Like many other French breeds from the Pyrenees, the Castillonnais probably descends from the horses that inspired the Magdalenian-era paintings found, for example, at the Cave of Niaux.:111 Over time, blood from Oriental and Iberian horses was added to the breed,:111 and influenced its physical appearance and temperament. The Castillonnais was originally known as the cheval du Biros (Biros horse) or Saint-Gironnais, a name from the town of Saint-Girons in Ariege in the Pyrenees, where a large horse fair was held the day after All Saints' Day. In the late nineteenth century, horses of the Pyrenees were known for their use as mounts by light cavalry. In 1908, Gabriel Lamarque, equine historian and president of the Société d'agriculture de l'Ariège (Agricultural Society of Ariege), began to study the breed as part of his work in the development of native horse populations in France.