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Who Are We ?

Created under the incentive of the French Ministry of Agriculture, the Société Française des Equidés de Travail (The French Society for Working Equines – known as SFET) has as its goal to partner the national organisations for the breeding, training, adding value and commercialisation of the French breeds of working equines, including draft horses, regional breeds of horse and pony, donkeys and mules, and to encourage their use, in partnership with those operating in the sector.

As the parent organisation of the French breeds of working equine, its mission consisst, as per the Ministry of Agriculture, Agrifood, and Forestry, of suggesting a comprehensive policy to encourage and promote breeding with the aim of improving the production of these breeds as per market needs.

It brings together :

26 French equine breeds in three sectors within which are represented breeders and users in the cradle of breeds and breeding areas across French territory:

Goals :

  • It ensures the recognition of the position of equines within French agriculture;
  • It takes part in structuring the equine sector within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy;
  • It maintains relations with INTERBEV Equin, the inter-professional organisation for horse meat
  • It oversees and financially assists the national breed organisations that make up the three sectors so that they can fulfil the tasks that befall them;
  • It oversees and assists in promotional, communication, commercialisation and research and development activities;
  • It helps to organise breeding for each breed across the country;

* It suggests an approach to breeding, enhancing and conserving the French breeds of working equine, including policy on subsidies and coordinating this;

  • It puts together the rules for in-hand presentation competitions, driving competitions and working competitions for working equines;
  • It organises or delegates breed competitions for working equines. It puts forward regulations, programming and event calendars;
  • It organises or delegates entries for these breed competitions;
  • It designates and trains judges for the various competitions within its field of competence;
  • It supervises the smooth running and records the results of breed competitions, passing them on to the Institut Français du Cheval et de l’Equitation (IFCE – French Horseand Riding Institute), in particular to create criteria and tools for genetic improvement;
  • It ensures, in partnership with the Fédération Nationale des Conseils des Chevaux (National Federation of Horse Councils) territorial meshing and the targeting of actions;
  • It takes part, in partnership with the Fédération Nationale des Conseils des Chevaux (National Federation of Horse Councils), the IFCE, the Assemblée Permanente des Chambres d’Agriculture (Permanent Assembly of Chambers of Agriculture), and the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA – French National Institute for Agricultural Research), in research and development activities on the sector as well as the management of a working horse observatory aimed at identifying the working horse’s position in the economy, as well as its hold on and its role in managing agricultural lands.

Our position in the national equine sector

The breeds that are represented by SFET recorded 10,598 births in 2014, accounting for 22% of all births on French territory.

With between 200 and 225,000 animals (a quarter of France’ equine population), the breeders and users involved own, use, and maintain more than one million hectares of prairies, including a significant proportion of fragile zones.

For More information about : Who Are We ?

> http://www.sfet.fr

> http://www.ifce.fr/ifce/connaissances/statistiques-et-donnees

(French version only)