The Camargue
  The Camargue.  
These are the wild ponies named after their homestead - the Camargue region of southern France. The Camargue's ancestry goes back a long way. They have run freely in the marshland of the Rhône delta for hundreds of years.
Selected ponies are caught and trained. Some are used by the Camargue cowboys for herding black bulls which are bred in the region. Others are used for tourist-trekking around the delta.
Camargue ponies live in herds, known as 'manèdes' (pronounced 'man-ed'). Nowadays they are rounded up regularly. Some are chosen to be broken in for training, while other are returned to live in the wild.

APPEARANCE.
Camargue ponies are rather shaggy and wild looking. They have straight, flat faces, and large, expressive eyes. Their short ears are set wide apart. Although their confirmation is generally poor they are deep through the girh, and have powerful hindquarters. Their feet are very strong. The coat is rough and the mane and tail are long and thick.

HEIGHT.
13.1hh to 14.1hh.

COLOUR.
Camargue foals are born black, brown or dark grey. Their coats lighten with age and, by the time they are adult, turn pale grey.

PERSONALITY.
Because the Camargue region has extreme weather conditions, the native ponies have to be very sturdy and tough. They live on rough grass and salty water. Camargue ponies make excellent mounts when they are caught and trained. They are robust and live to an old age.


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