By 1950, there were only about 600 mares and 50 stallions left. Increasing mechanization and competition with other livestock hurt the Poitevin, as did a lack of promotion and protection. Between 1970 and 1990, the population of the Poitevin varied between 250 and 300 animals, with an average of 20 new horses entering the studbook each year. By the early 1990s, population numbers fell to the lowest in history. Sources are unclear on the number of living Poitevins in the early 1990s, but by 1996 one author says there were 64 newly registered foals and 28 approved breeding stallions, while another gives a total population of 293 horses in 1997.