A hardy breed of horse, each winter the broodmares and youngstock from several breeders are let loose together to graze freely in the wetland reserves in France.

[4]: 4  The birthplace of the breed was the Baie de Somme in Picardy (now part of Hauts-de-France), a natural area of 70 km2.

This led to increased interest in pony trekking as well as driving in the Somme, creating a need for a leisure horse suited to the region.

[5]: 191, 215  In 1972, Bernard Bizet bought a Fjord stallion and four fillies with the idea of using them to breed a leisure horse, following a trip to Denmark in his youth.

Fjord horses are an ideal breed for activities geared towards a younger clientele, and are hardy enough to live outside year round.

They combine the Fjord's dun coat colour, hardiness and mental balance with the Anglo-Arab's fiery temperament and body adapted to driving and recreation.

[2]: 68  Lionel Berquin co-created the Association of the Henson Horse that same year with Dominique Cocquet, then leader of the "Syndicat Mixte Pour l'Aménagement de la Côte Picarde" (Mixed Union for the Development of the Picardy Coast), to "give life to this crazy bet" which was to create a new breed of horse, promote it, and establish it.

[10] The goal was to get horses with similar phenotypes, so the genotype would be stable and reproducible, but also to have sufficient first generation animals that were 50/50.

The little horse from the Baie de Somme had an identity, although it remained unrecognized by the Haras Nationaux.

The fillies with 75% Fjord blood were bred in 1992 by Riesling Pierre and Agmar D'Oc, to two Anglo-Arabs from the Boismont stud belonging to the Haras Nationaux.

[2]: 69  It is ranked among the 23 most beautiful horse breeds in the world by the "Cheval Pratique", a French equine magazine.

[14] The head is refined, expressive and as light as possible;[2]: 69  it is generally medium-sized with relatively deep jowls and a straight or slightly concave profile.

[14][2]: 69  The hindquarters are large, the pasterns are short, legs solid and muscular with a hoof wall as strong as that of the Fjord.

[11]: 69 [2] The coat still lacks a bit of stability and periodically non-dun horses or carriers of white markings are born.

Its purpose is to consolidate breeders and owners of Henson horses, manage the studbook, guide the direction of the breed, develop it, and promote it.

Artificial insemination and embryo transfer are not allowed, and the approval of a stallion or a mare for breeding is subject to passing a qualification test as to appearance, character and gait.

[5]: 191  Described as an "interesting experience" in the field of leisure, according to Lætitia Bataille, the Henson does not have the qualities of horse breeds that have been selected for several centuries.

Driving, where a team of four Henson horses earned a bronze medal in the Championship of France, horse-ball, in which the women's team of Marquenterre was national champion of France in 2002,[12]: 58  endurance and Le TREC, where the Henson is seen at the national level, are among its preferred disciplines.

[3] The last weekend of October, during All Saints' Day, marks the "Trans'Henson", a gathering by Henson horse owners who assemble the year's foals, broodmares and young stock (from one to three years old) to reunite them on the winter pasture close to the centre of Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont.