Henson (French: Cheval Henson or Cheval de Henson) horses
are from the area of the Baie de Somme in Picardy (now part of
Hauts-de-France), in north-eastern France. Unlike the majority of French horse
breeds, the Henson was created in the late 20th century with the goal to obtain
a hardy horse adapted to all forms of equestrian tourism, outdoor riding and
leisure.
Near the end of the 1970s, horse riding was oriented towards
outdoor recreation for nature-loving families. This promoted pony trekking as
well as driving. This trend implied the search for a leisure horse suited in
regions such as the Somme, where equestrian tourism became popular in the area
of the Baie de Somme.
In 1974, the birth of two foals, half Fjord and half
Anglo-Arab, attracted the attention of Lionel Berquin, attendant at the Centre
Equestre de Morlay (Morlay Equestrian Centre). He discovered the abilities of
these foals. Adopted by the Association des Cavaliers de la Baie de Somme
(located in Port-le-Grand), they were named "Henson" a few years
later. They combine the dun coat color, the qualities of hardiness and the
mental balance of the Fjord horses with the fiery temperament of the
Anglo-Arab, and a body adapted to driving and recreation. This crossing brought
about heterosis, which resulted in the setting of sought-after qualities; hence
the good results of the experiment. The experiment was deemed worth being
repeated, so the Fjord was crossed with Trotters and Selle Francais horses, but
the Anglo-Arab proved to be the better cross.
Members of the breed’s development project, including
Berquin and Bizet, gathered in 1982 to become the Association des Cavaliers de
la Baie de Somme. Lionel Berquin co-created the Association of the Henson Horse
that same year with Dominique Cocquet, then leader of the “Syndicat Mixte Pour
l'Aménagement de la Côte Picarde” (Mixed Union for the Development of the
Picardy Coast), to "give life to this crazy bet" which was to create
a new breed of horse, promote it and establish it. They gathered all their
Fjord cross horses, and bred their mares to the stallions. The goal was to get
horses with similar phenotypes, so the genotype would be stable and
reproducible, but also to have sufficient first generation animals that were
50/50. From 1984 to 1986, 50/50 Fjord mares were covered by an Anglo stallion,
the product was 25% Fjord blood. The morphology and character were interesting
but the dun coat colour was lost in more than half of the cases. The same mares
produced foals that were 75% Fjord, in order to better establish the coat
color for selection criteria.
In 1995, they believed the population of first-generation
horses was sufficient, the breed studbook was closed to outside horses whose parents
were not of the Henson breed. Purebred breeding continued, exclusively on
horses of second and following generations.
Henson horses were recognized as a breed by the Ministry of
Agriculture and the Haras Nationaux in July 2003.
About Henson Horses
