Fleuve
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| Country of origin | Senegal |
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The Fleuve is a Senegalese breed of riding horse.[1] Its name is the French word for "big river"; it is named for the Senegal River (French: Fleuve Sénégal). It is one of four Senegalese horse breeds, the others being the Foutanké, the M'Bayar and the M'Par.[3]: 23
History
[edit]The origins of the horse in Senegal are not documented.[4]: 261 The Fleuve derives from Sahel-type horses from the Hodh and Kayes regions of modern-day Mauretania and Mali, to the north of Senegal.[4]: 262 Those in turn are descended from Barb horses from the Maghreb countries further to the north.[5]: 14 The Fleuve has been described as a "degenerate Barb".[2]: 37–38
In 1996, Senegal had a horse population of about 400000 head, the largest of any West African country.[2]: 36 This was a substantial increase from the 216000 reported in 1978,[5]: 10 and a much greater increase from the population after the Second World War, estimated at barely 30000.[4]: 260 Population numbers for the Fleuve are not reported.[1] In 2007 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations did not have data from which to estimate the conservation status of the breed.[6]: 101
Characteristics
[edit]The Fleuve is normally grey. It is a well-made horse, with a fine head and slender legs; it is energetic, with lively gaits. Poor examples may be too narrow in the chest, or have insufficient bone in the legs.[5]: 37
Use
[edit]Horses play an important part in the social and economic life in Senegal.[2]: 52 The Fleuve was once the horse of chieftains; it is now used as a saddle-horse and for horse-racing.[5]: 15
It is also used in cross-breeding: a cross between a Fleuve stallion and an M'Bayar mare gives rise to the type called Foutanké.[5]: 15
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Breed data sheet: Fleuve / Senegal (Horse). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 J.-P. Dehoux, A. Dieng, A. Buldgen (1996). Le cheval Mbayar dans la partie centrale du bassin arachidier sénégalais (in French). Animal Genetic Resources Information. 20: 35–54. Archived 31 August 2025.
- ↑ [Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles] (2003). Rapport national sur l'état des ressources zoogénétiques au Sénégal (in French); annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 1 November 2019.
- 1 2 3 René Larrat (1947). L'élevage du cheval au Sénégal (in French). Revue d'élevage et de médecine vétérinaire des pays tropicaux. 1 (4): 257–265. doi:10.19182/remvt.6780.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Magatte Ndiaye (1978). Contribution à l'étude de l'élevage du cheval au Sénégal (doctoral thesis, in French). Ecole Inter-Etats des Sciences et Médecine Vétérinaires de Dakar. Archived 4 March 2016.
- ↑ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.