Editing Percheron (section)

=== 20th and 21st centuries ===

[[File:Percheron, draw2.JPG|thumb|A 1904 drawing of a Percheron]]
In 1911, the French society [[closed stud book|restricted registration]] to horses with both parents already registered with the society.<ref name=Bongianni>Bongianni, ''Simon & Schuster's Guide to Horses and Ponies'', Entry 87</ref> In the early 20th century, the Percheron was one of the four major draft horse breeds, along with the [[Belgian Draught|Belgian]], the [[Clydesdale horse|Clydesdale]] and the [[Shire horse|Shire]]. Breeders could sell their horses for significant amounts of money, especially in the United States and Canada, where breeding stock brought a premium price.<ref>Mavré, ''Attelages et attelées'', p. 80</ref>

Prior to {{nowrap|World War I}}, a flourishing trade route for Percherons existed between [[Nogent-le-Rotrou]], [[Le Havre]] and the United States.<ref>Dal'Secco, ''Les chevaux de trait'', p. 42</ref> However, after the war began, an embargo was placed on French Percherons, disallowing them from exportation. Other than an exception in April 1916 to allow 59 horses to be shipped from France to the US, this embargo remained in place until the end of the war. The war took its toll on the Percheron breed as horses, fodder, and handlers were requisitioned for the fighting, and even after the embargo was lifted France did not have the quality or quantity of stock to fulfill the needs of American breeders. The embargo created a breeding boom in the US, replacing the previous practice of importing the majority of Percherons from France, and late in the war horses were shipped the other way&nbsp;– from the US to Europe&nbsp;– to supply those needed in the war.<ref>Mischka, ''The Percheron Horse in America'', pp. 4–6</ref> The lack of [[feathering (horse)|feathering]] on the Percheron's lower legs made them easier to care for in the mud that they often worked in during wartime. Their quick trot on paved roads made them more versatile than motorized vehicles, and they were useful for work with guns and in forward units due to their calm temperaments.<ref name=Rowena />

Between 1918 and 1922, over 350 Percherons were imported to Britain from France and, combined with stock from the US and Canada, were used as breeding stock to establish the breed in the country.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.percheron.org.uk/about/ |title= History of the British Percheron Horse Society |publisher= British Percheron Horse Society |access-date= 3 May 2012 |archive-date= 23 February 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200223171115/http://www.percheron.org.uk/about/ |url-status= dead }}</ref> In 1918, the British Percheron Horse Society was formed. British breeders and owners continue to import Percherons from France, and also occasionally from Canada, when not prohibitively expensive.<ref name=Rowena />

By the 1930s, Percherons accounted for over 70 percent of the purebred draft horses in the United States, and all of the major [[land-grant university|land-grant universities]] maintained stables of Percherons.<ref name=History /> A 1930 census of horses found over 33,000 Percherons in the United States, with the next most popular breed, the Belgian, having a population of less than 10,000. One Percheron historian attributes this popularity to the breed's "strength, energy, activity, robustness and endurance".<ref>Mischka, ''The Percheron Horse in America'', pp. 14–16</ref> After {{nowrap|World War II}}, increasing mechanization prompted a decline in the Percheron population.<ref name=OSU /> In 1954, only 85 Percherons were registered in the US, a record low.<ref name=History />  The 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s were bad years for the US Percheron population, and breeding was reduced to only a few farms. These breeders kept the American population alive through these years, however, and the 1980s saw renewed interest in the breed.<ref>Mischka, ''The Percheron Horse in America'', p. 21</ref>

In 1966, the French stud book was changed to include draft types from other areas of France that were closely related to the Percheron—including the horses of [[Berrichon horse|Berrichon]], [[Nivernais horse|Nivernais]], [[Marne (department)|Marne]], [[Augeron]], [[Bourbonnais]], [[Loire]] and [[Saône-et-Loire]].{{r|hendricks}} French Percherons were also hit hard by the advent of mechanization, and between 1970 and 1990 focus was placed on breeding horses of greater mass for the [[horse meat|meat]] market. The largest and heaviest stallions were selected for breeding.<ref name=Virginia /><ref>Mavré, ''Attelages et attelées'', p. 31</ref> Beginning at the 1989 World Percheron Congress, French breeders realized that they needed a lighter breed for tourism, export to Japan for draft work, and other markets.<ref name=Virginia /><ref>Audiot, ''Races d'hier pour l'élevage de demain'', p. 26</ref> In 1993, a trend of importing American stallions to France was started with the [[black (horse)|black]] stallion Silver Shadows Sheik.<ref>[http://www.percheron-france.org/userfiles/1297/File/documents/2012/dhj-real-french-studs-(1).pdf , p. 2]</ref> This stallion and others were used to create a more elegant, smaller and sleeker look in the French Percheron, while still retaining the traditional bone and foot structure. All the imported stallions were black, reviving the popularity of black Percherons in France.<ref name=Virginia /> French breeders continue to import American-bred Percheron stallions in order to produce lighter foals, moving away from the heavier meat-type horses of the late 20th century.<ref>Mavré, ''Attelages et attelées'', p. 36</ref> Also in 1993, the Société Hippique Percheronne anticipated the increasing tourist and exportation markets by prohibiting [[docking (animal)|docking]], which was not prohibited for other draft breeds until 1996.<ref>{{cite journal |author= Pilley-Mirande, Nathalie |title =Les traits français dans le monde|language=fr |journal= Cheval Magazine |date=October 2002 |pages=62&ndash;65|issue=371}}</ref> This was partly at the request of the Germans,<ref>{{cite thesis |author= Leboucq, Christophe |type=Thèse d'exercice |language=fr |publisher =École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse |title=Origine et avenir du cheval de trait Percheron |date=2002 |page=19}}</ref> and partly due to the influence of magazines such as [[Cheval magazine|''Cheval'']].<ref>Roger & Beaune, ''Maîtres et protecteurs de la nature'', p. 292</ref>

In 1988, there were 1,088 Percherons in the United States, rising to 2,257 by 1998.<ref name=History /> As of 2009, the Percheron Horse Association of America had horses registered in all 50 states, and had nearly 3,000 members, with around 2,500 new horses being registered annually.<ref name=IMH /> The French ''Société Hippique Percheronne de France'' (Percheron Horse Society of France) registered between 750 and 885 horses in each year between 2007 and 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.percheron-france.org/fr/percheron/stud-book.html| publisher= Société Hippique Percheronne de France| language=fr |title= Règlement Stud Book |access-date=8 September 2011}}</ref>