It was in the past used as a pack animal in agricultural work, mainly for carrying milk churns; it is now used in leisure sports and tourism.

The breed was recognised by the Ministère de l'Agriculture, the French ministry of agriculture, in 1997.

Numbers dwindled with the mechanisation of agriculture in the period after the Second World War, but less rapidly than in some other breeds, and in 1960 there were still 7000 in the Manche.

[5] The Cotentin Donkey is raised mainly in Lower Normandy, but is also found in more than half the départements of France, mostly in the north-west.

The coat is dove grey, with a well-defined darker dorsal stripe and shoulder-stripe; the legs may show zebra-striping.