The most important influence on the development and morphology of the Black Pied appears to have come from the Fribourgeoise (extinct since the 1970s) and Hérens breeds, which came into the area from Switzerland over the Great St. Bernard Pass.

[5] It is among the eleven breeds which together form the Fédération Européenne des Races Bovines de l'Arc Alpin, the others being: the Pinzgauer and Tiroler Grauvieh from Austria; the Abondance, Tarentaise and Vosgienne from France; the Hinterwälder and Vorderwälder from Germany; the Rendena from Italy; and the Hérens from Switzerland.

Management is transhumant: the cattle are stabled only in winter, and spend the summer months on the mountain pastures of the Alps, moving higher as the season progresses.

This may be in part because the productive abilities of the breed have been reduced by cross-breeding with the Aosta Chestnut to produce animals with good cow-fighting qualities.

In the Aosta Valley, formal management of fights dates from 1958, when the Comité regional des Batailles de Reines was formed.

Some twenty contests are held between March and October each year, culminating in a final battle and the crowning of the Reine ("queen").