The Mérens or Cheval de Mérens, still occasionally referred to by the older name of Ariegeois pony, is a small, rustic horse

Horse breed

Horse breed is a broad term with no clear consensus as to definition, but most commonly refers to selectively bred populations of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a very broad sense to define landrace animals, or...

 native to the Pyrenees

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...

 and Ariègeois mountains of Spain and southern France, where the Ariège River

Ariège River

The Ariège is a 164 km long river in southern France, right tributary of the Garonne. Its source is in the Pyrenees, where it forms part of the border with Andorra...

 flows. Thought to have originated in prehistoric times, it was in the past used for work in mines and for hauling timber; today it is mainly used as a saddle horse and for driving

Driving (horse)

Driving, when applied to horses, ponies, mules, or donkeys, is a broad term for hitching equines to a wagon, carriage, cart, sleigh, or other horse-drawn vehicle by means of a harness and working them in this way...

.

Characteristics

The breed is similar to the Fell

Fell pony

The Fell Pony is a versatile, working breed of mountain and moorland pony originating in the north of England in Cumberland and Westmorland and Northumberland. It was originally bred on the fell farms of northwest England, and is used as a riding and driving pony...

 and Dales Pony

Dales Pony

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 breeds of England. The coat is always black

Black (horse)

Black is a hair coat color of horses in which the entire hair coat is black. Black is a relatively uncommon coat color, and novices frequently mistake dark chestnuts or bays for black. However, some breeds of horses, such as the Friesian horse, Murgese and Ariegeois are almost exclusively black...

, but may develop a distinctive reddish cast in the winter; foals may be born black, silver-grey or "coffee-coloured", but become black as they grow. White markings

Horse markings

Markings on horses usually are distinctive white areas on an otherwise dark base coat color. Most horses have some markings, and they help to identify the horse as a unique individual. Markings are present at birth and do not change over the course of the horse's life...

 are rare; rabicano

Rabicano

Rabicano, also called white ticking, is a horse coat color characterized by limited roaning in a specific pattern: interspersed white hairs most dense and originating from the flank and the tailhead...

 flecking on the flanks is desirable. The height of the Mérens is 1.45 –, the ideal height being 1.49 metre for males and 1.45 metre for females. The weight range is 350 to 500 kg (771.6 to 1,102.3 lb).

The head of a Merens horse is small and refined, the neck is strong and short. It has a long back, a solid shoulder, and well-rounded hindquarters. The breed is valued for its hardiness and disease resistance.

History

The origins of the Mérens are thought to be remote, and almost certainly influenced by Arabian

Arabian horse

The Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological evidence of horses...

 bloodlines. The breed is native to the Ariège Pyrenees, and the Mérens name comes from a village high in the mountains near Andorra

Andorra

Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...

. Cave paintings at Niaux

Niaux

Niaux is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France.Located on the right banks of the Vicdessos river, Niaux is best known for the Cave of Niaux. The cave is world famous for its prehistoric cave paintings of bison and horses from the Magdalénien era.-Population:Inhabitants are...

 show similarity to the Mérens. The breed was used by both farmers and soldiers throughout the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

, and later with Napoleon during his Russian campaign. Selection for the current breed began in 1908.

Uses

In the past Mérens horses were used for farm work, particularly on steep or difficult terrain, as packhorse

Packhorse

.A packhorse or pack horse refers generally to an equid such as a horse, mule, donkey or pony used for carrying goods on their backs, usually carried in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of wheeled vehicles. ...

s and for draught work in mining or hauling timber or sledges. Today, following breeding selection

Selective breeding

Selective breeding is the process of breeding plants and animals for particular genetic traits. Typically, strains that are selectively bred are domesticated, and the breeding is sometimes done by a professional breeder. Bred animals are known as breeds, while bred plants are known as varieties,...

 towards a slightly taller and livelier type, they are used principally as saddle horses, especially for trekking in mountainous areas; but have also proved successful in carriage driving

Carriage driving

Carriage Driving is a form of horse driving in harness in which larger two or four wheeled carriages, often restored antiques, are pulled by a single horse, a pair, tandem or a four-in-hand team. Pleasure competitions are judged on the turnout, neatness or suitability of the horse or horses and the...

.

The Mérens abroad

Only two foreign breed registers are recognised by the breed standard, in the Netherlands and in Italy. In Italy, the Mérens is the only foreign breed among the "breeds of limited distribution" recognised by the AIA, the national breeders' association; the horses are mostly in northwestern Italy, in the provinces of Cuneo and Turin, but in the past years it is spreading in other mountain regions as the valleys of Bergamo or Trento, the breed register

Breed registry

A breed registry, also known as a stud book or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders when they are still young...

 is held at Cuneo

Cuneo

Cuneo is a city and comune in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the third largest of Italy’s provinces by area...

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