The
Baudet de Poitou (also known as the
Poitou Ass, the
Poitou Donkey, the
Poitevin Donkey, and the
Mammoth Donkey) is a
breedA breed is a group of domestic animals with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals of the same species. When bred together, animals of the same breed pass on these uniform traits to their offspring, and this ability—known as "breeding...
of
donkeyThe donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family, and an odd-toed ungulate. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E. africanus. Traditionally, the scientific name for the donkey is Equus asinus asinus based on the principle of...
originating in the
PoitouPoitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
region of
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
. One of the most distinctive donkey breeds, it is also among the rarest and least-known. The "friendly, affectionate and docile" Poitou Donkey is "the oldest breed approved in France".
Although a 1977 inventory revealed only 44 Baudet de Poitou worldwide, today there are an estimated 400 Poitou, including part-bred animals.
The
Baudet de Poitou (also known as the
Poitou Ass, the
Poitou Donkey, the
Poitevin Donkey, and the
Mammoth Donkey) is a
breedA breed is a group of domestic animals with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals of the same species. When bred together, animals of the same breed pass on these uniform traits to their offspring, and this ability—known as "breeding...
of
donkeyThe donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family, and an odd-toed ungulate. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E. africanus. Traditionally, the scientific name for the donkey is Equus asinus asinus based on the principle of...
originating in the
PoitouPoitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
region of
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
. One of the most distinctive donkey breeds, it is also among the rarest and least-known. The "friendly, affectionate and docile" Poitou Donkey is "the oldest breed approved in France".
Rarity
Although a 1977 inventory revealed only 44 Baudet de Poitou worldwide, today there are an estimated 400 Poitou, including part-bred animals. There may be 180 or fewer
purebredPurebreds, also called purebreeds, are cultivated varieties or cultivars of an animal species, achieved through the process of selective breeding...
Poitou in existence.
The
American Livestock Breeds ConservancyThe American Livestock Breeds Conservancy is a nonprofit organization founded in 1977 and headquartered in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Its mission is to protect "genetic diversity in livestock and poultry species through the conservation and promotion of endangered breeds." ALBC maintains a list of...
lists the Poitou on its Conservation Priority List.
Description
The Baudet de Poitou is "instantly recognizable" for a number of unusual characteristics that distinguish it from other asses. Its shaggy coat, called a "
cadanette", hangs in "long cords or shaggy hanks" when ungroomed because the hair is longer and softer than that of other breeds of donkey. Animals with great
cadanettes of matted and tangled were most highly valued. Breeders prized the Baudet du Poitou's traditional coat so highly that a champion
jackJack may refer to:* Jack , an archetypal English hero.* Jack , a 3-D ergonomics and human factors CAD package* JACK Intelligent Agents, a multi-agent platform written in Java* Jack , an electrical connector...
who had lost his
cadenette was excluded from placement in a class at later shows.
The Poitou's coat is always dark brown or black. While lacking the stripes and cross-like markings on the coats of some other breeds of donkey, the Poitou should have a white underbelly, nose and rings around its eyes.
A
purebredPurebreds, also called purebreeds, are cultivated varieties or cultivars of an animal species, achieved through the process of selective breeding...
Poitou has a more massive bone structure and a larger foot than a part-bred animal, but the shaggy coat is such a dominant trait that even a 1/8th Poitou Donkey may resemble a pure-bred. In modern times, the Poitou's coat is still considered important but less so than size and measurements. Today, many Poitou Donkeys are shorn for the purpose of
hygieneHygiene, refers to the set of practices associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. Hygiene is a concept related to medicine, as well as to personal and professional care practices related to most aspects of living, although it is most often associated with cleanliness and...
, but some Poitou are allowed to grow their coats out so as to be, in the
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
-
borrowedA loanword is a word borrowed from one language and incorporated into another.-General:By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept, whereby it is the meaning or idiom that is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself.The word loanword is itself a calque of the German...
parlance of their
husbandryAnimal husbandry, also called animal science, stockbreeding or simple husbandry, is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock. It has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
, "
bourailloux".
The Poitou is also noted for its large body; the Andalucian donkey is the only other
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an breed of donkey of comparable size. Breeders selected animals with large ears, heads, and leg joints with the intention of breeding larger and stronger
muleA mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
s. Today the ears of some Poitou Donkeys are so large as to lay horizontal. A standard Poitou should stand between 1.35 m and 1.50 m at the
withersThe withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of a four-legged animal. In many species it is the tallest point of the body, and in horses and dogs it is the standard place to measure the animal's height .-Horses:The withers in horses are formed by the dorsal spinal processes of roughly the...
and have a large, long head on a strong neck. Its withers should be unobtrusive and the back flat and long. The croup of the Poitou should be short and it should have rounded
haunchThe haunch is the buttock and thigh. A large haunch is a notable characteristic of the American Quarter Horse and some breeds of draft horse....
es. Its feet are bigger than those of other donkeys and are covered with the same long hair as its legs.
History
As with many ancient breeds, the origins of the Baudet de Poitou are somewhat obscure. The
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
is said to have introduced the donkey and the practice of
muleA mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
breeding to the
PoitouPoitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
region of
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
from which the Baudet de Poitou takes its name. Two breeds – the Poitou Donkey and a now very rare
horseThe horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
known as the "
MulassièreThe Poitevin, or Mulassier , is a draft horse from the Poitou area of France. Today they are mainly used in the production of Poitevin mules.-History:...
" (mule breeder) – may have been developed side-by-side for the purpose of producing mules of superior quality. According to one source:
Baudet were kept purely for blood stock, not being good riding animals and great care was taken to ensure that the donkeys were not crossed or sold out of the region. As a result, the breed was kept pure for hundreds of years.
In the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
, owning a Poitou Donkey may have been a
status symbolA status symbol is a perceived visible, external denotation of one's social position and perceived indicator of economic or social status. Many luxury goods are often considered status symbols...
among the local
French nobilityThe nobility in France, in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, had specific legal and financial rights, and prerogatives.The first official list of these prerogatives was established relatively late, under Louis XI after 1440 and included the right to hunt, the right to wear a sword and...
. It is not known when the Poitou Donkey's distinctive characteristics were gained but they seem to have been well-developed by 1717 when an advisor to
King Louis XVLouis XV ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death on 10 May 1774...
described:
There is found, in northern Poitou, donkeys which are as tall as large mules. They are almost completely covered in hair a half-foot long with legs and joints as large as a those of a carriageA carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, these being litters or wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be...
horse.
Up until shortly after
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Poitou and the Mulassière were important in supplying mules to France and elsewhere in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
as the offspring they produced were reputed to be the "finest working mule in the world" and fetched a higher price. At the height of their popularity, the Poitou region produced up to 30,000 mules yearly. As mules and other draft animals were replaced with
motor vehicleA motor vehicle is a wheeled vehicle whose propulsion is provided by an engine or motor . The internal combustion engine is the most common motor choice, although electric motors or other types are sometimes used. Motor vehicles or road vehicles typically run on public roads...
s, there was less reason to breed Poitou Donkeys and their numbers swiftly declined.
In 2001, scientists in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
successfully implanted a Poitou Donkey
embryoAn embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
created by
artificial inseminationArtificial insemination is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse...
in the womb of a standard
mare* Mare , a goblin of Germanic folklore* Lunar mare, a basaltic plain on Earth's moon...
. The procedure was done because the biological mother had joint problems and
veterinarianA veterinarian or a veterinary surgeon , often shortened to vet, is a physician for animals and a practitioner of veterinary medicine. The word comes from the Latin veterinae meaning "working animals"...
s were concerned that she might not be able to complete a
pregnancyPregnancy is the carrying of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, inside the uterus of a female. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets. Human pregnancy is the most studied of all mammalian pregnancies. Obstetrics is the surgical field...
. A female
foalA foal is an equine, particularly a horse, that is one year old or younger. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, but these terms are used until the horse is age three or four. When the foal is nursing its dam , it may also be called a suckling. After the young...
was born strong and healthy and joined her parents as one of only three purebred Poitou in Australia.
La Maison du Baudet du Poitou at Tillauderie in
Dampierre-sur-BoutonneDampierre-sur-Boutonne is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in south-western France.-Geography:The village lies in the south-western part of the commune, on the left bank of the Boutonne, which forms most of the commune's western border....
,
Charente-MaritimeCharente-Maritime is a department on the west coast of France named after the Charente River.- History :Previously a part of Saintonge, Charente-Inférieure was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
carries on the work of preserving and increasing the numbers of these unusual donkeys in France. In
VermontThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
, another breeder pioneers the use of
frozen semenUsing frozen semen for dairy cattle has been done since the 1950s. The oldest semen believed to be in existence was from a sire named Cottonade Emmet, who was a member of the American Breeders Service sire battery in 1952. Semen was collected on Emmet in November 1952 and has been used several...
. The success of breeding programs in France and the United States has allowed Poitou Donkeys to be sold to private owners.
External links
Maison du Baudet du Poitou,
Les Baudets du Breuil