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The working riding style of the Gardians in the Camargue

In France, between the Mediterranean and the Rhône Delta, there is a vast marshland, the Camargue. Large herds of cattle, Camargue horses and their mounted shepherds, the Gardians, have lived here for hundreds of years. With the task of herding large herds, a traditional working riding style developed here that still exists today, the Gardian riding style. In this article, you will learn everything about the noble white horses of the Camargue and their shepherds.


History of the Gardians in the Camargue

The Gardians' working riding style in the Camargue has a long-standing tradition in France. The Gardians' brotherhood was founded in 1512 and still exists today. The brotherhood's goal was to have a kind of social insurance. The brotherhood supported its members financially when they could no longer do bull work due to illness or accident. In the event of the Gardian's death, the surviving widow and orphans were cared for by the brotherhood. Today, the brotherhood's task is to maintain the tradition.

The work of a gardian consisted of herding large herds of black bulls, such as the Camargue horses, which live almost wild in the Camargue. The Camargue horses were the faithful companions and supporters of the bull herder and were originally bred in the Camargue exclusively for this purpose. The black bulls are still used for bullfighting today.

Nowadays, the original Gardian is rarely seen on horseback. He is more likely to be seen in his off-road vehicle, driving around the individual herds of bulls. Despite all this, the Gardian's working riding style is still extremely popular. Therefore, both in the Camargue and in Germany, the special abilities of the horse breed are presented at special tournaments and demonstrations of the Gardian riding style.


photo: Office de Tourisme d'Arles

💡Did you know... The small huts in which the gardians, but also the fishermen and shepherds in the Camargue live are called "cabanes". You can recognize them immediately by their typical construction. The structure has the shape of a boat hull and has a thatched roof with a clay hood on top. The semi-circular side at the rear of the hut is always facing the Mistral wind. On the opposite side, a crossbeam or a bull's horn is attached to the end of the rafter. This is intended to protect against lightning strikes and serves as a fastening for a rope that is anchored in the ground in front of the hut on very windy days. The walls of the cabanes are painted with white lime paint. The building materials used for the outer wall of the hut were originally clay and reeds from the surrounding swamps. Due to their ingenious architecture and the ability to adapt perfectly to the climatic conditions, they are still popular today. However, with more contemporary building materials.


The Camargue horses

The Camargue horse is a very old breed of horse, probably with Iberian and Oriental blood. The breed is bred mainly in the Camargue, where it lives almost wild in large herds. It only comes in the coat color of gray. Despite its rather small height of 135-148 cm, the Camargue horse is very strong and compact. It is extremely robust and is characterized by its speed and agility. The Camargue horse is fearless when it comes to bulls and has what is known as "cow-sense." Cow-sense refers to the ability to think and react independently when working with cattle. This makes it an ideal bull horse and companion for the Gardian. The herds of Camargue horses are rounded up once a year. The young stallions that are fit for work are sorted out, because only stallions and geldings are used as Gardian horses.


photo: Office de Tourisme d'Arles

💡Did you know... Camargue horses have a special characteristic that sets them apart from other horse breeds. They can graze underwater. Strictly speaking, this means that they eat the young shoots of the reeds that grow under the water surface in the swamps. To prevent water from getting into their respiratory tract, they can close their nostrils underwater.


The Gardian Riding Style

As with all other working riding styles, the French Gardian rides one-handed. The reins are held very close to the neck. The reason for this is that the free hand is used as the so-called working hand. It holds the trident when selecting and driving the bulls, holds the lasso when catching bulls, or is used to open and close gates and fences.

In order to enable one-handed riding, the Camargue horse must be very sensitive to the rider's aids. This means that the horses have been trained in such a way that they respond to even the smallest aid from the rider. Unlike the English riding style, in the French working riding style, and generally in all working riding styles, aid is only given when the rider wants a change in the horse's movement. Once the desired movement has been made, the aid is immediately stopped. This is why the horses do not run in constant contact with the reins. Rather, they react to the reins being placed on the neck or to voice commands from the guard.

The finesse of the rider's aids: standing and especially the quick reaction of the Camargue horse is essential for survival during daily work with the bulls. This is because this often leads to tricky and dangerous situations that require a quick reaction. In the past, the Gardians did not always ride their horses so sensitively. The working riding style was very simple and adapted to the daily work with the black Camargue bulls. Nowadays, a good Gardian rides his Camargue horse with the lightest aids. Another characteristic feature is, in contrast to the English riding style, the Gardian's consistently deep seat in all gaits.


In the working hand, the trident held
photo: Office de Tourisme d'Arles

The Equipment of the Gardian and his Camargue Horse

The Trident

One of the typical items of equipment of the French bull herder is the trident, in French trident called, a 2.5 m long wooden stick with an iron trident at the end. The trident The Gardian uses it to drive and select the bulls. According to an old legend, the Roman god Neptune emerged from the depths of the sea with a Camargue horse. The Camargue horse was then given to the bull breeder, also called a manadier, and was supposed to help him catch the black bulls from then on. In return, the Camargue horse was supposed to live in freedom forever. That is why the Gardian still carries a trident with him to this day. A trident is also depicted on the Camargue flag.

The Camargue saddle and its stirrups

Another piece of equipment for a Camargue horse and its rider is the typical Camargue saddle, called “selle gardiane” or “selle camargue”. These saddles have a very high cantle and cantle, which ensures that the shepherd sits deep and securely. Since the saddles are always made with a uniform saddle tree, the selle gardiane should fit every Camargue horse. When making the saddle, only the rider's measurements are taken into account. This is because the Gardian always has several horses in his training. So he has his own saddle, which conveniently fits every horse. Under the saddle is always the typical brown and white checked wool saddle blanket. The so-called basket stirrups are also attached to the saddle. They prevent the foot from slipping through and thus offer safety. Traditionally they are made from hand-forged iron.


The typical selle gardiane

curb bit and bridle 

The traditional bridle of the Camargue horse consists of a simple headpiece with a curb bit. The Camargue curb bit is made of forged iron and, similar to the Spanish bits made of burnished iron, begins to rust over time with use. This rust has a pleasant, sweet taste in the horse's mouth. Its mouthpiece consists of a bar with immovable straps. This is important for a calm rein control when riding one-handed, and the bit also lies calmly in the horse's mouth even without the reins resting.

The Martingale 

The traditional martingale is also part of the equipment of a Camargue horse. This was invented not far from the Camargue in the small town of Martigues and is now known everywhere as an auxiliary rein. The martingale used in the Camargue differs from the martingale commonly used in Germany. The reins are not led through the rings of the martingale fork. Instead, they are buckled between the noseband of the headpiece and an over-girth on the girth. This means that the rider has no direct influence on the martingale effect through the way they hold the reins. The martingale is intended to prevent the horse from pulling its head up too far and the guard from losing control. This is an important safety aspect, especially during the fast and often dangerous maneuvers involved in working cattle.

The Cavecon 

The Cavecon is used in the Camargue exclusively for training young horses. Traditionally, they are broken in on four reins, and the Cavecon is used in addition to the Camargue curb bit. In this way, the young Camargue horse gradually learns the desired one-handed riding style and is trained from the beginning to respond to the lightest aids from the Gardian.

The clothing 

The traditional Gardian wears trousers made of a very tightly woven cotton fabric, which is called moleskin because of its shiny and velvety properties. The Gardian's shirt is usually colorful and was originally sewn together from colorful scraps of fabric, because people could not afford shirts made of a uniform fabric. The work clothes also include a black hat and a black "velvety" jacket, also made of moleskin. Spurs, as is common in Iberian working riding, are rare among the Gardian.

The Seden 

The lasso of the French shepherds is called SedenIt is traditionally made from horsehair in the colours brown, black and white. Attached to the saddle, it is used to catch bulls.


Gardians and Camargue horses in their traditional equipment
photo: Office de Tourisme d'Arles

The Festival of the Gardians in Arles

Every year on May 1st, the Gardians Festival (French: fête de gardians) takes place in the French city of Arles, which is organized by the Gardians Brotherhood in honor of Saint George (patron saint of riders). Early in the morning, the bull herders ride their Camargue horses through the small alleys and streets outside Arles, to the forecourt of the Église de la Major. There, a church service is held and riders and horses are blessed. Afterwards, the Gardians demonstrate the rideability and composure of their Camargue horses in the almost 2000-year-old arena of Arles by working with the bulls and playing equestrian games.

tradition that continues to this day

The traditional Gardian, as well as the Camargue horse breed, have a centuries-old history and are still characteristic of the Camargue today. But the white horses and the French working riding style are not only extremely popular in the Camargue, there are also more and more followers of the Gardian riding style in Germany.

We would like to thank the Office de Tourisme d'Arles for the beautiful photos and the cooperation in the creation of this article.


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Myriam Scotti
Myriam Scotti

Hello, I'm Myriam and I take care of customer service and shipping at Picadera. I'm also currently doing further training in marketing.
Since horses have always played a big role in my family, I was able to gain a lot of experience at a young age. The two English thoroughbreds Antarro and Belle Indomita have been part of the family for some time now.
In addition, my riding partner Lukas, a German riding pony, has been my faithful companion for many years. He is a pretty good teacher who has taught me a lot and helped me improve my riding skills. Since Lukas has now reached retirement age, we spend most of our time on beautiful rides in the countryside and free work from the ground.

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