Selle Francais'

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RayJaguarStorm

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So, I have a lovely young boy who is a Selle Francais out of Vert Muguet

I'd never really heard about the breed before I got him and although I have a vague idea now I'd like to know some more about them :D Anything would be nice :)

Also, does anyone know of any breeders (preferable in the UK?) if there even are any? I'm looking for a baby and quite like the idea of another SF :D
 
My sister has one think its just means french warmblood, there was a breeder in Grendon Nr polesworth Staff, Dont think its there any longer as my sister mare was breed there but she is 22 years old. Just best off looking at google :D
 
They are french thoroughbreds. I have one. He was bred and raced in France and then raced over fences here before turning his hoof to pointing. He is a delight and is now doing a bit of everything; hunting, hacking and a tiny bit of dressage!
 
My old boss had a stallion (keep cool II) and he was lush. 17.2 but such a gentleman and passed his amazing temprament onto his foals. He did dressage, sj, fun rides, hunted, hacked and took my boss around a novice xc (with her eyes closed :D)

Sadly he was pts this year but working with him deff enamoured the breed to me and im very much a native kinda girl!
 
RayJaguarStorm said:
Google is useless! Can't find anything about breeders :P
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http://www.stallionsonline.co.uk/Selle_Francais_stallions_at_stud.html

Some of the stallions have links to the Studs websites and possibly they will have stock for sale.

ETA. Just spotted this and I couldn't resist correcting it as people make this mistake all the time. Sorry.

So, I have a lovely young boy who is a Selle Francais out of Vert Muguet
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By not out of!!!!!! Stallions don't give birth, the foal doesn't come out of them at all (unless the stallion is very, very special :p).

So foals are by the stallion and out of the mare.
 
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My pure-bred arab is in foal to Keep Cool II so everything crossed all goes well, think that will be one of his last foals. Completely agree, he was a gent.
 
RudolphsRider said:
I Have one and have to agree about him being a big friendly cuddley horse.. til you get on him and hes a nuthorse..:O :p
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Oh so true! My beastling finds hacking far too exciting, loves to throw himself around, bronks and leaps are quite impressive I must say! :eek: Not sure how I've managed to stay on him after nearly a year :rolleyes:

Oh and don't forget the mandatory rear (He doesn't do the half hearted ones either) before every trot transition! :D He makes up for it in adorable faces and cuddles though:p
 
awww he certainly throws lovely foals, would love to see a piccy of foal when s/he's born. he's very much missed and its nice to know he live on through his babies.

Duno if you hurd but one of his filly foals did very well at her grading this year
 
Here is my Selle Francias. If you can find one like this you will have the ultimate sport horse.

By Qyou De Longvaut / Alme/ I Love You out of Palme Du Mesnil. My lad was born at the Mesnil Stud in France. His sire line were world class showjumpers. He was a showjumping stallion in France and was sold into Holland before coming the UK in 2002 and was gelded. He came to me in
2004 and turned his hand to dressage and hunter showing. He is retired now. His temperament is outstanding, by far the kindest and most gentle horse I have ever had, even though he was gelded at 8 years of age and had been serving. I can only speak from the experience I have had with him, but he is not your typical warm blood. He is very intelligent and forwards to ride, always looking through the bridle and on side at all times.

Most judges thought he was ID x TB and none of them thought he was a warmblood.

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I must apologise for my pedanticness - but it is a funny mistake. Poor stallions popping out foals all over the place when their anatomy really isn't up to it. :p ;) :D
 
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Please excuse the awful thing on top of the poor beast and ignore the fact he is most definitely NOT on the bit :o

This is the beast named Z! He wasn't gelded until he was 7 and has the best temperament going, such a big sop! Although a bit of a dope he's too clever for his own good sometimes too ;)

Couldn't help notice they have the same legs AdorableAlice :D
 
Seeing as everyone else is showing off their SF's I will too :D

The Hocamaffe is pretty much full tb but is classified as a Non-TB SF as a few generations back he has a SF mare. He raced in France and over in this country sucessfully and is now a Show Horse and my best friend.

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The only Selle Fancais I have known was a riding school knock off. A total pleb in terms of the breed. He had a VERY upright neck and was a little neurotic BUT, he was very nice natured, an excellent jumper and and had surprisingly good paces.

If he was an example of those kicked out of the breed for being pants (which going by the rest of the yard he was) then a decent version not kicked out for shoving should be truly lovely.
 
I seem to be going through a run of french horses:-3 in a row.

Like alot of warmbloods they range from the almost tb to the seriously chunky. Was told that they have a reputation for being a bit more user friendly and suited to amateurs than some of the other warmblood breeds.

I used to share a SF, he was 17hh quite long and rangy, light to mw and you could see the arab in his head.

I currently have one on loan, again 17hh but a big chap. Long with legs like tree trunks, huge head, real gentle giant.

I also have a french TB or PS (Pur Sang).

As EKW said you get a few racers that are technically classed as SF because of one horse in their ancestry
The other thing you see is AQPS (Autre que Pur Sang) which are as above but have an unregistered horse somewhere not a SF.

My TB has brothers and sisters racing in this country that are classed as AQPS and SF
 
I have an 18hh SF in the yard at present (belongs to Lovely Livery).
Well put together, came over here from the US as a 5yr old & then he 'broke' after an accident when working at medium level dressage.
He's coming 20, living out 24/7 (with field shelter) and is more level than he's been for a long time. A very well put together horse, shame his brain has been so messed with in the past tho......
A complete and utterfeckwit every so often - weaves anywhere (even in the middle of the field :rolleyes: ) fence runs & is a pratt when he feels like it.

However - he is very easy to look after (rugging, handling & grooming etc) and easy to maintain feed-wise too:)
 
Hello guy's,

Reading this post I discover selle français is not really popular in the UK.
Too bad for me, I was looking for some information and reputation about the bloodlines of my selle français mare, to know if she could be eligible to a breeding loan here.

anyway I can maybe bring you some more information about the selle français as a french expert :D

Selle français is very popular in France, most of the competition horses are selle français. The breed has been developped for a few centuries by the national stud, in order to create a national sport horse. It mixes regional breed with warmblood lines (trotters, Thoroughbreds, Arabians, and Anglo-Arabians). The last large program is from the 1950's to refine them even more for modern competition style.

The specificity of that breed is that it is not especially built for race like the TB, or it has not been built for one purpose for centuries. The selle français keeps very close "rural roots" I would say and has a very wide rang of styles. You can find types very similar to TB : small, fine, "close to blood" as we say, to very strong big boys. On average, they a higher than other warmblood.

This is why Criso is right to say that they usually are "bit more user friendly and suited to amateurs than some of the other warmblood breeds." They are not as warm as TB.
Their strenghs : good bones, strong, powerfull and balanced temperament. They shine in show jumping but they are very polyvalent and you can find them in all types of competition.

I hope it helps !

By the way, France still have a very large panel of the regional draft horse breeds. Do you in the UK ?
And I don't want to sound bad, but the trade of horse meat (french eat horse meat) has helped a lot in saving many of these beautiful rural breed
 
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I love SF's. My first mare was one. She came over from France as a grade B showjumper and got left behind when she went lame apparently. I was 14 and useless at jumping. She was 16.3hh and a saint and took me round lots of events. I have a box of letters from kids that rode her on working livery about how upset they were when we lost her to colic. I tried to find another one specifically in October when we were looking to buy but they are hard to come by and out of our price range in general. We went to Pompadour and watched the yearly show and they are stunning and it seems quiet in general. Maybe one day...
 
Faracat said:
Not quite, although they do have TB in their ancestry, along with arabs, anglo-arabs and anglo-norman horses. So French warmblood is spot on.
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There are also three Cleveland Bays in the stud book, ancestors to Normand in the days when the breed was actually called a demi-sang. There are a lot at the Cadre Noir in Saumur. English friends are always surprised at the 'variety' they can look like anything from an Anglo-Arab to a Norman Cob.
 
heebiejeebies said:
Where do I get one?! :)
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Plenty are bred in France. I would not buy one which had been competed here though!! The SF Championships are for 3 year olds who as well as being expected to jump loose over substantial fences have to be ridden and jumped over small fences. I am old fashioned and that for me is too much too young.
 
'And I don't want to sound bad, but the trade of horse meat (french eat horse meat) has helped a lot in saving many of these beautiful rural breed'

But a lot have been bastardised by breeding with heavier stock down the years so the true breed has been diluted by table manners so to speak...a shame really when for example you look at the Breton Postier and the Breton Heavy Draft, adulterated with the Ardennais and more. These breeds may survive but if you look down the years, most continental draft type horses bear little resemblance to their former selves...all much heavier and stockier. Maybe NF will go the same way in a few years. Survival for the table? Nice eh.
 
I have a lovely selle fracais mare, was a massive noob when I got her but with a *lot* of effort has calmed down to the point where I was able to mooch round a large field bareback last night. Apart from being riddled with arthritis (is now semi-retired :( ) she is one of the easiest horses to look after, lives out 24/7 whatever weather, no hard feed, and currently naked (and has been all winter) due to her semi-retiredess. Some photos below because she's pretty :D

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Would absolutely love another, but they are indeed hen's teeth to get hold of in England.
 
You surely get a point hackneylass2,

It is definitely not a progress for the breeds. It may just avoid futur extinction of some of them.

I just wanted to say it's not black and white.
 
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