Now mainly devoted to tourism, the Haras National features a horse discovery area and a driving school, and organizes numerous shows and events throughout the year, including a Christmas market.

[1] The Haras system was notoriously inefficient in Brittany, not least because breeders were looking for more diverse stallions, and remained attached to the local Breton bidet breed.

[8] A decree issued on November 10, 1856 authorized the transfer of the Haras National from Langonnet to Hennebont, on a 5-hectare site around the Abbey of La Joie.

To make the exchange with Hennebont, owned by Sieur Queron, more equitable, the congregation pays for the construction of a stable for 32 stallions, an enclosing wall, a gate and two pavilions, one for the janitors and the other for the head groom.

[11] This operation was accompanied by a re-division of the Breton districts, with the Haras National de Lamballe losing the management of Ille-et-Vilaine to Hennebont, in exchange for the northern part of Finistère.

[6][15] The official inauguration took place one year after the opening, in the presence of Napoleon III and the Empress, on August 15, 1858, Saint-Napoleon's Day.

The Odet basin (between Scaër and Quimper), the Redon region and northern Ille-et-Vilaine all have a tradition of breeding horses for cavalry.

In 1914, a 4-year-old mare from the Corlay line, Caroline, bred by the Haras National d'Hennebont, won first prize at the Concours Central Hippique de Paris, as did her breeder, Mr. Roux from Scaër.

[21]On November 8, 1920, a further 7 hectares were acquired from Mr. Perrin, including the lower part of the abbey with its 17th-century buildings and outbuildings, for the total sum of 302,000 francs.

[26] The spread of motorization led to a decline in the Haras' activities in the years leading up to the World War II.

[27] However, the stud's director, Mr. Poujols de Molliens, managed to maintain the equestrian activity on site throughout the war years.

The latter was regularly looted by grooms in contact with the French Resistance (including Haras supervisor Michel de Kersabiec), who knew the German patrol schedules.

[29] An anti-Nazi German soldier helps these grooms, enabling a French officer to reach England, with a special message sent to the Resistance fighters at the Haras National d'Hennebont via the BBC.

Hennebont was liberated by the Allied forces on August 16, 1944, thanks to sabotage of the Blavet bridge, which prevented the German garrison stationed at the Haras from reaching the Lorient pocket.

The German soldiers at the Haras surrendered, after demolishing the director's house with shellfire from Montagne du Salut.

The system of rolling trucks became widespread, to bring stallions to breeders who had difficulty moving their mares to the stud farm or breeding station.

In 1954, over a period of 17 years, a breeder stallion, Gerfaut, assigned to the Bannalec station in Finistère, had a lasting influence on the Breton breed in the Hennebont district, through cross-breeding with postal mares.

[38] In 1993, Hennebont had 34 employees and 12 breeding stations in its district: Fouesnant, Pleyben, Quimper, Gourin, Malestroit, Combourg, La Guerche-de-Bretagne, Lohéac, Plerguer, Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier and Vitré.

[41][42] In April 2016, the town of Hennebont and Lorient Agglomération officially announced that they had negotiated an agreement with the IFCE to become owners of the entire site, comprising the 32 buildings, including the Abbey of La Joie, spread over 23 hectares, for 800,000 euros (750,000 euros according to the La France agricole website[43]), on condition that the partners in the syndicat mixte undertake to help manage the site.

The planned project is to perpetuate horse-related activities, making the stud farm a tourist attraction in the Lorient basin.

[46] The Société Hippique Nationale closes in September 2019, after 55 years of existence:[47] its lease has not been renewed, forcing it to vacate the premises by the end of 2019 at the latest.

[57] A full-length portrait of Napoleon III, donated after the Haras' inauguration in 1857, is on display in the Horse discovery area, stable no.

[59]The Haras National d'Hennebont's regional presence means that the Breton draft horse is a natural breeding specialty.

[54] The 23-hectare park, partially classified as a "protected wooded area", also contains rose bushes in the main courtyard, Monterey pines, whitebeam, Gunnera manicata, ash trees, purple beech and a cedar of Lebanon.

[53] In the past, the choice of certain plant species had a practical purpose: hazel was used to make dressage badines, while ash was used for harnessing equipment.

[68] The Institut français du cheval et de l'équitation, present on the site, provides equine identification and socio-professional support in the equestrian sector.

[70] The Haras National's forge, abandoned since the late 1990s, was reactivated in 2016 to welcome a craftsman who offers courses in cutlery, locksmithing and tools.

[78] The school uses the three riding arenas, the Havrincourt roundabout, the fixed obstacles and the entire park, offering free-riding and long-rein work.

[81] The Syndicat Mixte organizes an annual Christmas market, which attracts around 10,000 visitors to the Haras d'Hennebont each year, according to the official website.

[90] The Hennebont Horse Week[91] was organized every year in July at the stud farm by the Société Hippique Nationale, offering show jumping competitions and derbies at both pro and amateur levels.