They love to work and have a wonderful work ethic.
With minimal training, they move on with a touch and stop on a dime.
Their natural head/neck carriage makes them appear to be "on the bit".

They are very balanced and solid with a "leg in every corner".

They are very easy keepers and do not need grain nor alfalfa.

They range from pretty to exquisitely gorgeous, but their disposition is their crowning glory.

Question: Are Canadian Horses only black?

     Answer: No. Canadian horses may be black (true or fading), brown, bay or chestnut. Rarely, palamino individuals may appear. Small amounts of white are acceptable on the face and lower legs. Cross-breeding and trends have influenced the Canadian horse colour through the centuries. The earliest written descriptions of the Canadian horse (or French Canadian horse, French Canadian pony, or Canadian pony) are of small, black horses. However, the horses seen in the paintings by Cornelius Krieghoff depicting scenes of life in Lower Canada (modern day Quebec) in the mid 1800s are rarely black, mostly bay. Black was also not the most common colour of horses entered into the first Canadian Horse herd book but became increasingly prevalent as Government breeding farms of the early to mid 1900s actively selected for black horses. The trend to select black horses - especially for breeding stallions - is still evident today.

Question: Are Canadian Horses inbred?

       Answer: Remarkably not. Although the Federal government's breeding program was centred on Albert de Cap Rouge - purposely practising in-breeding and line-breeding to fix the Canadian horse type - and the Henryville line was based on the pairings of the progeny of Prince Black and Henryville Josette, recent genetic analyses have shown that the degree of relatedness amongst individual horses today is very low. The great majority of breeders now outcross, resulting - not surprisingly - in great variation in the looks and capabilities of Canadian horses.  

Question: Who and what defines a rare breed?

     Answer: Rare Breeds Canada classifies heritage breeds of livestock as "critical", "endangered", "vulnerable" and "at risk", based on the number of new registrations of female animals annually. The Canadian Horse has been upgraded to "at risk" from "endangered" in the past 30 or so years. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy lists the Canadian Horse as "critical".

Question: What does the "S" in the registration number of some mares mean?

     Answer: The "S" stands for the French word "souche", translated as "stock". During a brief period in the 1970s and 1980s, when the number of registered horses had fallen to around 400, the herd book was opened to allow the entry of non-registered horses. The CHBA sent inspectors to visit farms, many of whom were still breeding purebred Canadian horses only they were no longer registering them, to find mares that matched the Canadian breed standard and type. These were entered into the herd book as 50% "pure". Percentage mares (those shown as 50, 75, or 87.5%) are allowed to breed. A 93.8% filly is considered purebred and is actually shown as 100% on her papers. The "S" does not mean that that the mare is a cross-bred. A stallion must be 100% to breed.

Question: How is the Canadian Horse related to the Morgan?

     Answer: DNA analysis done by Dr. Anouk Behara has shown that the Canadian Horse is a genetically distinct breed, with the Morgan as one of its closest genetic relatives, along with the Trotteur Français. However, the chronology of the development of modern breeds of livestock is far too recent to determine the origins of any breed by a comparison of their DNA. The two breeds certainly share much common and intertwined history. For example, oral accounts of Canadian horses being sold in the United States as Morgans are common. The Morgan registry also shows that Canadian horses appeared in the pedigrees of Morgans very early on. Unfortunately, written records and pedigrees of Canadian Horses prior to the formation of the Canadian Horse Breeders Association in 1896 are almost non-existant, therefore the influence of the Morgan on the Canadian breed is virtually unknown.

Question: What characterizes a baroque breed of horse?

     Answer: Baroque horses are of ancient Spanish/Iberian origin, bred as war horses. They evoke an expression of power, beauty and elegance. The horses sent to New France by King Louis XIV no doubt had Spanish blood, although the exact types of those horses remain a mystery. Physical characteristics include a square, straight head, broad between the eyes; medium-length, high-set, arched neck; short, muscular back; broad chest and barrel; medium length, moderately-sloped croup; and straight legs with medium to heavy bone. 

Question: When did the Canadian become the National Horse of Canada?

     Answer: After years of determined effort by Canadian Horse breeders, a Private Member's bill was introduced to Parliament by Murray Calder and supported by Senator Lowell Murray. The National Horse of Canada Act was given Royal assent on April 30, 2002.

Question: Are Canadian Horses expensive to purchase?

     Answer: That depends on how you define expensive. The average Canadian Horse is higher-priced than an average quarter horse but a lot less than, say, an Icelandic horse. Being a rare, heritage breed is only one component of a Canadian Horse's value. Each individual horse - as with any other breed - is valued on its quality, level of training and pedigree.