Opinions on this horse?

Casey76

Casey76

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This is my 4-yo, been in light work since the beginning of August. Currently standing 164cm (16.1) CC gratefully received :)

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Lovely looking boy, nice proportions and looks well muscled for only having been in work for a few months. I'd agree with those saying he has another few inches to grow.
 
Thanks majors. He is a cheval de Mérens, but he is a bit of an outlier, and they normally come between 135 - 155cm. My mare is more typical for the breed. she is 141cm - 13.3hh

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Must confess to knowing nothing about this breed but they look very useful and attractive horses. I may have to go and do some research.....
 
Don't know anything about the breed, are they a light draught type? I can CC for you if you like, but choose which: as a riding horse, or as a light draught horse :-)
 
Hi Cortez, they are considered a blood horse, and are genotypically classified an Iberian breed (despite Iberia and the Pyrenees being distant from one another)

Very much like the Fell, they are a jack-of-all trades, being used for farm work, being bred for meat, as well as riding horses. For a long time they were considered to be a pony breed, however the height limit was lifted in the late 90's to try and boost popularity.

There are fierce debates amongst breeders about what constitutes a "true" Mérens, and "over height" animals are looked down upon. Blitz was "plains" bred, i.e. he was born local to me in Alsace, not in the Ariège, and it is noted that non-mountain bred Mérens tend to be taller, possibly due to better nutrition as foals (in mountain bred animals, it isn't uncommon for mares to drop their foals while snow is on the ground, and grazing is very poor).

I don't know how good your French is, but Wiki has a decent summary: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mérens_(cheval) Or there is a reasonable translation in English: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mérens_horse
 
OK, interesting read (the translation; my French's not good enough for the original). So, like the Irish Draught, they used to be used for light agricultural work and are now being "improved" as a riding horse?
 
In a way yes, there are those breeders who are strictly sticking to the "rustic" breed, where by the heights range from 135-145cm, and then there are those who are keen to "modernize" the breed, making a more sporty type (similar to the tradition vs sport model Friesian). Of course the trad breeders distain the sport models ;)

Blitz is very much a rustic type, he's just massive (all over! he has 11.5in bone), so he has kept all of the proportions of the small trad type and just spread it around

Charlotte Bart is a well known Mérens photographer, and she is at most main events (Bouan for the gradings, Equit-Lyon and Salon de Paris). You can see some of her photos here: https://www.facebook.com/Charlotte-Bart-Photographies-315168698635847/
 
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