From the pristine, natural and untamed island of Iceland, a land of astounding beauty, bold contrasts and extremes of volcanic fire and ice, breathtaking waterfalls, serene grasslands, mountains and deserts comes a horse that is as astonishingly unique and natural.

CANADIAN HORSE

The Canadian Horse traces its ancestry to the foundation stock brought to Acadia and New France in the 17th century. The first horses were ultimately caught and carried off in 1616 by Samuel Argall's marauding expedition from Virginia. This was the first introduction of French Canadian blood to America's eastern shores. The effective introduction of French horses in to New France came in 1665 when Louis XIV sent two stallions and twenty mares from the royal stables to the colony. On the voyage eight of the mares were lost, but the King sent additional shipments; in 1667 fourteen or fifteen horses, and in 1670 a stallion and eleven mares. These horses formed the basis of the French Canadian horse of the Old Regime. The horses from the Royal stables came from Normandy and Brittany, at that time the two most renowned horse breeding provinces of France. The Breton horse, although small, was noted for its soundness and vigor. The Norman horse closely resembled the Breton, but gave more evidence of infusion of oriental blood. This strain came from Andalusian sires brought in to Normandy and La Perch (habitat of the Percheron breed) for breeding purposes, some direct from Spain and others, between the latter part of the 16th century and the end of the War of Spanish Succession, from the Spanish Netherlands. Influence of the Dutch Friesian is apparent in the notable trotting ability of the Canadian, the feathered legs, abundance of mane and tail, and general appearance.