April 2002, Parliament declared Le Cheval Canadien to be the National horse of Canada.....

Descendant from horses sent by King Louis XIV of France to the early settlers of New France between 1647 and 1670, it is believed their origins were of Norman, Barb, Friesian and Arab bloodlines.  The horses that arrived in Canada were then bred with no outside influence from other breeds for over 150 years.   They survived great hardships, were given little or no feed, forced to eat what they could find by foraging, even stripping bark from trees.  They were worked extremely hard, often working on the farm all day and racing in harness in the evening, sometimes on icy roads or over frozen lakes.  There were no warm barns and the horses that lived through the extreme weather conditions evolved into what the breed remains today ... Canada's Little Iron Horse.  Only the strongest survived those early beginnings and it is the traits of those survivors that still exist in the Canadian breed. 

Characteristics of the breed include an upright arching neck, a proud head, large, strong forequarters, a short back, round barrel, abundant mane and tail, large, flat bone and well-muscled legs, iron hard feet that resist chips, cracks and a lively, but sensible temperament.  The breed standard is between 14 and 16 hh.  Canadians are predominantly black, brown, bay or chestnut with limited white markings.  Only a very few are a true blue-black with most a black that fades to brown through the summer.  They are above average in intelligence, most are inquisitive, friendly and extraordinarily tough.  Sickness, lameness or reproductive problems are practically unheard of.  Most Canadians are very easy keepers maintaining their weight on less feed than other smaller breeds require.

Originally used as a driving, riding and farm horse, the Canadian horse has retained the qualities so admired by the settlers.....strong, tireless and versatile.  They have excelled at trail riding, pleasure driving, dressage, jumping, eventing and CDE competition....they have been used for endurance, competitive trail, western events, farming, logging, and as pack horses.  Pound for Pound the Canadian is perhaps the strongest horse on the planet and can out pull a horse twice its size.