Although known as one of the best carriage horse breeds available in the early 20th century, the Carrossier Normand became extinct after the advent of the automobile, having been used to develop the French Trotter, Anglo-Norman and Norman Cob.

In its homeland, the Norman Cob was used widely for agriculture, even more so than the internationally known Percheron, and in 1950, the first studbook was created for the breed.

The advent of mechanisation threatened all French draught breeds, and while many draught breeders turned their production towards the meat market, Norman Cob breeders instead crossed their horses with Thoroughbreds to contribute to the fledgling Selle Français breed, now the national saddle horse of France.

This allowed the Norman Cob to remain relatively the same through the decades, while other draught breeds were growing heavier and slower due to selection for meat.

The Norman Cob is a mid-sized horse,[1] standing between 160 and 165 centimetres (15.3 and 16.1 hands) and weighing 550 to 900 kilograms (1200 to 2000 lb).

[9] The head is well-proportioned[10] and similar to that of the Selle Français,[5] with wide nostrils, small ears and a straight or convex facial profile.

[3] In general, breeders look to produce horses with good gaits and an aptitude for driving, while keeping the conformation that makes the Norman Cob one of nine French draught breeds.

[19] By 1840, the Carrossier Normand had become more refined, due to crosses with imported British Norfolk Trotters,[19][21] as well as gaining better gaits, energy, elegance, and conformation.

[20] In 1912, when French horse populations were at their highest, there were 422 stallions at the Saint-Lô stud, mainly cobs and trotters.

[10] When the original Carrossier Normand became extinct in the 1920s, breeding focused on the two remaining types,[9] with the Norman Cob continuing to be used for farming and the Anglo-Norman being used to create the Selle Français, the national French sport horse.

[20] In the regions of Saint-Lô and Cotentin, the Norman Cob was widespread in agricultural uses until 1950, and the population continued to increase in the first half of the 20th century, even through the occupation during World War II.

However, the Norman Cob avoided this, through the efforts of Laurens St. Martin, the head of the Saint-Lô stud in 1944 and the developer of the Selle Français.

In 1982, researchers concluded that the Norman Cob has been inbred and suffered genetic drift from its original population.

The increasing average age of Norman Cob breeders also made the situation of the breed precarious.

[27] The association works to preserve and promote the breed throughout France, focusing especially on Normandy, Vendée and Anjou.

[28] In 1994, Normandy contained 2000 Percheron and Norman Cob horses, and annually bred around 600 foals of these two breeds.

[29] Today, Norman Cobs are mainly found in the departments of Manche, Calvados and Orne,[20][30] which form the area where the breed was originally developed.

[9] The stud also organises events at which to present the breed to the public, including the Normandy Horse Show.

[16] Approximately 15 horses are exported annually, travelling to Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy for leisure, logging and agricultural uses.

The postal service used it to pull mail carriages,[20] which it was capable of doing at a fast trot over bad roads for long distances.

Postal workers appreciated the breed for its willingness to remain calm, stationary and tethered for long periods of time.

[1][30] In 1997, the rules of driving events in France were modified to take into account the speed of execution of the course, which made lighter, faster horses more competitive.

[35] Its gaits,[30] calm temperament and willingness to master technical movements make it an excellent competitor,[7] and in 2011, more than a third of the horses represented in the French driving championships were Norman Cobs.