This breed of horses — Le cheval Canadien was brought to Canada in New France in July 1665. At first, there were 12 horses shipped from the stables of France’s King Louis XIV, with regular shipments thereafter until about 1671, when the Intendant Talon at the Québec settlement advised the king that they had sufficient numbers. The horses were given to the religious communities and gentlemen farmers until the numbers grew and their use spread to the St. Lawrence Valley to be distributed to other farmers. For a hundred years a number of these horses were raised in protected and isolated pastures, with no mixed breeding. In any case, there were very few roads in those centuries to take horses beyond the settlement.
These horses were considered precious and smart owners understood that they had to be cared for properly. They have since been mixed with other breeds, except for those that were deliberately isolated. There is an organization of Canadian horse breeders in Québec and one association also works on banning slaughter of horses. It is interesting that King Louis XIV, who has gone down into history for his extravagance and decadent life style took the time to take an interest in helping the colony of Canada with this unique idea.
Horses have played a major role in the early settlements everywhere in Canada. Some years ago, in researching legislation for child protection in Saskatchewan after 1905, and before when we were part of the North West Territories, I came across 1880s or 1890s legislation of the North West Territories that protected horses and cattle from cruelty — years before there would be any to protect children. The horse and cattle were so important to the settlers if was felt that the matter should be addressed in the territorial legislation.
Contact Terri Lefebvre Prince,
Heritage Researcher,
City of Yorkton Archives,
Box 400, 37 Third Avenue North
Yorkton, Sask. S3N 2W3
306-786-1722
[email protected]
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