Information on the Camargue Horse

A herd of Camargue horses running through the shallow water of the Rhone Delta in Southern France is one of the iconic images of Europe. These little white horses are the traditional mounts of the "gardian" cowboys of the region, and continue to live free in the Camargue area as they have for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Camargue horses may be descended from those depicted on the famous Paleolithic cave paintings at nearby Lascaux.

  1. Description

    • Camargue horses are small, up to 60 inches or 14 hands high, with short necks, deep chests, wide hooves and a squat body. The head is squarish and large in proportion to the body, and the mane and tail are full. Camargue horses have black skin and white hair, giving them a pale gray color. Foals are born with black or dark brown hair that fades gradually as they age.

    Origins

    • The exact origins of the Camargue horse are unclear. Some people believe that they are the direct descendants of the extinct Solutre horse, which ranged across much of France about 17,000 years ago during the Upper Paleolithic period. There have been no definitive genetic studies of the Camargue horse to confirm this. It is believed that Camargue horses were taken to Spain by the Romans and helped to produce the Spanish jaca breed. French authorities recognized the Camargue horse as a breed in 1976.

    Ecology

    • Camargue horses live in the delta of the River Rhone in southern France, an area known as the Carmargue. Their habitat is harsh, being windswept and cold in the winter and very hot in the summer. Camargue horses live in small herds dominated by a single adult stallion with several mares and their young. The horses feed on grasses and rushes as well as on the marsh plants samphire and goosefoot.

    Management

    • At the time of writing (2010), about 30 herds of Camargue ponies exist in the the marshlands of the Camargue. Once a year, they are rounded up for health checks, branding and the gelding of any youngsters that are not true to type. A stud book set up in 1978 helped protect the breed. To be considered a true Camargue horse, a foal must be born outdoors and be suckled by a Camargue mother. The stud book also differentiates between horses born in the Camargue area and elsewhere.

    Uses

    • Traditionally, Camargue horses were the mounts of the Rhone estuary cowboys, known as gardians, who managed the herds of small, black cattle that live in the area. Nowadays, the remaining gardians still use Camargue horses to round up the black bulls for Languedoc-style, non-lethal bullfighting. Camargue horses are also used for dressage and long-distance riding, and are valued for their endurance, good natures and sure-footedness.