The Merens (also known as 'Ariegeois') is an ancient French breed of light draft horse, which has roamed in the Pyrenees Mountains since prehistoric times.

A mountain horse of ancient origins:
The ancestors of the Merens are prehistoric horses who roamed the Pyrenees Mountains. Living in relative isolation for centuries, the Merens developed a homogenous conformation, which remained the same even after the breed received some foreign blood during the Umayyad invasion of Gaul in the 8th century.

During the first half of the 20th century, Merens horses were used for light-draft work, and the breed was even officially recognized in 1947. Unfortunately, though, the mechanization of agriculture and transportation rendered them redundant. Gradually, the numbers of Merens horses decreased to a point where only four stallions left, and the breed almost went extinct.

The Merens today:
The Merens was eventually saved thanks to dedicated breeders, who in addition to breeding Merens horses also promoted it among recreational riders. The breed has made a nice comeback and today its population is stable.

Merens horses are bred primarily in France, but also in nearby countries. Many of them breed and live in semi-wild conditions in the Pyrenees, and those that are tamed are used for recreational riding.

Conformation:
The conformation of Merens horses is characterized by a light head with large nostrils and small ears, a visibly short neck which is often muscular, a long back, a rounded double croup, solid legs with thick joints, and noticeably wide hooves.

The mane and tail are often coarse and wavy, and are medium or long in length. The legs have light feathering on the fetlocks and cannons.

While most Merens horses share the characteristics mentioned above, it is worth noting that the conformation can still vary between horses. This is because some breeders breed for a lighter and athletic form of the breed, while others breed for its original heavier conformation.

That said, there are no subtypes within the breed, which is why, in Horse Isle, Merens horses sometimes combine 'light' traits with 'heavy' traits, thus giving them an unbalanced look. It's up for the breeders to choose which conformation traits they prefer to breed for.

Performance metrics:
The following are the: range, average, (SD), and MOE of performance metrics of ordered Merens horses in Horse Isle (not bred ones). In rare cases, horses might have metrics outside of the range. Breeders can produce horses that are beyond this range.

Speed: 14.8-16.1, 15.5 (0.3), 0.05.
Sprint: 47-61, 54 (3), 0.56.

Accel: 0.83-1.03, 0.93 (0.05), 0.01.
Decel: 0.90-1.05, 0.98 (0.03), 0.01.

Jump: 4.90-5.20, 5.03 (0.06), 0.01.
Pull: 2.41-2.98, 2.71 (0.13), 0.03.

Turning: 47.08-60.37, 53.08 (2.78), 0.54.
Reverse: 2.4-2.9, 2.7 (0.1), 0.02.

Stamina: 49.13-52.97, 51.15 (0.78), 0.15.
Reaction: 0.71-0.80, 0.76 (0.02), 0.00.

Coats & Height:
Coat: the coat is always black, solid, and lacks white markings except for the occasional star.

Additionals: sooty.

Height: 14.1hh to 15.1hh.