The Castillonais or Cheval Ariègeois de Castillon , also formerly called cheval du Biros or Saint-Gironnais, is an ancient breed

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...

 of small rustic saddle-horse from the Ariège

Ariège

Ariège is a department in southwestern France named after the Ariège River.- History :Ariège is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the counties of Foix and Couserans....

 département of south-western France. It may be dark bay or black pangaré

Pangaré

Pangaré is a coat trait found in some domestic horses that features pale hair around the eyes and muzzle and underside of the body. These pale areas can extend up to the flanks, throat and chest, behind the elbows, in front of the stifle, and up the buttock. Animals with the pangaré trait are...

. It stands 135–155 centimetres at the withers, with an average height of about 145 cm. It is used principally for trekking 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...

.

The breed was officially recognised by the French Ministry of Agriculture in 1996. A breed association, the Association Nationale du Cheval Castillonnais d'Ariège Pyrénées (ANCCAP), was formed in 1992.