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The Percheron is a horse breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in western France, part of the former Perche province, from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray or black in color, Percherons are well-muscled, and known for their intelligence and willingness to work. Although their exact origins are unknown, the ancestors of the breed were present in the valley by the 17th century. They are believed to descend from war horse. Over time, they began to be used for pulling ; and later, for agriculture and hauling heavy goods. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Arabian horse blood was added to the breed. Exports of Percherons from France rose exponentially in the late 19th century, and the first purely Percheron stud book was created in France in 1893.
Before World War I, thousands of Percherons were shipped from France to the United States, but after the war began, an embargo stopped shipping. The breed was used extensively in Europe during the war, with some horses being shipped from the United States back to France to help in the war effort. Beginning in 1918, Percherons began to be bred in the United Kingdom; in 1918, the British Percheron Horse Society (BPHS) was formed. After a series of name and studbook ownership changes, the current United States Percheron Breed registry was created in 1934. In the 1930s, Percherons accounted for 70% of the draft horse population in the United States, but their numbers declined substantially after . However, the population began to recover; and, as of 2009, around 2,500 Percheron horses were registered annually in the United States alone.
The breed is still used extensively for draft work; in France, they are also bred for horse meat. They have been crossed with several light horse breeds to produce both and . Purebred Percherons are used for forestry work and pulling horse carriage, as well as work under saddle, including competition in various English riding disciplines, including show jumping.
The size considered ideal for the Percheron varies between countries. In France, height ranges from and weight from . Percherons in the United States generally stand between , with a range of . American Percherons average , and their top weight is around . In Great Britain, is the shortest acceptable height for stallions and for mares, while weights range from around for stallions and for mares.
Horses in the French registry are branded on the neck with the intertwined letters "SP", the initials of the Société Hippique Percheronne.
During the 17th century, horses from Perche, ancestors of the current Percheron, were smaller, standing between high, and more agile. These horses were almost uniformly gray; paintings and drawings from the Middle Ages generally show French knights on mounts of this color. After the days of the knight, the emphasis in horse breeding was shifted so as to develop horses better able to pull heavy stage coaches at a fast trot. Gray horses were preferred because their light coloring was more visible at night. This new type of horse was called the "Diligence Horse", because the stage coaches they pulled were named "diligences". After the stage coach was replaced by rail, the modern Percheron type arose as a slightly heavier horse for use in agriculture and heavy hauling work, moving goods from docks to railway terminals.
In 1876, the Norman-Percheron Association was formed by a group of Percheron breeders in Chicago, and at the same time the stud book was begun. The Norman-Percheron Association was the United States' first purebred livestock association. In 1877, the word "Norman" was dropped from the name. Later, in the panic of 1893, the Percheron Association went bankrupt and ceased to function. In 1905, also in Chicago, Percheron breeders met again to reform as the Percheron Society of America. Since 1934, the group has been known as the Percheron Horse Association of America. At its height, the organization was the largest draft horse association in the world, in the early 20th century registering over 10,000 horses annually.
In the late 19th century, Percherons also began to be exported from the United States to Great Britain, where they were used to pull horse-drawn buses in large cities. The first Percherons imported to Britain included some of the thousands of crossbreds from the United States. In Britain, many of the horses, once they finished their bus-pulling career, were sold to farmers. Other imported horses were sold to the British Army, and in 1900, 325 horses were shipped to South Africa for use in the Boer War.
Prior to , a flourishing trade route for Percherons existed between Nogent-le-Rotrou, Le Havre and the United States.Dal'Secco, Les chevaux de trait, p. 42 However, after the war began, an embargo was placed on French Percherons, disallowing them from exportation. Other than an exception in April 1916 to allow 59 horses to be shipped from France to the US, this embargo remained in place until the end of the war. The war took its toll on the Percheron breed as horses, fodder, and handlers were requisitioned for the fighting, and even after the embargo was lifted France did not have the quality or quantity of stock to fulfill the needs of American breeders. The embargo created a breeding boom in the US, replacing the previous practice of importing the majority of Percherons from France, and late in the war horses were shipped the other way – from the US to Europe – to supply those needed in the war.Mischka, The Percheron Horse in America, pp. 4–6 The lack of feathering on the Percheron's lower legs made them easier to care for in the mud that they often worked in during wartime. Their quick trot on paved roads made them more versatile than motorized vehicles, and they were useful for work with guns and in forward units due to their calm temperaments.
Between 1918 and 1922, over 350 Percherons were imported to Britain from France and, combined with stock from the US and Canada, were used as breeding stock to establish the breed in the country. In 1918, the British Percheron Horse Society was formed. British breeders and owners continue to import Percherons from France, and also occasionally from Canada, when not prohibitively expensive.
By the 1930s, Percherons accounted for over 70 percent of the purebred draft horses in the United States, and all of the major land-grant universities maintained stables of Percherons. A 1930 census of horses found over 33,000 Percherons in the United States, with the next most popular breed, the Belgian, having a population of less than 10,000. One Percheron historian attributes this popularity to the breed's "strength, energy, activity, robustness and endurance".Mischka, The Percheron Horse in America, pp. 14–16 After , increasing mechanization prompted a decline in the Percheron population. In 1954, only 85 Percherons were registered in the US, a record low. The 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s were bad years for the US Percheron population, and breeding was reduced to only a few farms. These breeders kept the American population alive through these years, however, and the 1980s saw renewed interest in the breed.Mischka, The Percheron Horse in America, p. 21
In 1966, the French stud book was changed to include draft types from other areas of France that were closely related to the Percheron—including the horses of Berrichon horse, Nivernais horse, Marne, Augeron, Bourbonnais, Loire and Saône-et-Loire. French Percherons were also hit hard by the advent of mechanization, and between 1970 and 1990 focus was placed on breeding horses of greater mass for the horse meat market. The largest and heaviest stallions were selected for breeding.Mavré, Attelages et attelées, p. 31 Beginning at the 1989 World Percheron Congress, French breeders realized that they needed a lighter breed for tourism, export to Japan for draft work, and other markets.Audiot, Races d'hier pour l'élevage de demain, p. 26 In 1993, a trend of importing American stallions to France was started with the black stallion Silver Shadows Sheik. , p. 2 This stallion and others were used to create a more elegant, smaller and sleeker look in the French Percheron, while still retaining the traditional bone and foot structure. All the imported stallions were black, reviving the popularity of black Percherons in France. French breeders continue to import American-bred Percheron stallions in order to produce lighter foals, moving away from the heavier meat-type horses of the late 20th century.Mavré, Attelages et attelées, p. 36 Also in 1993, the Société Hippique Percheronne anticipated the increasing tourist and exportation markets by prohibiting docking, which was not prohibited for other draft breeds until 1996. This was partly at the request of the Germans, and partly due to the influence of magazines such as Cheval magazine.Roger & Beaune, Maîtres et protecteurs de la nature, p. 292
In 1988, there were 1,088 Percherons in the United States, rising to 2,257 by 1998. As of 2009, the Percheron Horse Association of America had horses registered in all 50 states, and had nearly 3,000 members, with around 2,500 new horses being registered annually. The French Société Hippique Percheronne de France (Percheron Horse Society of France) registered between 750 and 885 horses in each year between 2007 and 2010.
In the 19th century, the existence of the Augeron population was, despite its popularity, generally ignored by authors. In Paris, they were named "Caen" and "Virois", after their region of origin, although specialists included the "Caen Virois" breed with the Augeron in a 1904 text. In the 19th century, these horses were sold at fairs in Argences and Bayeux in Lower Normandy. They were noticed several times for their homogeneity, beauty, and high value. In 1858, Augerons were sold for between 600 and 1200 French franc.
The Société hippique du trait augeron, or Augeron Horse Society, was formed in 1913 by breeders in Auge to record these horses in a breed registry. One reason for this lay in the desire to protect the cradle of breeding Percheron horses: only animals born near the Perche were entitled to registration in the studbook, and hence to use the name of "Percheron". This limitation excluded several nearby populations of horses foaled outside of Perche, such as the Maine and the Augeron.Mavré, Attelages et attelées, p. 44
In Great Britain, the Percheron is used for advertising and publicity, as well as forestry and farm work. They are crossbred with lighter horses by breeders of heavy Field hunter in order to increase size and improve disposition. Purebred Percherons are also ridden, and some have proven useful at show jumping. Crossbred Percherons have been used successfully in dressage. In both the Falkland Islands and northern Australia, Percherons have been crossed with local mares, primarily Criollo horse in the Falklands, to produce larger with greater stamina. These crossbred horses are used extensively in both the sub-Antarctic climate of the Falklands and the sub-tropical climate of Australia for working stock. In Australia they are also crossed with for use as mounted police horses.
In 1978, the first World Percheron Congress was held in Great Britain, and has been held annually ever since. Although the majority of the shows have been held in North America, four – in 1980, 1989, 2001 and 2011 – have been held in France. Each year, in July, the French national breed show is held in Haras du Pin.Dal'Secco, Les chevaux de trait, p. 108
Since the early 2000's the United States Army's Fort Sam Houston Caisson and Funeral Honors Platoon have used Percherons for pulling the casket-bearing military caisson during funeral details. As of 2019, the Fort Sam Houston Caisson Platoon had 11 working Percherons and one lighter horse used as the riderless horse in a funeral procession. In addition to funeral details, which they perform year round, the Caisson Percherons are routinely featured at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo and other United States Army recruiting events in the south Texas area.
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