The Breton horse originated in France. It is used for heavy draft and farm work. It stands 15 to 16 h.h. The Breton horse has a long history with many differences in opinions. It has been said that the breed dates back four thousand years or more to the time it was brought into Europe by Aryans migrating from Asia. Others have said that the breed comes from smaller horses that were bred and improved by Celtic warriors on their conquest of what is now Great Britain. 
    A population of horses ridden by the Celts that were probably descendants of the steppe horses were found in the Breton Mountains for many years. At the time of the Crusades, these horses were bred to Oriental stallions and mares, leading to the Bidet Breton. Two types of Breton horses existed at the end of the Middle Ages. They were a northern Brittany pack horse called the Sommier and the Roussin, meaning cob, which originating from the Mountain Bidet that is finer and more slender than the Sommier.

The Bidet Breton was wanted by many military leaders during the Middle Ages due to its comfortable gait, which is said to be between a brisk trot and an amble. Many crossbreeds were also made in the following centuries in order to meet the needs of production to the economic needs of various periods.  

There are also three types of Breton horses. The small Breton draft horse (Center Mountain), considered the real descendant of the ancient Breton horse, it has the same general features as the Breton draft horse but is smaller with a more dished face. This horse is easy to keep and is gaining popularity being very hardy and enduring. The Breton draft horse is heavier with more bulk. It is a strong, muscular compact horse. The Postier Breton, having remarkably airy and easy gaits, is very close to the draft horse and is of the same size. This a more beautiful, distinguished type.

Because of the quality and popularity, the Breton is the most numerous of the draft horse in France. It also has been widely exported around the world.

The Breton is still used as a work horse on small farms by market gardeners and to gather sea

      The Canadian Horse traces its ancestry to the foundation stock brought to Acadia and New France in the 17th century. The first horses were ultimately caught and carried off in 1616 by Samuel Argall's marauding expedition from Virginia. This was the first introduction of French Canadian blood to America's eastern shores.
     The effective introduction of French horses in to New France came in 1665 when Louis XIV sent two stallions and twenty mares from the royal stables to the colony. On the voyage eight of the mares were lost, but the King sent additional shipments; in 1667 fourteen or fifteen horses, and in 1670 a stallion and eleven mares. These horses formed the basis of the French Canadian horse of the Old Regime.
     The horses from the Royal stables came from Normandy and Brittany, at that time the two most renowned horse breeding provinces of France. The Breton horse, although small, was noted for its soundness and vigor. The Norman horse closely resembled the Breton, but gave more evidence of infusion of oriental blood. This strain came from Andalusian sires brought in to Normandy and La Perch (habitat of the Percheron breed) for breeding purposes, some direct from Spain and others, between the latter part of the 16th century and the end of the War of Spanish Succession, from the Spanish Netherlands. Influence of the Dutch Friesian is apparent in the notable trotting ability of the Canadian, the feathered legs, abundance of mane and tail, and general appearance.

    The Breton originated in the province of Bretagne (or Brittany) in the northwest of France. A demanding climate and land of rather poor quality characterizes this area. Such and environment contributed to the creation of a horse possessing qualities of great strength and durability. Brittany has a history of breeding distinguished horses, which goes back to the Middle Ages. The Breton horse is the result of evolution over hundreds of years, and a long period of selection carried out by breeders from old varieties of native horses.
    Horses have been present in the Breton mountains from thousands of years; however, the debate over how they first arrived there still brews today. It was in the Middle Ages, around the time of the Crusades, that the Breton horse became sought after by military leaders, in part due to its comfortable gait. At that time the breed stood at about 14 hands. During the seventeenth, it was this horse that was sent to New France (Canada) by the king of France and the Canadian Hors still shows its influence.
    Throughout the centuries, the Breton was crossbred with various foreign and native horses including the Boulonnais, Percheron and Ardennais as the requirements for horses changed. In the nineteenth century the Breton was crossed with the Norfolk Trotter which resulted in the most distinguished type of Breton, the Postier Breton. By 1930, crossbreeding was abandoned and selection within the breed has been the basic method of improving the breed since.
     In recent decades, it has been a common tendency to increase the size of a draft horse to gain more power from it. The Breton, however, is an exception. The smart trot and ability to survive and work under often demanding conditions have led to the preservation of the Breton’s purity as a breed. Crossbreeding, successfully achieved with other breeds, reduced the unique qualities of the Breton. Buyers from such diverse areas as Africa and Japan converge on Brittany to buy horses for their native areas. When crossbreeding is attempted using Bretons, it is usually to improve or create another breed like the Freiberger breed of Switzerland
    The Breton was originally bred in the four districts of Brittany, but now has spread far beyond its birth