Swiss horse saddles up for showcase event

The Franches-Montagnes is Switzerland's only indigenous horse breed swissinfo.ch

Equine fans have gathered in the town of Saignelégier in canton Jura, providing a much-needed opportunity to promote Switzerland's only indigenous breed of horse.

Some 4,000 to 5,000 visitors are expected to gather in the Jura over the next week for a series of equestrian events which culminate next weekend in the 99th Marché-Concours (or horse fair).

The week also marks the official start of the country’s show jumping, racing and dressage season.

Franches-Montagnes showcase

For almost 100 years, the gathering has been a showcase for the local breed. This year, only a dozen of the 400 horses taking part are not Franches-Montagnes animals.

Although the show started as a purely local affair, the breed’s reputation has helped the market grow. Farmers and the Swiss army have long valued the horse’s strength, endurance and temperament.

In 1923, the Marché-Concours was turned into a national event. Up until recently, breeders had little trouble selling their horses, with the army buying up to 150 a year for their transport divisions.

Breeding subsidy cuts loom

However, the industry has fallen on tough times. The armed forces have reduced the number of animals kept in service, and are expected to buy just 30 this year.

Breeders are also bracing for a large cut in the federal subsidies paid to keep the industry viable.

“Up until 1995, the federal government paid us around SFr500 ($340) for every horse we had on our farms,” Vincent Wermeille, a Saignelégier breeder, told swissinfo.

“They paid us the subsidy because the horses could be commandeered if war broke out.”

“We were protected by import quotas too.”

“Until 1998, you had to buy five Swiss horses before you could import a foreign one.”

By contrast, the federal and Jura’s cantonal governments only subsidise breeding, paying out SFr400 for each broodmare.

Inbreeding threat

Georges Chariatte, from Jura’s cantonal agricultural service, said that current subsidies are aimed at keeping the breed alive.

“There are only 4,000 Franches-Montagnes broodmares, and geneticists think that if there are less than 5,000, the breed could face real problems,” Chariatte said.

The Franches-Montagnes horse is therefore not endangered, but it could be threatened by inbreeding in the near future.

Nonetheless, breeders remain optimistic. “In the last three years, we’ve managed to sell 150 horses abroad and around 400 on the domestic market,” Chariatte said.

Part of the Swiss horse’s selling power is its relatively small size and its calm temperament which makes it an ideal choice for inexperienced riders.

Breeding rules

Since 1990 strict rules have been enforced to maintain the breed’s purity.

“We decided to ban crossbreeding with foreign horses,” said Henri Spychiger, the president of the Franches-Montagnes breeding association. “Previous attempts had altered the breed’s character.”

The Franches-Montagnes horses now represent about two-thirds of all Swiss horse breeding, with around 10,000 animals registered in the studbook. Spychiger estimates that there are between 15,000 and 20,000 of the breed in Switzerland.

Horse sales represent just one per cent of Jura’s agricultural revenue, not enough to guarantee the survival of the breed. Experts also warn that sales of horsemeat are likely to drop.

“Sales went up the wake of the mad cow disease scare,” said Chariatte. “But with the upcoming liberalisation of the market, we can expect horsemeat prices to drop by up to 50 per cent.”

Breeders will now have to look for new ways of selling their horses in an ever-shrinking market. But for the moment they’re pinning their hopes on the Marché-Concours, where they’ll be looking for good sales ahead of next year’s milestone centenary.

swissinfo