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 The Poitevin, or Mulassier,
originates in the Poitou region of France and is believed to be related to
the ancient primitive Forest Horse of Northern Europe. The Poitevin is a
singularly unprepossessing animal that does not perform particularly well,
has poor conformation, and is rather unattractive. Having said that,
however, they are widely use din the production of excellent mules, at which
they excel! The Poitevin is believed to have descended from various Danish
and Norwegian Heavy horses that were probably imported to the regions during
the land reclamation work of the seventeenth century. They can be used in
draft capacity, and for working the land, but are also used in the meat
industry.
In appearance, the Poitevin
has a coarse, heavy head with a straight or convex profile, set onto a very
short, muscular neck. The shoulders are quite straight and are poorly put
together. They are generally long through the body with a straight back and
sloping croup. The legs are very short in comparison to the bulk of the
body, and are also very thick with coarse feathering. Their feet are large
and flat, and their body hair is coarse. They tend to be dun, a throwback to
primitive roots, but can be gray, bay, black, or palomino, and stand between
16 and 16.2 hh. Having more or less written the Poitevin off, they have
recently undergone a revival in popularity as they are being crossed with
Baudet do Poitou jackasses to produce first rate working mules, called
Poitevin Mules.
The Baudet de Poitou is an
extraordinary breed. It is a donkey, but can stand up to 16 hands high. They
are extremely hardy and tough, and they have the characteristic straight
donkey back, but have an amazingly quick, energetic stride for a donkey.
They have been carefully bred over the years to maintain these admirable
donkey traits and share their studbook, which was started in 1885, which the
Poitevin horse. Breeding Baudet de Poitou jackasses with Poitevin mares
produces the Poitevin mule. These are strong, tough, and enduring animals
with a long working life and a good disposition and constitution. Since
1950, there had been a reduction in the demand for mules, but recently there
has been a mule revival and Poitevin mules are again very much in demand.
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