French Saddle Horses

The folks over at the chateau de Chatelier breed les chevaux selles français, a lovely saddle horse that has been developed from the 18th century crosses of Norman riding mares with the new English Thoroughbred stallions (themselves developed from the 3 famous Arab stallions imported in the late 17th - early 18th century).

Typical French Saddle Horses.

Selles français are classified as a warmblood, which means they are mid-weight horses bred for equestrian sports such as show jumping and trotting races. They are not a breed but a type of horse.

I liked the nifty use of horseshoe fittings on the sliprails.

The two bay colts in the foreground are typical of the French Saddle Horses I have seen around here. The chestnut in the background, on the other hand, was absolutely enormous, and clearly very, very bored. He came over immediately to engage with us and indulge in a bit of windsucking and rail chewing when we turned out not to be as entertaining as he had hoped.

Susan