The digital world horse library went live in 2018 and provides all the information you could wish for about publications related to Normandy’s iconic animal! Let’s find out more about how this one-of-a-kind service came to be.
The Origin of Normandy’s World Horse Library
Just as the World Equestrian Games were being held in Normandy, the MRSH (Caen University’s Human Sciences Research Centre) were awarded a landmark grant by the Ministry for Agriculture in 2014. “We had to start somewhere and seeing as the World Equestrian Games were being held, we decided to join forces with the Region and focus on horses,” explains Marie-Laure Peretti, project manager at the MRSH digital archives department. The original collection “only” had 300-400 books on the subject, so the team of ten at the digital archives department decided to include existing catalogue entries on the equine theme to enrich it:
We had the technology and the tools, so we decided to start by collating all the catalogue entries on the subject and compare them to the existing collection.
The last complete inventory written by Mennessier de La Lance soon stood out as a key work. The cavalry officer had collected countless books and documents on the subject between 1912 and 1921. “His work was as in-depth and professional as possible, with each book record including a short text or biography of the author.” Gabriel-René Mennessier de La Lance put his military attention to detail and expert knowledge of horses into cataloguing any French and Latin publication on the subject. He listed up to 8000 publications, over 2200 of which were digitalised by the MRSH team when the project began!
It's the backbone of our library and the 1stproject we presented at the Salon du Cheval when it launched in 2018. Our library has continued to catalogue any new publications in every language since then
The idea is simple: it’s a library for libraries. The labibliothequemondialeducheval.org website catalogues horse-related publications, provides a description or note about them, their digital version where possible and where to find them in libraries around the world. The themed sections like library shelves and two search engines (a simple one for novices and an advanced one for enthusiasts) mean the World Horse Library is for amateurs and experts alike. “Some books have been digitalised, we rely on the BnF (French national library) and partners like the IFCE (French Horse and Riding Institute), Alfort national vet school and University of Pennsylvania to collate any digital publications,” says Marie-Laure Peretti. “We’ve built relationships with countless countries since launching, including Italy and Portugal. We’ve also hosted several conferences to introduce people to the library’s resources.“
What with illustrated manuscripts from 15th century Italy, never-before-seen treaties shedding light on the beginning of traditional French riding and other gems, we're constantly amazed and surprised by the wealth of equine literature, no matter the country's culture or period!
The World Horse Library covers every subject: breeding, behaviour, different riding methods, disciplines, equine careers, care, training, law and more. It retraces and maps the evolution of an unexpected book-based legacy: “the fascinating thing is that nothing has really changed between then and now. For example, a Swedish doctor noted the benefits of horse riding in 1738. Youth, behavioural studies and animal welfare are concepts that appeared before our time and were explored and expanded later on,” says Marie-Laure Peretti. The free digital library for the general public still gets support from the Normandy Region and Caen University and is setting the benchmark in the field.
Did you know?
The library includes publications by two well-known names in Normandy: François Robichon de la Guérinière, born in Normandy in the 18th century and seen as the master of horse riding in France. The École de la Cavalerie author’s guidelines still stand today, you can see them in action at the famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna.
François Baucher, the horseman behind the Spanish walk and reverse trot, also wrote equine classics in the 19th century, the heyday of horses. He may not have been from Normandy but he fine-tuned his own method, opened a riding school and published his first dictionary… in Rouen!
The first harness races in France were held in Normandy: the first were in Cherbourg in 1836 then in Caen in 1837. They wouldn’t have happened without one determined man: Ephrem Houël. We have him to thank for the continued high standards of Normandy breeding and a few essential books about harness riding!
A visionary and passionate farmer opened the very first French pony club in Normandy in 1965: Louis de Pas built a horse farm where any child could experience the joys of riding on a pony’s back and explore the surrounding woodland. Bois-Guilbert has been a destination for generations of Parisians who have grown up and take their own children there ever since. The pony riding books have set the standard!
Thematics
