#poitevin

[critter-creature-or-beast]

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Voting ended onJan 17

By Sudorculus - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

[horsefigureoftheday]

Horse figure of the day: La Grande Parade des Chevaux Poitevin

[simplified-horses]

Poitevin Mulassier Simplified

[cretaceous-sandwichkid]

[pleistocene-pride]

The Baudet du Poitou, also called the Poitevin or Poitou donkey, is a large French breed of domestic donkey. The exact origins of the Poitou breed are unknown, but donkeys may have been introduced to the Poitou region of France by the Roman Empire. The Baudet de Poitou and the Mulassière horse breed were developed together for the use of producing superior mules. In the Middle Ages, owning a Poitou donkey may have been a status symbol among the local French nobility. In the mid-1800s, Poitevin mules were "regarded as the finest and strongest in France", and between 15,000 and 18,000 were sold annually. In 1884, a studbook was established for the Poitou donkey in France. During the first half of the twentieth century, the mules bred by the Poitou and the Poitevin continued to be desired throughout Europe, and were called the "finest working mule in the world". As mechanization increased around World War II, mules became outmoded, and the Poitou donkey population fell dramatically. After a a breed census in 1977 found only 44 Poitou donkeys worldwide, conservation efforts were led by several public and private groups in France and Portugal. These efforts proved successful and today around 2,000 Poitou donkeys are known. With females reaching 4.6 (1.4m) tall at the shoulders, and males reaching 5.2ft (1.56m), the Baudet is a one of the largest breeds of domestic donkey with only the Catalan, Mammoth Jack, Andalusian, and Balearic breeds reaching similar or larger sizes. They have large, long heads, strong necks, long backs, short croups and round haunches. The limb joints and feet are large, and the legs strong.The temperament has been described as "friendly, affectionate and docile". In Poitou, the coat of the Baudet was traditionally – and deliberately – left ungroomed; with time, it formed cadenettes aka long shaggy locks somewhat like dreadlocks. The coat is typically dark brown to black but may also by silver, dark grey, or red.

[antiqueanimals]

The Quizzer Book of Knowledge: Nature. Written and edited by George Beal. 1978.

Internet Archive

[horsesarecreatures]

Texas Poitou Donkeys

[francepittoresque]

[PATRIMOINE] Une agglomération gauloise en Vendée ► http://j.mp/2VSdgMf Au Poiré-sur-Velluire, aux Chirons, une agglomération d’une centaine de bâtiments de l’âge du Fer a été explorée par une équipe de l’Inrap, près d’un carrefour de voies gauloises