds-ancien.equestre.info
The illustrations of this 17th century essay are proofs of the link between subtle equitation and war equitation. Tournaments are still mentioned while they are not in practice any longer.
To see the work:
fonds-ancien.equestre.info
The illustrations of this 17th century essay are proofs of the link between subtle equitation and war equitation. Tournaments are still mentioned while they are not in practice any longer.
To see the work:
fonds-ancien.equestre.info
The Cadre Noir in Saumur is still following the French traditional horse riding practice.
© Cadre Noir in Saumur / Photo Alain Laurioux
An author of riding essays in the second half of the 18th century, Charles Dupaty de Clam is breaking down this posture to show how to manage it successfully.
The Renaissance riders developed new postures. The horse ridden by François I is featured in the “ramener” position (the neck is as high as possible).
Chantilly, Condé museum
Cazaux de Nestier (1684-1754), ecuyer of King Louis XV, shows a characteristic example of “collection” (bringing the horse’s neck high and the tilting of its pelvis) and “ramener” (high neck).
Private collection
Picture credits: Pepper Only / French Ministry of Culture and Communication
Picture credits: Pepper Only / French Ministry of Culture and Communication
Left of the château des Tuileries, the Pluvinel indoor school and its academy, situated close to the Louvre, at a place which became nowadays the Pyramides square in Paris.
This equestrian figure, used to salute the King, is an example of the relation between skilled equitation and the political power.
To read the work:
http://fonds-ancien.equestre.info/
© Cadre Noir in Saumur
The horse is tied in the double pillar to teach it to stand on its quarters, then to perform school jumps.
To read the work:
http://fonds-ancien.equestre.info/
© Cadre Noir in Saumur
To read the work:
© Cadre Noir in Saumur
This exercise is used to teach round voltes on which the horse can move its quarters in or out.
To read the work:
http://fonds-ancien.equestre.info/
© Cadre Noir in Saumur
To read the work
fonds-ancien.equestre.info
Cadre Noir de Saumur
In former equitation as practised from the 16th to the beginning of the 19th century, the training of horses could follow a progression in four stages, each being independent and forming the basis of the next one: breaking in (getting the horse used to the saddle and the rider), simple schooling (outdoor riding or war equitation) for the war horse, double schooling for the high school horse and, as a last resort, schooling through high up (work comprising school jumps).
This latter form of exercises was still performed in the four great European schools, the French National Riding School, the Vienna Spanish School, the Andalusian Royal School of Equestrian Art and the Portuguese school of equestrian art.
The words "school jumps" or high airs mean, as opposed to the low airs or near the ground, the movements during which the horse brings its forehand up above the ground or simultaneously its forehand and backhand.
Such exercises are already mentioned in riding treatises dating from the Italian Renaissance. Trained in the Italian academies, the French equerries brought back the practice which has survived until today, first in the school of the Louvre, then, from 1682 until 1830, in the school in Versailles. Since 1825, the Cadre Noir in Saumur has been continuing this tradition.
It presents three school jumps – cabriole, courbette and croupade; the two latter ones have developed in the 19th century and are now presented in a specific form which makes the school’s reputation.
© Cadre Noir de Saumur
Located in the commons of an 18th century château, the stables at Bouges were luxuriously equipped between the two wars the last lords, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Viguier, the owners of the Bazar de l'Hôtel-de-Ville in Paris. The refined facilities show how high the level of comfort could be raised without sacrificing aesthetic taste. Here, everything has been made to measure and iron was avoided in favour of wood, including the skylights in the boxes and hayrack bars.
© William Rolf Curtis
The solid-wood double feeders of the stables at the Château de Bouges are equipped with enamelled cast iron tubs that ensure proper hygiene for the horses. As in the whole of the facilities, they are a unique model – whereas most stables in the mid-19th century were equipped with standard accessories manufactured by specialised firms, the most famous of which being initially English manufacturers such as Barton's or Musgrave & Co (which had a branch in Paris at rue de Rivoli) later followed by some French suppliers, such as Jardillier et Cie at rue Marbeuf Paris or Entreprise Générale d'Écuries et Sellerie Rabourdin at rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
© William Curtis Rolf
Visible from the château's forecourt through a gallery of arcades, the stables were decorated following the 18th century fashion of horse protomes and deer carved in the round. The sculptor Lier surrounded the neck of the animals with a kind of drape. This iconography glorifying hunting with hounds, which was a long-standing tradition in these areas, inspired by the carved horse head usually seen over many stable entrances and of the trophies of deer which had been used to decorate the interiors of these buildings.
© William Curtis Rolf
Visitors discover the Château of Dampierre, flanked by large outbuildings, from the end of the André Le Nôtre-designed garden. On the left are the court stables built by Hardouin-Mansart in the 1680s, and on the right, all outbuildings, to which an orangery was attached in 1765.
© William Curtis Rolf
Fully open to the garden, the stable yard is flanked by two wings boasting a regular and functional architecture. Their single-level heights and mansard roofs keep them tightly connected to the body of the château.
© William Curtis Rolf
Built around 1665 by Henri II of Sennectère, the stables at La Ferte-Saint-Aubin flank the château's forecourt. This vast area of about seven by fifteen metres was originally covered by five cross vaults which collapsed in the first half of the 18th century. One can still see the corbels in the floor that replaced them. Transformed into a garage at the beginning of the last century, this building recovered its original function in 1990 with the installation of stalls and boxes from the former stables at the Château of Dampierre. The two large axial doors facing one another provide easy access from the forecourt to the rear courtyard giving way to four carriage houses.
© William Curtis Rolf
Built in 1725, the stables at the Château du Fraisse spread out along a wing of outbuildings 65 metres long and are located along the cour d'honneur of the château. It is covered by a beam and joist ceiling. Used by several generations of lords, it underwent several changes (particularly in the 19thcentury) with the outfitting of boxes, whose walls were hung from poles attached to the beams. In addition to a tack room placed to the rear, the equestrian facilities were complete with a forge and a wooden carousel which have since been lost to time.
© William Curtis Rolf
The stables at the Château de Montgeoffroy were built starting in 1771 by the Maréchal de Contades. Located since the at the end of the 19th century on the ground floor of a tower adjacent to the stables, the tack room at the Château de Montgeoffroy has retained excellent amenities. Covering a diameter of more than seven metres, the room is fully covered in parquet flooring and covered by Norwegian pine panelling which protects the leather from moisture. The wood panels draw a radiant pattern on the ceiling based on the lead-glazed stove duct which also helps to maintain favourable humidity conditions for proper preservation of quality saddles and harnesses.
© William Curtis Rolf
Located in the park removed from the château, the stables of Valmirande, built in the early 20th century for the Baron Bertrand de Lassus by the architect Alexander Garros boast facilities at once stylish and functional, while remaining perfectly maintained to this day. Each stall is outfitted with a hayrack directly stocked food to provide a feeder connected to the space for fodder storage located above. The original electric lighting is still in place. Imitating daylight, artificial lighting is outfitted behind the horses so as not to bother them. In a carefully-studied design, the lamps serve as an important element of the interior decor.
© William Curtis Rolf
Such saddlery as well maintained as those at Valmirande are rare. Elegantly arranged inside large windows, bits and harnesses take on a true value as decorations. The most common accessories were usually stored next to the horses in a second room, called "work" tack room. The panelling and the stove, integrated in a former fireplace, create favourable conditions for the proper conservation of the leathers.
© William Curtis Rolf
The circular indoor school is decorated with rich, naturally-painted sculptural decoration. It is especially concentrated around the trough that faces the entrance. The bottom of its vast niche is decorated with "congelated" (icicle-like decorations) framed by columns shaped like palm trees on which two children hold a large cartouche bearing the building's dedication. Water flowed from a mask to cascade down into two, shell-shaped stacked basins. Lead dolphins which supported the larger basin were melted down during the Revolution, as were the two horses made of the same material, which had been placed on the edge of the basin. A masterpiece of Rococo art, this beautiful composition is flanked by two deer carved in high relief.
© William Curtis Rolf
Architecte : Jules Hardouin-Mansart
© RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot
The rooms for the housing of horses form a number of long arcades of covered in brick and stone barrel vaults and punctuated laterally by lunettes. The one shown here has been restored and equipped with modern steel and roble wood boxes designed by the architect Patrick Bouchain. They fit perfectly with Hardouin-Mansart's architecture and house the Lusitano horses of the Bartabas Equestrian Arts School, located since 2002 in the Main Stable.
© William Curtis Rolf
Given its large size, the interior of the Chantilly stables remind of religious architecture. On either side of the axial riding area, the two large naves can accommodate up to 140 horses. 11.60 meters wide, they are covered by a stone vault that rises to some 14 meters above the ground. The two large cradles are punctuated by arcs-doubleaux (transverse arches) forming numerous bays lit by tall windows providing a soft light which itself calms the horses and highlights the architecture. The decor consists of sculptures of deer busts placed on a cartouche arranged at the start of each arc-doubleau. The original furniture has been replaced by a system blending stalls and boxes.
© William Curtis Rolf
Facing south, the stables line the racecourse, with the prominent pavilion of the riding area in the centre and the main entrance marked by the famous arched gate, which inspired the design of many other stables. At the end of this wing, visitors can see one of the two side entrances which open directly to the naves where the houses are lodged. To the east, on side of the road from the château, the portico of the riding area furnished with the Count's weapons and the arches marking the village's gate complete the composition.
© William Curtis Rolf
Registration of Ibrahim, stallion from the national stud farms. Born in 1952 to René Haize in Picauville, he ensured breeding from 1956 to 1973. He is considered the father of the French saddle breed.
La Manche departmental archives, 2 ETP 213
It is the oldest studbook in existence. The collection contains more than 7,500 articles and is the most complete body in France. The records have been bound into a book by the care of the stud farms from their origin until 1985, which has ensured the comprehensive nature of the collection.
La Manche departmental archives, 2 ETP 258/1
Tanneguy de Sainte-Marie Postcard Collection
Édit. Argentan © Haras national du Pin Tourisme
Corrèze departmental archives, 1585 W dep 456
Archives départementales de Corrèze, 1585 W dep 457
Corrèze departmental archives, 5 Fi 11.112 / Photo Meyrignac et Puydebois, Brive
Corrèze departmental archives, 5 Fi 11.25 / Photo Bessot et Guionte, Brive
Corrèze departmental archives
Corrèze departmental archives
Corrèze departmental archives, FRAD019_1585_Wdep_466 D
Some indoor schools boast particularly original architectural forms. Here is the indoor school at the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire, designed by Paul-Ernest Sanson in the 19th century on the basis of an old, 18th-century kiln. The shape and restrained interior space limit use to light work or to the relaxation of the horses.
Private collection, Corinne Doucet
The indoor school of the National Horse Society of Fontainebleau has a remarkable example of Delorme, chestnut-wood roofing framework characterized by its shell-shape and overturned ship likeness. It was indeed assembled by the carpenters of the Imperial Navy
© Corinne Doucet
The construction of military indoor schools responded to changes in the use of cavalry and to a need for their training. The 19th century saw the highest concentration of military indoor schools in France. A particularly high density could be found in the northern and eastern border areas of France, although they were present throughout the country. In 1826, the construction of the new Maubeuge cavalry indoor school was planned as shown in the map and elevation opposite.
Collection of the departmental archives of Nord Lille 66 J 1605 / 9
The breeding spaces are also outfitted with buildings for horsework. As seen here, the indoor schools have been created to provide a place dedicated to the concentration, to the calm necessary for horses and also to protect from the elements. Like the large indoor school at the Le Pin national stud farm, they are closed, covered and are perfectly suited for the working and relaxation of stallions. This indoor school was built by the architect Pierre Le Mousseux following plans drawn up by Robert de Cotte.
© Corinne Doucet
The indoor schools have not disappeared from the French equestrian scene... quite the contrary. Some owners look to their buildings to engage an equestrian spirit that goes beyond simple work and pays tribute to the horses who work there. Thus, the Élevage Massa breeding farm has an indoor school attempting to replicate the old Bordeaux equestrian academy. The building offers a vast indoor space with a rib-vaulted ceiling lit by stained-glass skylights.
© Photographie : Élevage Massa / Château Font du Broc aux Arcs-sur-Argens
A wide variety of sources enables those interested in investigating the indoor-school history. A major source of visuals to be taken advantage of are old postcards, as shown here. The Vives indoor school of the La Fère cavalry district in Aisne is a typical example of a military school built in the 19th century in a cavalry district or barracks. These buildings were classified into three categories based on their size by a 1861 circular. First class, the largest, included areas 52.50 m long and 21 m wide.
Photo Corinne Doucet / Manège Vivès
One of the most remarkable architectural elements of the indoor schools lies in their roofing framework, which significantly changed during the period. The Delorme, Polonceau or the Emy roofing frameworks illustrate the development of the size of rides indoor schools as well as the industrial techniques available to builders. The wide roofing framework (opposite) of the indoor school in the Rochambeau district is an example of Polonceau roof invented in 1837, combining wood, iron and cast iron. This is the only example of its kind in good condition kept in the Centre region.
© Corinne Doucet
A number of indoor school have been preserved until today, although their condition varies highly depending on the interest shown to them. The indoor school in the Rochambeau district in Vendome in Loir-et-Cher is a perfect example. It bears witness to the new construction standards established by the Ministry of War at the time. It has stands which were then reserved for officers attending the horsework of riders.
© Corinne Doucet
Collection de cartes postales de Tanneguy de Sainte-Marie
Édit. Argentan © Haras national du Pin Tourisme
Médiathèque de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine – Diffusion RMN
The 1940s mosaic of this old horse butcher mentioned in Philippe Delerm's book Traces provides the framework for a sock shop in 2013.
Ministry of Culture and Communication / Martine Tayeb
The butcher at rue Cadet is one of the 12 horse butchers still in operation in Paris in 2013.
Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs of the Île-de-France / Agnès Chauvin
The butcher at rue Cadet is one of the 12 horse butchers still in operation in Paris in 2013.
Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs of the Île-de-France / Agnès Chauvin
This horse butcher was located at 28 rue Cler in Paris (7th arrondissement) between 1925 and 1930. The front has a perforated cast-iron grate and the interior white lead-glazed tiles. Registered as a historic monument since 1984 after being transformed into a pastry shop in 1987, the store now serves Greek specialities in 2013.
This traditional façade of the horse butcher, with its perforated grate painted in red, is now a prêt-à-porter clothing shop in 2013. The horse head which decorated it has disappeared
Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs of the Île-de-France / Agnès Chauvin
The old horse butcher located at 69 rue du Bac in Paris (7th arrondissement) around 1930 bears witness to an Art-Deco façade composed of different coloured marble pieces.
Direction régionale des affaires culturelles d'Île-de-France / Monique Mahaux
In his short story The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1936), Ernest Hemingway evoked "the golden horse's head outside the Boucherie Chevaline where the carcasses hung yellow gold and red in the open window..."
Direction régionale des affaires culturelles d'Île-de-France / Monique Mahaux
Registered as a historical monument since 1984, the façade of the old horse butcher is now in 2013 the front of a chocolate shop.
Ministry of Culture and Communication / Martine Tayeb
Registered as a historical monument since 1984, the façade of the old horse butcher is now in 2013 the front of a chocolate shop.
Direction régionale des affaires culturelles d'Île-de-France / Agnès Chauvin
Built at the site of the former Vaugirard slaughterhouse by the architect Ernest Denis and the sculptor François Mourgues (1884 - 1954), this horseflesh industry war memorial displays on the other façade the bust of Emile Decroix, zealous defender of horseflesh in France.
Built at the site of the former Vaugirard slaughterhouse by the architect Ernest Denis and the sculptor François Mourgues (1884 - 1954), this horseflesh industry war memorial displays on the other façade the bust of Emile Decroix, zealous defender of horseflesh in France.
Mediatheque of Architecture and Heritage – Diffusion RMN
Located in Paris at 5, rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire in Paris and reserved for receiving controllers of the horse market at the Saint-Marcel and Hôpital boulevards, this pavilion was erected between 1760 and 1762 on the orders of Antoine de Sartine, Lieutenant General of the police department. It is classified as a historical monument.
First Latin edition of the Hippiatrica, translated by Ruel based on Greek manuscripts as requested by Francis Ist
Books:
www.biusante.parisdescartes.fr
Page:
www.biusante.parisdescartes.fr/page
© BIU Santé, Paris, List: 981
Collection: library at the École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
The Book of the Hunt by Gaston Phoebus contains information on canine care.
© Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms fr 616
The Book of the Hunt by Gaston Phoebus contains information on canine care.
© Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms fr 617
To read the work:
http://gallica.bnf.fr
© Bibliothèque nationale de France, Manuscript department, Italian 454. Title page
To read the work:
www.biusante.parisdescartes.fr
© École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
Solleysel took a classical figure from the literature of the 17th century, which represented the parts of the individual connected by linens to potential diseases. His treatise was intended as a scholarly resource and followed the theory of humours, the foundation of human medicine at that time.
© C. Degueurce - library at the École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
The "doctor of veterinary sciences at the main stables of King Charles IX", Héroard was the first to accurately describe the contours of a horse's bones. His Hippostéologie would be the first volume in a series of books describing the entire anatomy of this noble animal. His appointment as doctor prevented the continuation of the project.
© C. Degueurce - library at the École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
This view shows how limited hippiatrist anatomical knowledge was. It failed to take into consideration nearly all diseases lacking external symptoms.
Carlo Ruini created exception woodcuts that were copied for nearly two centuries. The horse displays a smooth movement in a classic representation of the animal — the trot — with fairly connected limbs. Landscapes adorn the background, as in Vesalius's Fabrica (1543).
Collection : bibliothèque de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
First tome and second tome
This three-volume work conferred on Claude Bourgelat a reputation that was to open the door to the Encyclopédie and ensure the success of his project to create a veterinary education.
To read the work:
www2.vetagro-sup.fr
Collection: library at the École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
First tome and second tome
This three-volume work conferred on Claude Bourgelat a reputation that was to open the door to the Encyclopédie and ensure the success of his project to create a veterinary education.
To read the work:
www2.vetagro-sup.fr
Collection: library at the École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Collection: library at the École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Initially, veterinary education was rather rough. A student was deemed competent once he or she knew the opuscules by heart. Many of them were published by Bourgelat under the title The Elements of the Veterinary Art, which was reissued numerous times after his death in 1779.
© C. Degueurce - private collection
The veterinarian Charles Vial Sainbel had been educated in Lyon before becoming a teacher some time later in Alfort. Having emigrated to England, he managed to see the famous Eclipse, a thoroughbred descendant of Darley Arabian, undefeated at the races during the seventeen months that his racing career lasted. When he left his career in October 1770, he enjoyed a brilliant career as a stallion. Shortly before his death, Charles Vial de Sainbel managed to measure him and establish a new canon of proportions, which he published in An Essay on the Proportions of the Celebrated Eclipse. This champion provided an alternative to the canon of his former master, Bourgelat. With Eclipse, Vial de Sainbel described an unusual but very real horse, an animal of a new kind specialising in racing. Subsequently, others took interest in the Russian trotter, the Norfolk horse, the Arabian, thus reflecting that equine species were rapidly diversifying. Shortly thereafter, local or morphological types would turn into breeds, and designations based on an ability to work would give way to names precisely defining a morphological model.
Collection: library at the École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
The veterinarian Charles Vial Sainbel had been educated in Lyon before becoming a teacher some time later in Alfort. Having emigrated to England, he managed to see the famous Eclipse, a thoroughbred descendant of Darley Arabian, undefeated at the races during the seventeen months that his racing career lasted. When he left his career in October 1770, he enjoyed a brilliant career as a stallion. Shortly before his death, Charles Vial de Sainbel managed to measure him and establish a new canon of proportions, which he published in An Essay on the Proportions of the Celebrated Eclipse. This champion provided an alternative to the canon of his former master, Bourgelat. With Eclipse, Vial de Sainbel described an unusual but very real horse, an animal of a new kind specialising in racing. Subsequently, others took interest in the Russian trotter, the Norfolk horse, the Arabian, thus reflecting that equine species were rapidly diversifying. Shortly thereafter, local or morphological types would turn into breeds, and designations based on an ability to work would give way to names precisely defining a morphological model.
Collection: library at the École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Lafosse was clearly more competent than Bourgelat but did not enjoy his network. Above all, he looked to create a school of hippiatrics when his elder rival realised that the goal of the royals was to create a veterinary school working with animals of agriculture and not just the horse. Bruised by the success of Bourgelat, Lafosse published his exceptional Course in 1772, which was decorated with beautiful watercolour plates that relegated Bourgelat's works to the level of austere treaties.
© C. Degueurce - library at the École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
Lafosse was clearly more competent than Bourgelat but did not enjoy his network. Above all, he looked to create a school of hippiatrics when his elder rival realised that the goal of the royals was to create a veterinary school working with animals of agriculture and not just the horse. Bruised by the success of Bourgelat, Lafosse published his exceptional Course in 1772, which was decorated with beautiful watercolour plates that relegated Bourgelat's works to the level of austere treaties.
© C. Degueurce - library at the École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
Lafosse was clearly more competent than Bourgelat but did not enjoy his network. Above all, he looked to create a school of hippiatrics when his elder rival realised that the goal of the royals was to create a veterinary school working with animals of agriculture and not just the horse. Bruised by the success of Bourgelat, Lafosse published his exceptional Course in 1772, which was decorated with beautiful watercolour plates that relegated Bourgelat's works to the level of austere treaties.
© C. Degueurce - library at the École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
This work appeared in the same year as the formation in France of the Royal Veterinary School of Paris. Written by George Stubbs, the famous English painter, it displayed various anatomy drawings of a horse taken from the trot position and several angles. After Ruini, it is one of the first representations of the horse's anatomy.
To read the work:
www2.biusante.parisdescartes.fr
© C. Degueurce - library at the École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
A peculiarity of the 19th century is the use of abundant, high-quality illustration. This lithograph depicts the anatomy of a horse's foot, with special focus on the tendons and ligaments.
© C. Degueurce - private collection
This treatise is fairly representative of late 19th-century production. Every author published extremely comprehensive, well-documented works still useful today. This page is dedicated to restraining the horse during surgery on the inguinal region.
© C. Degueurce - private collection
This publishing house published a large number of veterinary treatises. This excerpt from the special catalogue particularly details the works of Pierre-Just Cadiot, a professor of surgery at the School of Alfort and one of the major figures of the discipline until the First World War.
© C. Degueurce - private collection
To read the work:
www2.biusante.parisdescartes.fr
Collection: library at the École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Collection: library at the École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
To read the work:
www2.biusante.parisdescartes.fr
© BIUSanté - library at the École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
The travail was used most often for shoeing. The metal bars at the rear enabled placement of the feet of heavy draft horses or oxen.
Private collection
On the left page: drawing of the restraining cage called travail
AD Manche, 5 J 88 [papier 17 x 11 cm].
The Bourgelat travail, which is still kept at the Veterinary School of Alfort, was a travail used for both farrier work and for exact and painful surgeries, such as cataracts, pterygium excision (an inflammation of the eye) or the removal of bladder stones. Created in 1770, its side planks could hold a cinch supporting the horse. The horse was outfitted with a hood inhibiting its vision, its limbs were shackled to the poles creating the four corners and a halter firmly supported its head while its tail was tied to one of the crossbeams. Trapped in the restraining cage, animals endured terrible suffering and some collapsed under the scalpel while others tried to escape through the top. Paramount was the safety of the operator, who had to act quickly while the supports held the animal or caused it small pains to divert its attention.
Private collection
The travail was complemented at the end of the 19th century by mechanical travails a.k.a. tilt travails. These combined restraints and the ability to rotate the animal horizontally. The most famous one in France was the Vinsot travail, named after the Chartres-based veterinarian who patented it in 1882. Heavily shackled, haltered and with a hood over its head, the animal was placed in the metal structure, which then closed over it. The cage was then laid horizontally on the ground to enable the work of the operator.
This travail was slightly modified: it turned on itself and placed the horse horizontally at the same height as the operator. A metal frame could be used to separate the horse's legs, thus enabling castration or a cryptorchidism operation, for instance.
Private collection
This cautery was heated by the combustion of ether located on the handle. This enabled resting the heat and removing warts independently, without having to use the horseman's forge to heat conventional cauteries. However, its use was very dangerous because the fuel in the handle could explode...
© C. Degueurce - Musée Fragonard de l’École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
Red-hot, the tip of the cautery was inserted into the tendon or the abscess to reach the deeper parts.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
This cautery was used to operate burn lines on the skin.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
This cautery has a rod bent over itself, such that it has an empty space at the end. It was used to burn the stump after the tail was amputated. This was common practice to beautify a horse or to facilitate the use of a draft horse.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
This fleam is composed of several steel blades, each bearing a small, very sharp blade triangular near the end, which was used to drain the blood. Generally, fleams were of different sizes to adapt all vein sizes. They were locked in a handle, which could be made of plain metal, horn, tortoiseshell or ivory.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
This automatic fleam avoided the use of the hammer. The blade was tightened by hand, using a tension spring which, when released, flung against the skin. This fleam was gradually abandoned because of multiple accidents related to its troublesome tripping.
© C. Degueurce - Musée Fragonard de l’École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
The operator applied the fleam to the vein previously swollen using compression. The fleam should be held gently, as if it were a feather. Then the practitioner struck the back of the blade with a long wooden mallet such that the skin and the wall of the vein were pierced at the same time. Removing the blade opened the gap and caused the bleeding. When the practitioner considered that enough blood had been drained, he closed the edges of the incision with a pin, tore a few hairs he soaked with blood or saliva to bind them in a "figure-eight" to retain the closure. The animal was kept still for a few hours after the operation. The pin was removed six to eight days later.
Bloodletting was not without risk. The fleam could hit the trachea or the common carotid artery, resulting in the formation of a large hematoma. Phlebitis and thrombosis were common. Finally, blood loss could hasten the patient's death.
© C. Degueurce - Musée Fragonard de l’École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
This utensil was extremely common in the 19th century. It contains useful tools for the breeder, such as a three-blade fleam, a scalpel, a hoof knife and a scythe-blade scalpel.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Making a seton consisted in slipping a thread that had been soaked in turpentine under the skin. This was followed by a violent organic reaction from the subject, along with significant suppuration. This practice was supposed to boost the animal's immunity. The slot cut into the tip of the needle was used to place the thread, which was then guided under the skin. An alternative was to directly inject an astringent agent directly under the skin, leading to a sometimes uncontrollable abscess. This process was known as "fixation abscess".
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
The scalpel a.k.a. bistoury or "surgeon's knife" was a kind of knife, which could be foldable or not. The blade was sharpened before the operation. The incision had to be made cleanly and only once. Surgery had to be conducted by minimising the number of incisions and in the shortest time.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Until recently, horse castration was performed using these pieces of wood. Specifically, the scrotum was opened and the testicle pulled so that the spermatic cord containing the vessels and vas deferens were made visible. The wooden elastrator was then placed such that each pair crushed an entire spermatic cord. The testicle underwent necrosis, withered and was finally removed a week later. This mode of castration had the advantage of being very safe for the animal.
© C. Degueurce - Musée Fragonard de l’École nationale vétérinaire d’Alfort
This huge tin syringe was used to administer solutions through the rectum. As in humans, the purpose of these enemas was to assist in the evacuation of overabundant "humours" at the origin of the disease and for removing obstructions. The horse has a highly developed large intestine but presents certain constrictions where food masses can become blocked. This treatment was valueless and lacked proven effectiveness.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
The sage-leaf knife is a scalpel with a curved blade that was use mainly for quittor operations. Quittor was a kind of tumour that developed in the foot after repeated impact of hoof on hard ground. Often located at the back and sides of the hoof, this mass underwent necrosis, abscessed and led to a purulent fistula. The animal suffered great pain and could no longer walk. The sage-leaf knife was used to remove the entire tumour and the then foot was carefully bandaged until full recovery. Sage-leaf knives could be distinguish as "right" or "left" depending on whether the operator was left or right handed and on the operated foot. This disease has completely disappeared along with the use of horses for work, as has the instrument.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Injections were mainly developed in the 20th century, at a time when the active pharmaceutical ingredients became more and more concentrated and could be measured very precisely. The injection gradually replaced less effective and imprecise oral forms.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
This instrument enabled bone cores to be obtained and skull cavities to be opened. In horses, the trephine was generally used to open the sinuses and allow irrigation in the event of sinusitis.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
While plaster is the material of choice for artists, its use is less common in anatomical depictions. However, certain collections in French veterinary schools house numerous colourful specimens. Plaster has the advantage of being inexpensive and easy to handle.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
In 1822, Louis Auzoux developed a method inspired by Jean-François Ameline, a professor at the Faculty of Caen, which enabled him to create paper mache models that could be dismantled. He first created various human models before applying the method to the animal world and then to botany. In 1844, he created a horse model to enable dissecting the animal without requiring a corpse. This is the so-called "incomplete", simplified model for the training of young conscripts in cavalry and artillery regiments.
© C. Degueurce - Musée Fragonard de l’École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
This plaster écorché was made by the artist and veterinarian Antoine-François Vincent (1743-1789) while he taught a course on artistic anatomy at the School of Alfort. This horse displayed a bodily relief structuring the shape of a horse, which were largely unknown concepts at a time when the depiction of the horse often featured quite deformed animals. The second copy of the casting was exhibited at the Louvre before being placed in the studio of the sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon. It is now at the National School of Fine Arts in Paris, in a monochrome version. The version at Alfort was colour-painted in the late 19th century to achieve a more comprehensive integration in the museum's didactic collections.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Started in 1765, this piece is undoubtedly the most well-known of the famous anatomist. While considered in the 20th century to be an evocation of Albrecht Dürer's work , it was in fact first used as a scientific object for teaching anatomy. It enabled placing man and horse side by side and comparing their muscle groups.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Started in 1765, this piece is undoubtedly the most well-known of the famous anatomist. While considered in the 20th century to be an evocation of Albrecht Dürer's work , it was in fact first used as a scientific object for teaching anatomy. It enabled placing man and horse side by side and comparing their muscle groups.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Started in 1765, this piece is undoubtedly the most well-known of the famous anatomist. While considered in the 20th century to be an evocation of Albrecht Dürer's work , it was in fact first used as a scientific object for teaching anatomy. It enabled placing man and horse side by side and comparing their muscle groups.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Wax has been widely used in human anatomy. However, it was however abandoned in animal anatomy due to its fragility, difficulty to handle and the lack of the need, as in humans, to render the complexion of the cadaver's skin pale.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
All anatomical collections include whole skeletons and separated bones and joints. These skeletons are deemed artificial when the bones were first all separated and then reassembled with metal threads and are deemed natural when the dissection has kept their ligaments together and thus maintained the connection between bones.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
This horse has mandibular brachygnathia, i.e. its upper jaw is longer than the lower. The horse's teeth are continuously growing in order to compensate for the permanent wear caused by chewing grass. Since the jaws are out of place, the staggered incisors do not wear out and press through, badly hurting the horse.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Cyclopia is the fusion of both eyes into one or, as in this foal, into a single orbit containing two eyes. This lethal malformation is related to the lack of development of the forebrain.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
This horse head is that of a jumart, a fabled cross between a mare and a bull which was rampantly believed to exist in the 18th century. The animal was small, with a short face, bent back and knocky limbs. This specimen dates to 1766 and was presented by Claude Bourgelat to the French Academy of Sciences. The case caused a great stir since it called into question the principle of such distant species’ inability to interbreed.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
This hydrocephalic mare was born on 21 January 1821 at the Gard hunting regiment. Its head is deformed due to the accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the skull. Very poorly handled by humans, this anomaly has a much better prognosis for horses.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
A horse sometimes reverts to an ancestral condition: polydactylism. This horse presents with an extra digit.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Horses pulling heavy loads presented with extremely significant vertebral fusions that were accompanied by severe pain.
© C. Degueurce - Musée Fragonard de l’École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
Before the water supply was outfitted in Paris, in the 18th and 19th centuries horses had extremely large digestive stones arising from the accumulation of plants or hair trapped in minerals. Some stones could reach masses of more than 10 kg. They were generally well tolerated until they became lodged in a narrowing of the intestine and thus triggered a fatal occlusion.
© C. Degueurce - Musée Fragonard de l’École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
The hock joint presents with bony peripheral productions following tarsal osteoarthritis. This condition frequently affected horses subjected to slow and continuous work. It led to terrible pain that limited the horse's use.
© C. Degueurce - Musée Fragonard de l’École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
Characterised by the deformation of the head, bone degeneration and tooth loss, this disease was also called "milling horse sickness". It was caused by eating bran and wheat crust, which rich in phosphorus and low in calcium, thus leading to disorders regarding the metabolism of these minerals. With easy access to this substance, milling horses were particularly affected.
© C. Degueurce - Musée Fragonard de l’École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
This giant spleen is deformed with large abscesses, the famous tubercles that gave the disease its name. Like all other domestic species, the horse could be infected by this disease, which was, before the BCG's implementation of vaccination in 1921, the leading cause of death of the humans.
© C. Degueurce - Musée Fragonard de l’École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
The farrier's hoof knife is a long blade held by a strong handle, which is used to prepare horse's feet. This is the ancestor of sole knife, which replaced it in the 20th century with the advent of English shoeing. The use of this tool was especially dangerous for the person holding the horse's foot off the ground.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Donkey was often the inferior relative of farm animals. This horseshoe shows what was best for the animal, especially when it was used for military purposes.
© C. Degueurce - Musée Fragonard de l’École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
Mules were prized for their extreme resistance. They were hitched or pack-saddled. Their horseshoes were very large because these animals strike the ground with the front of the hoof, which required a well-fitted horseshoe.
© C. Degueurce - Musée Fragonard de l’École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
The Republican Guard has its own forges where its blacksmiths fashion customised irons, thus perpetuating a skill rare today.
With a single piece of metal heated to 1200 °C, the blacksmith quickly forges a horseshoe perfectly adapted to the size and shape of the animal's foot.
The manufacture of horseshoes can be achieved by three soldiers who forge using the "three hammer" method. This demanding exercise brings together a forger, a striker and a finisher to perform their role to stretch the metal and give it its final shape.
When hot, the horseshoe is then, in the "French" method, placed on the hot callus of the hoof. The "French" method of farriery requires the presence of two blacksmiths. Nails should be driven to the nearest millimetre to prevent harm and injury from being caused to the horse.
On average, the horseshoe must be changed every forty-five days and there are more than twenty types with sizes ranging from 28 to 48 (the smallest fits inside the largest).
© Garde républicaine
The Republican Guard has its own forges where its blacksmiths fashion customised irons, thus perpetuating a skill rare today.
With a single piece of metal heated to 1200 °C, the blacksmith quickly forges a horseshoe perfectly adapted to the size and shape of the animal's foot.
The manufacture of horseshoes can be achieved by three soldiers who forge using the "three hammer" method. This demanding exercise brings together a forger, a striker and a finisher to perform their role to stretch the metal and give it its final shape.
When hot, the horseshoe is then, in the "French" method, placed on the hot callus of the hoof. The "French" method of farriery requires the presence of two blacksmiths. Nails should be driven to the nearest millimetre to prevent harm and injury from being caused to the horse.
On average, the horseshoe must be changed every forty-five days and there are more than twenty types with sizes ranging from 28 to 48 (the smallest fits inside the largest).
© Garde républicaine
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
This hoof knife is a small curved blade, which was used to clean out the gaps in the horse's hoof or ruminants' hooves and to lance abscesses.
Collection : musée Fragonard de l'École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort / Photo Olivier Jourdanet / MCC
Interview by Sylvie Grenet.
Camera: Martine Hourcadette, French Ministry of Culture and Communication
This guide stands as an essential tool for horse historians and other researchers.
This overview on the Franche-Comté races is followed by an inventory of the horse collections at the Doubs departmental archives.
On-line exhibition on the history of the relationships between residents of the Manche department and the world of the horse. The website of the Manche Archives also offers collections of images and oral testimony.
This exhibition takes shape as posters, which can be borrowed and displayed elsewhere. The catalogue is on-line.
The collections on the horse have been regularly enhanced by the archive services either for this very subject purposes or in order to display topics such as agriculture or transport.
Manufacturer: Boneberge in Lyon.
Classified as historical monument in 1982
Location: Coignières
Owner: Private property
Photo : Yves Daugé
Manufacturer: Binder Frères in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 2005
Location: Chambord, château
Owner: France, state-owned asset
Photo : Bernard Renoux © Centre des monuments nationaux
Manufacturer: Binder Frères in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 2005
Location: Chambord, château
Owner: France, state-owned asset
Photo : Bernard Renoux © Centre des monuments nationaux
Manufacturer: Mühlbacher in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 2002
Location: Pau-Gélos, French National Stud
Owner: City of Pau
Photo : Bernard Renoux © Centre des monuments nationaux
Manufacturer: Binder Frères in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 2005
Location: Chambord, château
Owner: France, state-owned asset
Photo : Bernard Renoux © Centre des monuments nationaux
Manufacturer: Binder Frères in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 2005
Location: Chambord, château
Owner: France, state-owned asset
Photo : Bernard Renoux © Centre des monuments nationaux
Manufacturer: Mühlbacher in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 2002
Location: Pau-Gélos, French National Studl
Owner: City of Pau
Photo : Bernard Renoux © Centre des monuments nationaux
Manufacturer: Bail Jeune Frères in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 2002
Location:Pau-Gélos, French National Stud
Owner: City of Pau
Photo : Bernard Renoux © Centre des monuments nationaux
Manufacturer: Binder in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 2002
Location: Pau-Gélos, French National Stud
Owner: City of Pau
Photo : Bernard Renoux © Centre des monuments nationaux
Manufacturer: Mühlbacher in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 2002
Location: Pau-Gélos, French National Stud
Owner: City of Pau
Photo : Bernard Renoux © Centre des monuments nationaux
Manufacturer: Mühlbacher in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 2002
Location: Pau-Gélos, French National Stud
Owner:City of Pau
Photo : Bernard Renoux © Centre des monuments nationaux
Manufacturer: Justin Camou in Pau.
Classified as historical monument in 2002
Location: Pau, home of André Labarrère
Owner: City of Pau
Photo : Bernard Renoux © Centre des monuments nationaux
Manufacturer: Binder Frères in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 2005
Location: Chambord, château
Owner: France, state-owned asset
Jean-Louis Libourel
Unknown manufacturer.
Classified as historical monument in 2010
Location: Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, Espeyran château
Owner: France, Archives de France
Photo : Jackie Estimbre © Direction régionale des affaires culturelles de Languedoc-Roussillon
Manufacturer: Baptiste Thomas in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 2010
Location: Saint-Gilles du Gard, château d’Espeyran
Owner: État, Archives de France
Photo : Jackie Estimbre © Direction régionale des affaires culturelles de Languedoc-Roussillon
Manufacturer: Ehrler in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 2010
Location: Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, Espeyran château
Owner : France, Archives de France
Photo : Jackie Estimbre © Direction régionale des affaires culturelles de Languedoc-Roussillon
Unknown manufacturer.
Classified as historical monument in 2010
Location: Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, Espeyran château
Owner: France, Archives de France
Photo : Jackie Estimbre © Direction régionale des affaires culturelles de Languedoc-Roussillon
Manufacturer: Jacques Rothschild et Fils in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 2010
Location: Saint-Gilles du Gard, château d’Espeyran
Owner: France, Archives de France
Photo : Jackie Estimbre © Direction régionale des affaires culturelles de Languedoc-Roussillon
Manufacturer: Peters & Sons in London.
Classified as historical monument in 2003
Location: Saint-Lo, French National Stud
Owner: France, Ministry of Agriculture
Photo : Luc Baby / Archives Jean-Louis Libourel
Manufacturer: Jadras in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 1998
Location: Tarbes, French National Stud
Owner: France, Ministry of Agriculture
Photo : Jean-Louis Libourel
Manufacturer: Clochez in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 1999
Location: Tarbes, French National Stud
Owner: France, Ministry of Agriculture
Photo : Jean-Louis Libourel
Manufacturer: Mühlbacher in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 1998
Location: Tarbes, French National Stud
Owner: France, Ministry of Agriculture
Photo : Millon & Associés
Unknown manufacturer.
Classified as historical monument in 1993
Location: Valencin
Owner: Private property
Unknown manufacturer.
Classified as historical monument in 1975
Location: Eu, Musée Louis-Philippe
Owner: Commune of Eu
© Service de l'Inventaire et du Patrimoine de Haute-Normandie
Manufacturer: Holland & Holland in London.
Classified as historical monument in 1987
Location: Haras du Pin French National Stud
Owner: France, Ministry of Agriculture
© CG Basse-Normandie / Direction de l'Inventaire général et du Patrimoine / Photo : Jean-Claude Jacques
Manufacturer: Berlioz et Gouillon in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 1987
Location: Haras du Pin French National Stud
Owner: France, Ministry of Agriculture
Photo : Atelier Lehuen
Manufacturer: Jacques Rothschild & Fils in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 1987
Location: Haras du Pin French National Stud
Owner: France, Ministry of Agriculture
Photo : Patrick Schroven
Manufacturer: Philips & Sons in Buckingham.
Classified as historical monument in 1991
Location: Randan, château
Owner: Public property
Photo : Millon & Associés
Manufacturer: Mann in Twickenham.
Classified as historical monument in 1991
Location: Randan, château
Owner: Public property
Photo : Millon & Associés
Manufacturer: Binder in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 1991
Location: Randan, château
Owner: Public property
Photo : Millon & Associés
Manufacturer: Binder in Paris.
Classified as historical monument in 1991
Location: Randan, château
Owner: Public property
Photo : Millon & Associés
Manufacturer: Mann in Twickenham.
Classified as historical monument in 1991
Location: Randan, château
Owner: Public property
Photo : Millon & Associés
Photo : Bernard Renoux © Centre des monuments nationaux
Private collection © MCC/G.Friedli
Musée Condé © RMN-Grand Palais (domaine de Chantilly) / Thierry Ollivier
Musée Condé © RMN-Grand Palais (domaine de Chantilly) / René-Gabriel Ojéda
Collection particulière © Musée Condé, Chantilly /G.Friedli
© Musée Condé, Chantilly /G.Friedli
On the left: D.C. Muller and Brothers, dressage horse, circa 1909
On the right: Gustav Dentzel, dressage horse, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa 1905
© Musée Condé, Chantilly /G.Friedli
National Car and Tourism Museum, Marc Poirier
National car and tourism museum, Compiègne © RMN-Grand Palais
National car and tourism museum, Compiègne © RMN-Grand Palais
National car and tourism museum, Compiègne © RMN-Grand Palais / Daniel Arnaudet
Photo : Jackie Estimbre © Direction régionale des affaires culturelles de Languedoc-Roussillon
Photo : Jackie Estimbre © Direction régionale des affaires culturelles de Languedoc-Roussillon
Photo : Jackie Estimbre © Direction régionale des affaires culturelles de Languedoc-Roussillon
Photo : Jackie Estimbre © Direction régionale des affaires culturelles de Languedoc-Roussillon
Christophe Kollman © Service de l'Inventaire et du Patrimoine de Haute-Normandie
© C. Degueurce - Musée Fragonard de l’École nationale vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort
© CG Basse-Normandie / Direction de l'Inventaire général et du Patrimoine / Photo : Jean-Claude Jacques
Photo : Atelier Lehuen
Photo : Patrick Schroven
Photo : Jean-Louis Libourel
Photo : Bernard Renoux © Centre des monuments nationaux
© Paris - Musée de l'Armée, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Christophe Chavan
© RMN-Grand Palais (musée des châteaux de Malmaison et de Bois-Préau) / Daniel Arnaudet
© cliché Bernard Renoux, Château-Musée de Saumur, 957.5.170
Horse-Drawn Coach Museum, Versailles © RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot
Horse-Drawn Coach Museum, Versailles © RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot
Horse-Drawn Coach Museum, Versailles © RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot
In his equestrian treatise, Baron d'Eisenberg opened his work with a study of various breeds and their characteristics. It revealed that the Neapolitan horse, appreciated by the royal courts for its elegance and sanguine temperament, stood out (along with its rider) in the piaffer and canter. However, the author remarked, these horses "are difficult to train, as they are extremely capricious, and very often stubborn (...)." Yet they remained popular rides, "since they only reach their full strength and vigour after six or seven years, after which it is certain that they are of great use."
To read the work: www3.vetagro-sup.fr
