Before being mainly used for agricultural and forestry work, the Comtois horse has long been a battle mount. It served on all fronts thanks to its skills as an artillery horse, for hitches and draft. It was also ridden by the cavalry and dragons - those soldiers who traveled on horseback but fought on foot - from the time of Louis XIV (1638-1715) to that of Napoleon when it was decimated during the Napoleonic wars (1803-1815).