The Breton was used as a working animal for agricultural and military purposes; in the twenty-first century it is reared principally for horsemeat.

[4] One theory is that they were brought to Europe during the Aryan migration from Asia over 4,000 years ago, while another school of thought has them descending from horses bred by Celtic warriors before their conquest of Great Britain.

[6] In the Middle Ages, the ancestral Breton horse was sought by military leaders, partly because of its comfortable gait, which was said to be partway between a brisk trot and an amble.

Horses of other bloodlines brought back to Europe during the Crusades had a strong influence on the Breton, and two types subsequently developed.

[7] The Sommier was the common, heavier type, used mainly as a pack horse and for farm and draft work.

[8]: 267  Also in 1920, a breed association, the Syndicat des Éleveurs de Cheval Breton, was formed.

[8] In France, breeding is concentrated mainly in the four Breton départements of Côtes d'Armor, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine and Morbihan, but extends into northern Loire-Atlantique and parts of Maine-et-Loire, the Massif Central and the Pyrenées.

It may have influenced the Canadian Horse,[3]: 449  the Freiberger or Franches-Montagnes of Switzerland,[3]: 467  and the Italian Tiro Pesante Rapido.

[8]: 165  The Hispano-Bretón breed of Spain derives from cross-breeding of imported Breton stallions with local mares;[12] the Bréton Empordanès is a population in the Empordà region of Catalonia.

[7] The Postier was used extensively by the French Horse Artillery, and it has been described as a lighter version of the Suffolk Punch draft breed from Great Britain.