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The Selle Francais (also known as 'French Saddle Horse' and 'SF') is a French warmblood sport breed, which excels in show-jumping and eventing.
The story of the Selle Francais starts at 1958. Prior to this year, France had many halfbred horses, which were usually named after the regions in which they were bred. These horses often had Anglo-Norman origins, and were mostly destined to serve as army horses. In 1958, it was decided to start a national breeding program for a national saddle horse (Selle Francais), and to use all of the regional halfbred horses to establish the new breed. Therefore, a new studbook was started, which included all of the regional horses.
Compared to other sport warmbloods, Selle Francais horses have a very muscular build, including in their necks and legs which can be thick. Therefore, Selle Francais horses might appear to be heavier than other sport warmbloods. Nevertheless, these horses are superb jumpers, who excel in show-jumping and eventing. In fact, in 2019, the breed was ranked as one of the top five breeds in the world in both of these disciplines.
Originally, the Selle Francais studbook was closed to other breeds. However, it was opened since then, in order to allow the introduction of new genes into the breed. Today, the Selle Francais studbook allows crossbreeding with other warmblood sport breeds, as well as with Arabians, Thoroughbreds, and Anglo-Arabs, given that they pass conformation assessments, or, in the case of jumping and eventing, prove to have exceptional performance in international competitions.
Selle Francais horses are usually bay, brown, or chestnut in color, though grey and, more rarely, black, also exist. White markings are common in this breed, and some horses even sport sabino markings on their legs. Selle Francais can stand anywhere between 15.1hh and 17.3hh, though most of them are within the 15.3hh and 16.3hh range.
The story of the Selle Francais starts at 1958. Prior to this year, France had many halfbred horses, which were usually named after the regions in which they were bred. These horses often had Anglo-Norman origins, and were mostly destined to serve as army horses. In 1958, it was decided to start a national breeding program for a national saddle horse (Selle Francais), and to use all of the regional halfbred horses to establish the new breed. Therefore, a new studbook was started, which included all of the regional horses.
Compared to other sport warmbloods, Selle Francais horses have a very muscular build, including in their necks and legs which can be thick. Therefore, Selle Francais horses might appear to be heavier than other sport warmbloods. Nevertheless, these horses are superb jumpers, who excel in show-jumping and eventing. In fact, in 2019, the breed was ranked as one of the top five breeds in the world in both of these disciplines.
Originally, the Selle Francais studbook was closed to other breeds. However, it was opened since then, in order to allow the introduction of new genes into the breed. Today, the Selle Francais studbook allows crossbreeding with other warmblood sport breeds, as well as with Arabians, Thoroughbreds, and Anglo-Arabs, given that they pass conformation assessments, or, in the case of jumping and eventing, prove to have exceptional performance in international competitions.
Selle Francais horses are usually bay, brown, or chestnut in color, though grey and, more rarely, black, also exist. White markings are common in this breed, and some horses even sport sabino markings on their legs. Selle Francais can stand anywhere between 15.1hh and 17.3hh, though most of them are within the 15.3hh and 16.3hh range.
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