The Canadian Horse

By Heather Grovet

King Louis XIV exported horses from the French royal stables to Canada from 1665 to 1670 to reward his men who had gone to settle the “new world.” These horses were of Andalusian, Arab and Spanish Barb stock. The horses flourished for 150 years without any outcross breeding. Early Canadians cured no hay, so the horses survived in the winter by pawing or eating straw. They were expected to work hard on these rations, and became known as the “Little Iron Horse.”

The breed spread across North America and eventually numbered over 150,000. Many were exported to the U.S. for use in the Civil War and on the stage lines. The Morgan, Standardbred, American Saddlebred, Tennessee Walking Horse and the Missouri Foxtrotter can all trace their ancestry to the Canadian Horse.

By the 1900s the breed was down to 400 horses and in danger of extinction. Since that time they have steadily made a comeback. There are now 6,000 horses worldwide, with approximately 300 new registrations each year. Compare this to the Quarter Horse, with three million worldwide!

The Canadian Horse is considered a general utility animal. They are often black, but also can be bay or chestnut. They range from 14 to 16 hh, and weigh 1,000 to 1,350 pounds. The breed has a thick, wavy mane and tail, and good quality bone and feet. Their strength and docility make them ideal for farm and ranch work, driving, hunter/ jumper and packing. In 2002 the breed was recognized by parliament as the “National Horse of Canada.”

In 1994 Ron and Suzanne Spierenburg of Rocky Mountain House, AB, had a life changing experience when they accepted a friend’s invitation to check out a rare breed, the Canadian Horse. “We hadn’t planned on becoming involved with Canadians, we were just curious about them,” Suzanne related. “We drove to Winnfield and met Alfred Cartier and his herd. While we were admiring the horses, Alfred told us his adult son would be competing on one of the stallions at Spruce Meadow’s upcoming Battle of the Breeds. Alfred then admitted that his son barely knew how to ride. My friends were worried, how could a non-rider compete on a stallion?”

When Alfred discovered Suzanne was a trainer, had competed in three-day events, plus had two years of Equine studies from Olds College, he asked if she’d be interested in showing the stallion. Suzanne wasn’t enthusiastic at first. “We were already extremely busy with training and riding lessons, and I’d always been cautious around stallions,” she said. “Also, they wanted this horse to compete in the jumping portion, and I was worried about my skill level being up to Spruce Meadow’s standards. But I took the horse home to ride, and it soon became evident he could really jump. That September we entered the Battle of the Breeds in dressage (compulsory skills), jumping and barrel racing. Competing at Spruce Meadows was excellent publicity for the Canadian Horse, especially since the stallion had a perfect jumping round and won ribbons in barrel racing as well.”

After that Suzanne began training Alfred’s young horses. “They were wonderful to start,” Suzanne related. “They were calm and had no buck in them. I appreciated their good feet, and their quiet strength. They just were so uncomplicated and easy to handle.”

In 1996 Alfred offered to sell some of his herd to the Spierenburgs. “We didn’t have the money,” Suzanne said. “But Alfred told us to go into the herd, pick as many of the horses as we wanted, and pay for them when we were able.” Canadians were still quite rare, and Spierenburgs found it easy to sell the first foals. “We found homes for them almost as soon as they hit the ground,” Suzanne stated. “Within three years we had the herd paid off.”

Currently Willow View Canadians owns 40 horses. The farm has an indoor arena and a small barn with tie-stalls. Most of their horses are still young, so the couple is kept busy with training. “Our goal is to produce family-type horses that are uncomplicated to ride,” Suzanne continued. “We guarantee our horses, and try to match the rider’s ability to the horse’s training and personality.”

The farm promotes its horses at Spruce Meadows, the Calgary Stampede and the Mane Event. “I’m always looking for new experiences to put on each horse’s resume,” Suzanne said. “We take them on pack trips, trail rides, cattle drives and when I work at 3-day events.”

“The Canadian Horse is famous for being quiet and gentle, so we get a lot of novices that want to buy one. But just because a horse is docile doesn’t mean it’s well trained, and a green rider really doesn’t suit a green horse. I tell buyers it takes only 30 hours to start a horse, but it takes 1000 hours before they’re well broke.”

Suzanne loves the breed as a whole, but some horses stand out in her mind. “One of our special horses is Malakai,” Suzanne stated. “He was an exceptional looking youngster, and we actually had him sold as a stud prospect. Then he was blinded in one eye by a kick. The owners no longer wanted him, so we decided to keep him for ourselves.” Suzanne says the young horse was a bit tricky to start initially — he couldn’t see cues when lunged one direction, and he hated being ridden in the arena with his good eye against the rail. But soon he began to excel. “Now Malakai’s one of our best horses,” Suzanne continued. “Nervous novices can confidently ride him, he packs in the mountains, he does everything. Recently one of our working students competed with Malakai in eventing. He earned the top score in the dressage portion at the Pre-Entry level, and also placed high in both the cross-country and the stadium jumping phases.”

Obviously an athletic horse with a good attitude can excel even if he has to overcome a few extra challenges! For more information on the ranch go to www.willowviewcanadians.com