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 tilburies.

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.

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]

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]

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

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]

• List of French horse breeds

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Merlerault horse.

• Denis, Bernard (2012). "Les races de chevaux en France au xviiie siècle. Et les idées relatives à leur amélioration". In Situ (in French) (18). doi:10.4000/insitu.9677.
• Du Hays, Charles (1866). Le Merlerault, ses herbages, ses éleveurs, ses chevaux, et le Haras du Pin-la Plaine d'Alençon-le Mesle-sur-Sarthe (in French). Paris: Librairie Agricole de la Maison Rustique.
• Frémont, Armand (1967). L'Élevage en Normandie : étude géographique (in French). Caen: Presses universitaires de Caen. ISBN 978-2-84133-480-3.
• Gast, Edmond (1889). Le cheval normand et ses origines : situation hippique de la France, étalons nationaux; Orne, Calvados, Manche, différents élevages, généalogies, portraits; courses au trot; remontes militaires; percherons... (in French). Paris: J. Rothschild.
• Mégnin, Jean-Pierre (1895). Le cheval et ses races: histoire des races à travers les siècles et races actuelles (in French). Vincennes Aux bureaux de l'Éleveur.
• Moll, Louis; Gayot, Eugène Nicolas (2018) [1861]. La connaissance générale du cheval : études de zootechnie pratique, avec un atlas de 160 pages et de 103 figures (in French). Didot. ISBN 978-0274430161.