Known as the “horse of the sea” in its homeland, the Camargue pony of the French marshlands is truly unique.

The Camargues live in the Rhone delta of southern France, among marshlands and wetlands. They live in semi-liberty; wild most of the year in herds, and used by humans for tours and Camargue Bull roundups during other times of the year. Unlike the wild plains herds that roam the south western North America or the Spanish Andalusians left in rolling fields to mature for their first few years, the Camaragues survive on sprace rough grass and salty reeds. They spend a good deal of their days knee deep in marsh, fishing out weedy grasses and roots to sustain themselves.

The Camargue is classified as a pony, with few growing over 14 hands high. They have a wide, bulky head, often having a “roman nose”, instead of the more delicate fluted faces of other European pony breeds, like the Welsh ponies. Like most wild horses, they have wide, expressive eyes and short, broad ears, which help them to survive in their semi-wild habitat. They also carry many other characteristics of the wild horse breeds: a short, straight back instead of the long, loose back of most riding horse; a short, thick neck that connects to short, straight withers for more power in their front end; a deep, wide chest to increase their endurance; short, muscular haunches to give them greater power without the excess size; a thick, long mane and tail to ward of insects and to protect against the elements; and thick legs with clean joints, leading to hardy hooves for when they spend their day traveling in search of the next patch of food. Most Camargue ponies are born a dark brown or black and mature through dapple grey and steel gray to become white at about seven years of age.

The Camargue cowboys who herd the Camargue bulls (used in bullfighting in Southern france) chose the Camargue ponies for their stamina, agility and hardiness. Though small, the ponies can quickly out wit the bulls and keep up with the daily tasks of the cowboys. They are used to the hard work of trekking through the marshland for food, which is much more difficult on a horse than trekking across a field or plains, and can easily carry a grown man on their backs. Having short backs and short necks gives them the extra power needed for that, whereas a pony built like a hunter horse with a long back, would find it difficult to round themselves and carry the excess weight.

The Camargue played into the development of other breeds and was well liked by the Romans invading Spain and France. The Chilean Horse and Mustangsshow characteristics of the hardy Camargue horse, and were probably influenced by the Spanish horses brought to America by the Europeans.

In the 1970s, the French set standards for the breed to preserve their ruggedness and endurance. The stud book was opened in 1978 and foals had to be born outside and were to be seen nursing from a registered Camargue mare to prove their parentage. This was the only way to prove the foal was a Camargue horse, since the Gardians (the Camargue cowboys) look after the horses year round, but only round them up one a year for inspections, branding, gelding and training. A foal seen nursing from a Camargue mare would be assumed to be her foal and would thus be registered as a Camargue that year.

Outside of France, there is only one breeding herd and it resides in Suffolk, England. All other Camargue ponies are kept as typical domesticated ponies are kept. Ponies registered outside of the French Camargue area are registered as “horse bercau” which means “out of birthplace”, and those born inside are registered as “sous berceau”, meaning “within the birthplace”.

The Camargue is one of the two breeds word-wide left to live in the wild, while their keepers still maintain a registry. Unlike the Spanish Andalusians though, the Camargues are left out their entire lives, rather than the four years it takes for them to mature. They are Europes last true wild horses.