The Fleuve is a

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

of horse from

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

, in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

. Its name is the French word for "big river"; it is named for the

Senegal River ,french: Fleuve Sénégal) , name_etymology = , image = Senegal River Saint Louis.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Fishermen on the bank of the Senegal River estuary at the outskirts of Saint-Louis, Senegal ...

(french: ). It is one of four Senegalese horse breeds, the others being the

Foutanké The Foutanké or Fouta is a breed or type of light horse from Senegal, in West Africa. It results from the cross-breeding of a Fleuve stallion with an M'Bayar mare; its conformation is similar to that of the Fleuve. It is one of the four r ...

, the

M'Bayar The M'Bayar is a breed of small horse from the historic region of Baol in Senegal, in West Africa. It is the most numerous of the four Senegalese horse breeds, the others being the Fleuve, the Foutanké and the M'Par. History The origi ...

and the

M'Par The M'Par or Mpar is a breed of small horse from the historic region of Cayor in Senegal, in West Africa. It may for that reason be called the french: Cheval de Cayor, italic=no. It is the smallest of the four Senegalese horse breeds, the oth ...

History

The origins of the horse in Senegal are not documented. The Fleuve derives from

Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...

-type horses from the

Hodh Hodh or () is a region of West Africa. Barth, Henry''Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa, being a Journal of an Expedition undertaken under the Auspices of H.B.M.'s Government, in the Years 1849–1855'', Vol. 3, pp.&nbs ...

and Kayes regions of modern-day

Mauretania Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It stretched from central present-day Algeria westwards to the Atlantic, covering northern present-day Morocco, and southward to the Atlas Mountains. Its native inhabitants, ...

and

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

, to the north of Senegal. Those in turn are descended from Barb horses from the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

countries further to the north. The Fleuve has been described as a "degenerate Barb". In 1996, Senegal had a horse population of about 400,000 head, the largest of any West African country. This was a substantial increase from the 216,000 reported in 1978, and a much greater increase from the population after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, estimated at barely 30,000. Population numbers for the Fleuve are not reported. In 2007 the FAO did not have data from which to estimate the conservation status of the breed.

Characteristics

The Fleuve is normally

grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

. It is a well-made horse, with a fine head and slender legs; it is energetic, with lively

gait Gait is the pattern of movement of the limbs of animals, including humans, during locomotion over a solid substrate. Most animals use a variety of gaits, selecting gait based on speed, terrain, the need to maneuver, and energetic efficiency. Di ...

s. Poor examples may be too narrow in the chest, or have insufficient bone in the legs.

Use

Horses play an important part in the social and economic life in Senegal. The Fleuve was once the horse of chieftains; it is now used as a

saddle-horse A riding horse or a saddle horse is a horse used by mounted horse riders for recreation or transportation. It is unclear exactly when horses were first ridden because early domestication did not create noticeable physical changes in the hors ...

and for horse-racing. It is also used in cross-breeding: a cross between a Fleuve

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

and an

mare gives rise to the type called

References

{{Equine, state=collapsed Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Senegal