The original landrace ancestors of the Charolais include the Cheval Bourguignon (Burgundy Horse), which developed from horses bred in the Burgundy region in the Middle Ages. Although small, Burgundy horses were known for their endurance and robustness. They were used for riding and agriculture, and as coach horses. This type, combined with other blood, developed into the Charolais, which belonged to a group of French breeds called "demi-sang" or "half-bloods" – crosses between native breeds and Thoroughbreds. Some 19th- and early 20th-century sources claim that Arabian blood was also added from horses captured from the Saracens after the Battle of Poitiers.