The Nonius breed owes its name to its foundation sire, though since his male descendants share his name, he is called "Nonius Senior".
Nonius was born in 1810 in Calvados, Normandy, France.
His sire was named Orion, and, while sources differ on his breeding, he was either a Thoroughbred, a Norfolk Trotter or a combination of the two.
Nonius Senior's dam was a Norman mare, making him an Anglo-Norman horse.
He was captured from the French Stud at Rosières-aux-Salines during the Napoleonic Wars and brought to Mezőhegyes in 1816.

Even as a foal he was considered ugly.
At maturity, the light bay stallion stood about 16.3 hands (67 inches, 170 cm) high.
Whether he possessed all of the conformational traits attributed to him – a list that includes most major failings – is hard to know.
The qualities of his descendants suggest that he had, at the very least, a very plain head. "
Without special beauty in [his] looks," Nonius at first did not serve many mares at Mezőhegyes.
It was not until his offspring began to show that they were not so unfortunate as their sire, and additionally possessed uncommon endurance and power, that his popularity began to rise.
Going forward, his mates at Mezőhegyes were the fashionable daughters of Spanish-Neapolitan stallions, descended from the Arabian-impressed Hungarian stock.

The Prince of Lobkowitz, who in 1854 became the head of Mezőhegyes, stressed the importance of fixing the type – that is, making the characteristics of a breed of animal genetically homogenous – of the horses.
This goal was achieved by linebreeding, though the one season that Nonius Senior served his own daughters was notably unsuccessful: of the 33 foals, 11 died while only 2 were broodmare-quality and 1 was stallion-quality.
However, with more experimentation, the Nonius breed emerged as a uniformly heavy but elegant military driving and carting horse.
In 1865, Arabian and Thoroughbred stallions were bred to Nonius Senior's female descendants in the hopes of correcting a lack of balance and elegance among the Nonius horses.
Nonius Senior stood at stud for 22 years.
By the end of his breeding life, he had served mares of Arabian, Lipizzan, Thoroughbred, Spanish and Norman blood.
Fifteen of Nonius's sons in turn stood at stud, and 122 of his daughters were used as broodmares.
The Nonius breed owes its name to its foundation sire, though since his male descendants share his name, he is called "Nonius Senior". Nonius was born in 1810 in Calvados, Normandy, France. His sire was named Orion, and, while sources differ on his breeding, he was either a Thoroughbred, a Norfolk Trotter or a combination of the two. Nonius Senior's dam was a Norman mare, making him an Anglo-Norman horse. He was captured from the French Stud at Rosières-aux-Salines during the Napoleonic Wars and brought to Mezőhegyes in 1816.
Even as a foal he was considered ugly. At maturity, the light bay stallion stood about 16.3 hands (67 inches, 170 cm) high. Whether he possessed all of the conformational traits attributed to him – a list that includes most major failings – is hard to know. The qualities of his descendants suggest that he had, at the very least, a very plain head. "Without special beauty in [his] looks," Nonius at first did not serve many mares at Mezőhegyes. It was not until his offspring began to show that they were not so unfortunate as their sire, and additionally possessed uncommon endurance and power, that his popularity began to rise. Going forward, his mates at Mezőhegyes were the fashionable daughters of Spanish-Neapolitan stallions, descended from the Arabian-impressed Hungarian stock.
The Prince of Lobkowitz, who in 1854 became the head of Mezőhegyes, stressed the importance of fixing the type – that is, making the characteristics of a breed of animal genetically homogenous – of the horses. This goal was achieved by linebreeding, though the one season that Nonius Senior served his own daughters was notably unsuccessful: of the 33 foals, 11 died while only 2 were broodmare-quality and 1 was stallion-quality. However, with more experimentation, the Nonius breed emerged as a uniformly heavy but elegant military driving and carting horse. In 1865, Arabian and Thoroughbred stallions were bred to Nonius Senior's female descendants in the hopes of correcting a lack of balance and elegance among the Nonius horses. Nonius Senior stood at stud for 22 years. By the end of his breeding life, he had served mares of Arabian, Lipizzan, Thoroughbred, Spanish and Norman blood. Fifteen of Nonius's sons in turn stood at stud, and 122 of his daughters were used as broodmares.
Nonius horse