You said studbook!
Rightly so, studbooks are finding favour with the BNF.
You said studbook! So, let's get started! Let's start with Larousse: stud-book, stud-books, masculine noun (English word, from stud, stud farm, and book, book).
Genealogical book for the horse species, of which there is one for each breed recognised in France.
A little better perhaps? The dictionary of the Académie Française?
Male noun. Pronunciation: (u is pronounced eu ; oo is pronounced ou)
Etymology: 19th century. Borrowed from the English studbook, itself composed of stud, “stable, stud farm”, and book, “book”. Register in which the pedigree of pedigree equines is recorded (the term “Livre généalogique” is preferred to the English word).
What else? And, above all, why an article devoted to what at first glance appears to be a register, something that is more akin to what we would now call a database than a book, in the literary sense of the word.
Circumstances... Circumstances. A few weeks ago, François Huot Marchand, Deputy Chief Squire of the Cadre Noir Saumur (IFCE) and Secretary of the Culture, Heritage and UNESCO Committee, aptly remarked that things happen “when the planets align”. He told us that the Bibliothèque nationale de France, which has incorporated equestrian heritage into its Gallica digital library, had decided, as part of its mission of documentary cooperation with the IFCE and the World Equine Library, to relaunch two areas of inventory: firstly, a more in-depth study of the existing corpus of periodicals (magazines), and secondly, a new and unprecedented area: stud books.
An opportunity for breed associations
This programme, which will be rolled out between 2025 and 2027, attests to the “basic” importance of the genealogical heritage of French horses, which will be digitised, classified and indexed with the threefold aim of improving knowledge and research, conserving the documents in a sustainable and high-quality way and enabling them to be enriched in a concerted and ongoing manner.
This is both a wake-up call and a godsend for local and small breed associations, which will be given priority in this process to offset the risk of their documentary collections disappearing due to a lack of conservation and archiving resources. The major breed associations will be able to supplement the resources at a later stage with their own documentary collections. We are obviously thinking here of the Selle Français and the Anglo-Arab for the so-called “sport” horse, and the Trotteur Français and the Thoroughbred for the “racing” horse.
Which naturally leads us to talk about the “why and how” of the father of all horse studbooks, the first of its kind, the oldest, the richest and the widest, because it is unique for horses produced on five continents...
Dear Mr. Weatherbys
The studbook in question is that of the English thoroughbred, which is thought to have originated in the 18th century with the importation into England of horses that are now known as “Arabian” but which, in reality, as Adrien Cugnasse, editor-in-chief of the racing daily Jour de Galop, points out, were more generally “Oriental”. Cross-referencing suggests that the foundation of the English thoroughbred is the result of the crossing of around 200 horses (from Arabia), including three major males, with native English mares. These crosses were duly recorded from 1770 onwards by a certain Mr. Weatherbys (today it is the company of the same name that continues to manage the thoroughbred database) and formed the basis of the stud book known as the “English thoroughbred”.
These three “dominant” thoroughbreds in the English thoroughbred studbook were named Darley Arabian, Godolphin Arabian and Byerley Turk respectively. In an article published on October 12, 2024 by Jour de Galop, editor-in-chief Adrien Cugnasse explains the benefits of having and systematically updating a reliable studbook or pedigree book:
"Knowing the genealogy of horses has enabled selection to take a quantum leap forward, by identifying good breeding stock and good families. And the quality of the horses has also made spectacular progress. Since then, it has been a long, slow process of improvement. Each generation contributes its stone to the edifice. And everyone is trying to improve their winning rate, but also their proportion of good horses.
What applies to thoroughbreds, the result of in-depth knowledge of duly referenced pedigrees and judicious cross-breeding, also applies today to sport horses and, in particular, to the Selle Français, which is emerging on the international scene as the best performer of its kind. It should be pointed out at this stage that, unlike racehorse breeding where only one breed predominates - the thoroughbred - the sport horse has developed a different model. There is not just one studbook in this field, but almost four dozen throughout the world, all of which are subject to identical recognition and membership criteria by the international federation that groups them together, the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH).
80 stud-books of sport horses recognized by the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH)
This world federation, which is to the production of the sport horse what the FEI is to its use and to the organisation and regulation of the sport, celebrated its thirtieth anniversary this year at its General Assembly in Lisbon.
When the planets align!
The current domination of the Selle Français horse, whose studbook - the register - is kept, as for all the other studbooks of French horse breeds, by the Institut du Cheval through the SIRE (Système d'Information Relatif aux Equidés) based in Pompadour, was awarded in 2024, with impressive success, for the second consecutive season, by the first place in the WBFSH LONGINES BREEDERS AWARDS, one of the three Olympic equestrian disciplines (along with eventing and dressage) to the most successful studbooks in France. This title is awarded to the studbooks whose six best representatives on the international scene have performed best throughout the sporting season. At the end of September 2024, in Valkenswaard in the Netherlands, the Selle Français studbook once again distinguished itself in what is now emerging as a studbook championship for young show jumping horses. Entitled the WBFSH STUDBOOKS JUMPING GLOBAL TROPHY, this competition sees the best up-and-coming young horses compete in teams in classes reserved for horses aged 5, 6, 7 and 8, as well as stallions (breeding stock) aged 9 and over. The Selle Français won three of the six titles contested. And that's not all. At this summer's Olympic Games in Versailles, at the very highest level in the world, Selle Français-born horses performed brilliantly. In its newsletter L'actu mensuel du Selle Français , dated September 2024, the studbook was jubilant: “There were 20 Selle Français horses at the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. One Gold, 4 Silver and 5 Bronze medals later.... WHAT A SOURCE OF PRIDE!
As Adrien Cugnasse pointed out, as with the thoroughbred, this is the result of a patient selection policy and a high level of motivation on the part of the studbook's breeders: ‘ Each generation contributes its stone to the edifice. And everyone is trying to improve their rate of winners, but also their proportion of good horses.
The Selle Français studbook in great shape
Pascal Cadiou, President of the Selle Français stud book, whose creation dates back to 1958, in the long and consistent note he sent us, does not deny this and goes back to try to explain the origins of this “breed” as it is considered today, but which was not considered so yesterday. Historically speaking, it is quite simply the result of economic, social and political considerations at a given time; the setting up of an organisation to meet a need. At the outset, there were the needs of the army and cavalry (especially under the Empire), but also those of transport: “First the Royal Studs, then the National Studs, were created to meet the needs of the time for “draft” and “porter” horses.
It took a great deal of energy, ingenuity and patience on the part of the men in charge of this project to improve our native horses, which were considered to be “degenerate” because they were too small and not strong enough, particularly through cross-breeding.
The availability of stallions bought abroad for their qualities was to spread to all the provinces of France.
We cannot really talk about horse breeds at this time because they had little in common and their genealogies were not recorded, even if recurring characteristics could be observed depending on the territory, as in the case of the Carrossier noir du Cotentin, for example.
It wasn't until the middle of the 11th Century, with the need for farmers to exchange information about their plant and animal production and the appearance of agricultural fairs, that for instance the Charollaise cattle breed was created”. We would add here that it was from the end of the 19th century onwards that other “breeds” were characterised in the same way, such as the so-called “heavy” breeds needed for agriculture or transport: the Percheron, the Trait du Poitou, the Ardennais, the Boulonnais, the Nivernais, the Cob Breton, the Comtois, and so on. But we could also mention, at the same time, the specific needs of the army, the remounting of cavalry...
Yes, the evolution of a breed is driven by needs and the ability of breeders to meet a given demand through “skilful” selection, with all the uncertainties that it entails. It is above all a human adventure, as the President of the Selle Français explains: “The knowledge of the horse and the agronomic skills of our National Stud directors will be essential in creating our horse breeds and starting to talk about genetic improvement. The notion of a breed of horse is intimately linked to the people who breed them, but also :
- to history: how did we get here? Why did our elders make such and such choices at the time?
- to geography: the territories and terroirs that shape horses
- to the knowledge of the relationship between individuals
- to selection and transmission: identifying heritable traits to meet market expectations and setting up a breeding programme that inspires breeders
- to early and daring performance testing that attracts support and recognition.
- to changing times and changing needs: breeders cannot be collectors or nostalgic.
- to equestrian, sporting and agricultural know-how: which implies a great knowledge of the horse and its needs.
A century later (in the 1960s/70s), expectations in the so-called developed countries (Europe, America) have obviously changed. The mechanisation of agriculture, the army and transport had come to the fore. After the Second World War, the horse's only salvation lay in its ability to meet the demand for a shift towards leisure activities and so-called “equestrian” sports. Production therefore changed direction, starting from known bases and selections.
As an example...
This move towards sport and breeds of horse suited to increasingly high performance and enjoyable riding has taken place at a speed that can only be explained by the acceleration of information on the results of the production concerned (which means that trends can be accelerated or reversed more quickly, fashions, etc.) and reproductive techniques (artificial insemination, embryo transfer and now oocyte puncture for in vitro fertilisation), which are authorised for sport horses where they are forbidden for thoroughbreds. “By following international competitions, breeders began to see what our neighbours and friends were producing. The Belgians were ahead of their time in their selection process, drawing a great deal of inspiration from what was being done in Germany, Holland and France, and above all buying breeding stock in all these countries. French breeders have not escaped the rule of free trade. Oh the dirty word, some would say! But free trade means free, and that should reassure the French players who are so attached, and rightly so, to this fundamental value.
Today, the use of genetics has become standardised in all producer countries or those that wish to become producers, but the rules for characterisation, approval and labelling of breeding stock, morphology, locomotion, behaviour and research into phenotypes often differ from one country to another, from one studbook to another. The men and women who select, breed and educate in different regions have different skills linked, as we said earlier, to the history of the equestrian art in each country and to the market.
The originality of a studbook, of a group of breeders who define the rules of membership and the selection programme, lies not in the use of genes that would be exclusive but in the phenotypic choices that it makes, with varying degrees of severity, to authorise individuals to reproduce”.
To best conclude this article it would perhaps be better to return to what prompted it, i.e. the BNF's decision to develop a programme to archive the genealogical heritage of horse studbooks, such as that of the Selle Français, which will therefore be digitised, classified and indexed with the threefold aim of improving knowledge and research, conserving documents sustainably and qualitatively and enabling them to be enriched in a concerted and permanent manner.
Because beyond the austere (one might even say “cold”) aspect of researching, archiving, classifying and making available the “studbooks” (now digitised and therefore more easily “searchable”) of horse “breeds” by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, it is clear that these stud or stable books (depending on the situation) are very much alive in the sense that they are the result of a whole life! Lives! Those of horses, men, in this case breeders, but also those of their long and patient work together. The proof is in the attempt by its President to explain the reasons for the current success of the Selle Français. We're well and truly in the present, in life, in the real world! For Pascal Cadiou, the form of the moment is first and foremost: “The strength of a group that draws on its resources every four years through elections that allow all members to become administrators. The strength of a body of independent judges chosen from recognised personalities whose ongoing training is provided by the group and whose role is to characterise, score and point out for the benefit of the selection. The strength of a group of passionate men and women who devote their human and financial resources, whether as breeders or stallion owners, to the common project. Genetic improvement: better production for better sales could be the motto of the Selle Français. The most notable advantage of our organisation is that, since 1958, it has been able to rally around a national breed without doing without the skills of the local people who continue to make the Selle Français so rich today. Our elders showed us the way to selection, and today we are helping to professionalise the organisation and structure of our segment of the equine industry. We are fixed and focused on our projects, such as the study of the equine genome, and our shared ambition is to continue to make progress to support breeders and give them effective tools for selection, production, education and training, early detection and marketing. We don't have the time to look for our weaknesses, which undoubtedly exist, but our opponents will have more time to describe them”.
Did you say “stud book”?
Xavier Libbrecht
