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Merlerault
	A Merlerault horse in 1852, in Encyclopédie pratique de l'agriculteur published by Firmin-Didot and Cie, t. 5, 1877.
Other names	Merlerautin
Country of origin	France
Distribution	Le Merlerault
Use	To ride and tilbury pulling
Traits
Height	Medium size;
Distinguishing features	A square head, shoulder well defined, short hindquarters, graceful legs.
	Equus ferus caballus;

The Merlerault is a formerly common breed of horse that originated in the canton of Le Merlerault. Bred under the Old Regime, this reputedly elegant half-bred was used to ride and pull tilburys.

Names

Another common name for these horses is "Merlerautin".^[1]

The breed is sometimes erroneously referred to as "Mellerauds", notably by M. Cardini, who also claims (incorrectly) that Merlerault horses were once raised semi-wild in the woods.

History

The Merlerault is the oldest known breeding cradle of horses in Normandy.^[2]^[3] A breeding tradition has existed there for centuries,^[4] with secular and religious guilds establishing stud farms as early as the Middle Ages.^[5] However, according to Jacques Mulliez, the breed of this name is not that old,^[6] despite traditions dating back to the Crusades or the Merovingian kings.

Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, designated the Le Merlerault region as Normandy's horse production center;^[2]^[7] this first stud farm was replaced in 1730 by the Haras du Pin.^[2]

According to Bernard Denis (2012), Merlerault horses are "probably an artificial breed" created by the nobility from purebred horses.^[8] This breed was very popular at the end of the Old Regime.^[8] Le Merlerault supplied the nobility with saddle horses in the 17th and 18th centuries.^[4]

Description

The Merlerault is an elegant half-breed^[9] of medium size, with a square head on a well-set neck.^[10] The shoulder is well defined, the hindquarters short, the legs graceful but sometimes a little spindly.^[10] The hocks may lack sharpness, and the animal is lightly built, with broad shoulders, agility, and speed.^[10]

Uses

The Merlerault horse is particularly suited to ride and tilbury pulling.^[10]

Distribution

The breed originated in the Alençon area, particularly in the department of Orne.^[11]

In the middle of the 19th century, the Merlerault was the second most numerous horse breed in Normandy after the Cotentin.^[12]

References

^ Charnacé, Guy de (1869). Les races chevalines en France (in French). Paris: C. Delagrave.
^ ^a ^b ^c Frémont (1967, p. 56)
^ Frémont (1967, p. 50)
^ ^a ^b Frémont (1967, p. 103)
^ Frémont (1967, p. 55)
^ Mulliez, Jacques (1983). Les chevaux du royaume: histoire de l'élevage du cheval et de la création des haras (in French). Montalba. p. 56.
^ Du Hays (1866, p. 7)
^ ^a ^b Denis (2012)
^ Gast (1889, p. 41)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Moll & Gayot (1861, p. 609)
^ Odolant-Desnos, Joseph (1834). Orne; La France; description géographique, statistique et topographique (in French). chez Verdière.
^ Houël, Ephrem (1842). Traité des courses au trot (in French). Vol. 6. p. 3.