Description

The Henson, Horse of the Somme Bay

In the 1970s, at a time when the environment and sustainable development were far from everyday thoughts, an avant-garde cattle breeder and young horse enthusiasts in love with their region came together to invent a new equestrian tourism in the Bay of Sum.

Their common goal: to address a clientele of riders of all levels wishing to “reconnect” with the benefits of the countryside by the sea.

From the first crosses made at the breeder’s with horses of Scandinavian origin – the Fjord pony – they dream of giving birth to a new breed of horse that would bear the identity of the Baie de Somme and give it its letters of nobility. between Earth and sea.

Thus was born “The Henson – Horse of the Baie de Somme”

After multiple debates and hybridizations sometimes linked to science, chance and passion, the consecration comes thirty years later: in 2003, the Henson is officially recognized as the 44th French equine breed.

Strong, rustic, but elegant, soft and easy, sporting its beautiful light color which suits the sand of the Baie de Somme and its immense skies so well, it has become today the symbol of horse riding in harmony between man and nature in an exceptional territory. This is the story that is told to you in this book.

About the author

Pascal ETIENNE is a biology teacher, but also a draftsman, painter and photographer. He is the author of a dozen books relating to nature, mainly monographs on birds and mammals, as well as a book detailing the wild beauties of Norway, Sweden and Finland.

In addition, he has worked as a guide-lecturer on ships traveling the polar waters of Svalbard and the Franz Joseph Archipelago, in Russia, and has traveled to various distant lands on 4 continents (America, Asia, Europe and Africa) to to observe the fauna and flora.

From his travels emerge contacts with various breeds of horses (the Norwegian Fjord, at the origin of the Henson, the Przewalski horse, the Icelandic pony, the Camargue, etc.), but it is with the 44th French breed, which appeared in his native region, that he allocates a new publication.

Indeed, by a meticulous “journalistic” work, he gradually manages to find the origins of the Henson and present the true creators of the breed after a long investigation allowing to dissociate truths and legends.

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