Created in 1665 on the initiative of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the intendant of Louis XIV, the Haras (stud farm) regime was abolished following the Revolution by the Constituent Assembly on January 29, 1790. Horse breeding was then reorganized by several revolutionary decrees. The Haras National du Pin in the Orne department narrowly escaped destruction thanks to the decision of the Assembly to set up a deposit there for the best stallions in the kingdom. The functions of the stud farms were only restored under Napoleon who, by the imperial decree of Saint-Cloud of July 4, 1806, meshed the entire territory by creating six districts, each endowed with a stud farm and five stallion depots.