CAMARGUE HORSE

The ultimate workhorse, this hardy breed is one of the oldest in France for good reason, writes Helen Parkinson

- Helen Parkinson

They’re the closest thing France has to cowboys: the gardians, the trident-wielding herdsmen of the miry Rhône delta. Every day, come rain, shine or the violent Mistral wind, they tend to their livestock as their predecessors have done for centuries – with the help of a special steed.

Prehistoric ponies

The Camargue horses – technically often ponies due to their diminutive size, although stallions can be bigger – have roamed the wetlands of Bouches-du-Rhône for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Sturdy and Roman-nosed, they are one of the world’s oldest breeds, evocative of some of the primitive horses daubed on the walls of Lascaux. They are believed to be descended from the now-extinct Solutré, which lived in Burgundy around 17,000 years ago. Born with black or dark brown hair, their white coat arrives during their fourth or fifth year.