The Henson Horse, or Cheval de Henson, is a modern horse breed from northeast France. It was created by the selective breeding of light saddle horses with the smaller, heavier Norwegian Fjord horse to create small horses suitable for the equestrian vacation industry. The breeders' association, Association du Cheval Henson, was formed in 1983. In 1995 the studbook was closed to horses not born from Henson parents, and in 2003 the breed was officially recognised by the French government agencies for horse breeding. A hardy breed of horse, each winter the broodmares and youngstock from several breeders are let loose together to graze freely in the wetland reserves in France.
History
Unlike the majority of French horse breeds, the Henson was created in the late 20th century with the goal of obtaining a hardy horse adapted to all forms of equestrian tourism, outdoor riding and pleasure riding; it is therefore the most recent of all French horse breeds. The birthplace of the breed was the Baie de Somme in Picardy (now part of Hauts-de-France), a natural area of 70 km2. The Henson became one of the emblems in the same way as birds, thanks to its mode of breeding "in the sense of a preserved area". Its economic impact remains modest but is growing from year to year with the rise of ecotourism. It is considered a regional success "in the new logic of horse riding".
Near the end of the 1970s, horseback riding became a popular form of outdoor recreation for nature-loving families. This led to increased interest in pony trekking as well as driving in the Somme, creating a need for a leisure horse suited to the region.
The Henson breed was originally an experimental cross between first generation Fjord horses and various other riding horses from the breeders Bernard Bizet and Lionel and Marc Berquin. In 1972, Bernard Bizet bought a Fjord stallion and four fillies with the idea of using them to breed a leisure horse, following a trip to Denmark in his youth. Fjord horses are an ideal breed for activities geared towards a younger clientele, and are hardy enough to live outside year round. In 1973, Bizet's Fjord stallion was too young to breed with his mares, so he decided to take them to the Haras Nationaux, and breed them to an Anglo-Arab.
In 1974, the birth of two Fjord cross Anglo-Arab foals attracted the attention of Lionel Berquin, attendant at the Centre Équestre de Morlay (Morlay Equestrian Centre). He discovered the talents of these foals. Adopted by the Association des Cavaliers de la Baie de Somme (located in Port-le-Grand), they were named "Henson" a few years later. They combine the Fjord's dun coat colour, hardiness and mental balance with the Anglo-Arab's fiery temperament and body adapted to driving and recreation. This cross resulted in heterosis, such that the hybrids retained the desired qualities of both parent-breeds. With the success of this breeding, the Fjords were also crossed with Trotters and Selle Français horses, but the Anglo-Arab proved to be the best cross.
Members of the breed's development project, including Berquin and Bizet, joined in 1982 and became the Association des Cavaliers de la Baie de Somme. Lionel Berquin co-created the Association of the Henson Horse that same year with Dominique Cocquet, then leader of the "Syndicat Mixte Pour l'Aménagement de la Côte Picarde" (Mixed Union for the Development of the Picardy Coast), to "give life to this crazy bet" which was to create a new breed of horse, promote it, and establish it. They gathered all their Fjord-cross horses, and bred their mares to the stallions. The goal was to get horses with similar phenotypes, so the genotype would be stable and reproducible, but also to have sufficient first generation animals that were 50/50. From 1984 to 1986, the 50/50 Fjord mares were bred to Anglo stallions; the progeny being 25% Fjord blood. The morphology and character were interesting but the dun coat colour was lost in more than half of the cases. The same mares were then bred to Fjords to produce foals that were 75% Fjord, in order to better establish the coat colour for selection criteria.