Foreign horse breeds in France
Whether sports, leisure, Iberian, American, Belgian or other, foreign breeds are more and more present in the horse sector in France. Foreign bloodlines are more and more attractive to French breeders and riders.
As the rate of births of some French breeds are in slight decline, imports and births of foreign horses have been growing steadily over almost the last 20 years : this leads to the statement that the tendency is well established in the French equine sector.
Review of the names
To date, 56 stud books are managed in France, 20 of which are breeds originally from outside French territory.
Management of a breed
Recognition
Management of a breed implies that it is recognised by the French ministry of Agriculture, and that the parameters of the breed’s stud-book rules be included in the SIRE database. Initially, for horses born in France, only those registered with a stud-book handled by the SIRE could bear the name of the breed.
Foreign horses
Co-governed breeds
However, the increase in the number of foreign horses in France in the last few years has led to a simplification of the management of a foreign breed and of the use of the breed name for horses born on French territory.
Since 2008, when a convention was signed between the SIRE and the original birthplace of certain breeds which were not handled by the SIRE, it has been possible for breeders to register the births of foals with the stud-books of the breeds concerned. This is known as a simplified procedure since unlike the managed breeds, the SIRE does not deal with the stud-book’s regulations and just testifies that registration by the original breed stud-book has been carried out.
The result is that these approved breeds, born on French soil, can now bear the name of their breed in the same way as the breeds governed by the SIRE. These breeds are said to be « co-governed ».
Breeds subject to the simplified procedure
For some breeds, a specific procedure has been implemented to avoid breeders having to register their foals twice with the breed societies.
In fact, these breeds benefit from a simplified procedure with regard to the recogntion of the breed : the SIRE does not deal with the stud book’s regulations, there is no French stud book for the breed. The identification document is issued by the IFCE based on the information on the certificate from the original stud-book. There is therefore no declaration to be made to the SIRE, just justifying documents to be supplied. These breeds are said to be « Simplified procedure breeds ».
Breeds with agreements
Since 2011, an equine can also be accompanied by an identification document issued by a certified issuing body located in another EU state. If this issuing body has signed an agreement with the IFCE, the data relative to identification is transfered by file to be registered with the SIRE central database, without the breeder being required to carry out any additional procedure (e.g. PRE, KWPN). These breeds are said to be « under agreement ».
Other recognised breeds excluded from both convention and agreement
Foreign breeds which are neither governed, subject to convention or agreements, but which have been recognised since 2010, according to the list updated by the European Commission (e.g. SBS, BWP), are called « Origines constatées (OC) » (Known parentage). For these breeds, only a certification of the parentage can be issued for foals born in France but the IFCE will not register them in the breed. A contrario, any imported horse belonging to a stud book which is governed or recognised can be named by the breed or as « Foreign origin warmblood/ pony ».
Foreign horses in figures
Horses born in France : 2674 births in 2018
Since 2010, the enthusiasm for producing foreign breeds has become more marked. The number of mares covered in 2018 is on the rise, compared to the rest of equine production. This tendency is contrasted according to the breed : in 2018, births of Appaloosa, Curlycoat, Hanoverian, Oldenburg, Traditional gypsy cob, and Trakehner dropped by over 20 %. On the other hand, Criollo, Portuguese sport horses, Shayga, and Zangersheide have increased their number of births by more than 20 % in 2018.
9500 equines imported in 2018
The Spanish pure breed (PRE) is the main breed of horse imported in France. Iberian horses (PRE and Lusitanos) are in high demand with over 800 imports registered in 2018. The 7 main sport horse breeds which are imported ( KWPN, BWP, Z, SBS, Oldenbourg, Holsteiner, Hanoverian) represented a total of 1450 horses in 2018, which is one fifth of the 2018 production of Selle Français. This share has been going down since 2015.
Spain and the Netherlands, the main suppliers of riding horses in 2018
Riding horses imported come mainly from Spain and the Netherlands, but also from Belgium, and Ireland. The Netherlands, Ireland and Great Britain supply both riding horses and ponies.
The total number of imports from the European Union represents a turnover of at least 91 million euros according to the declarations registerd by Customs.
Top 5 breeds imported
1.Thoroughbred : 20 % of the horses imported
2. Uncertified origin riding horses : 15 %
3. PRE (Spanish pure bred) : 6 %
4. Uncertified origin ponies : 5 %
5. KWPN (Dutch warmblood) : 4 %
Know more about our authors
- Translated from french by : Karen DUFFY Translator
- Anne-Lise PEPIN Project engineer IFCE - OESC
- Mathilde DHOLLANDE Responsable marketing et communication IFCE-SIRE
- Cécile ARNAUD Responsable juridique SIRE et déléguée nationale Sport & Loisirs - IFCE
