The Nonius horse

The Nonius, a Hungarian horse, owes its name to the breed’s founder, the famous Anglo-Norman stallion Nonius Senior, born in Normandy in 1810. Nonius Senior was the offspring of the stallion Orion, an English half-blood with Norfolk Roadster blood, and a Norman mare. In 1814, the Austro-Hungarians brought Nonius Senior from the stallion depot at Rosières (Meurthe-et-Moselle) to the Hungarian stud farm at Mezôhegyes.

His ability to racer enabled him to pass on his remarkable qualities to some fifteen exceptional stallions resulting from crosses with Arabian, Lipizzaner, Holstein, Spanish, Kladruber and English half-blood mares. In 1834, Normann, another Norman stallion, was used. After 1860, mainly English Thoroughbreds were introduced, followed by Arabians. He is one of the ancestors of Furioso.

There are two types:

• The large Nonius, derived from the Anglo-Norman, an excellent trotter and ideal type of light draught horse, a fast and hardy coachbuilder.
• The small Nonius, more influenced by the Arabian, is a light, rustic saddle and draft horse with a square, close-to-the-ground conformation.