Swiss horse breed in high demand in Belgium

Keystone / Jean-christophe Bott

The demand for the Franches-Montagnes horse breed is increasing in Belgium which now hosts 7.5% of all registered stallions. 

The stocky Swiss horse breed has been exported to Belgium since the late 1990s, and there are currently almost 1,500 of them in the country. 

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Jean Etienne, the president of the Belgian Franches-Montagnes Association has imported more than 1,000 Franches-Montagnes over the past 15 years. Just this week, he made two round trips between Switzerland and Belgium to bring back eight horses, all of which were sold. Etienne offers his clients a two month guarantee on the health of the imported horses. 

Belgians have also become a force to reckon with when it comes to breeding.  Of the 172 approved stallions of the Franches-Montagnes breed, 13 are currently stationed in Belgium and this figure is increasing. Belgian horse breeders have been known to pay as much as CHF25,000 (around $27,600) for a champion stallion. 

The Swiss Federation of the Franches-Montagnes has mixed feelings about Belgians’ fascination with the breed.

“We are happy with the development, but the other side of the coin is the risk that the good stallions and mares will go abroad,” bred custodian Pauline Queloz told Swiss public broadcaster RTSExternal link.