Although the Poitevin has the size and conformation of a draft horse, it has never been bred for draft abilities, and has been little used for draft work. From the seventeenth century until about the time of the First World War, its principal use was the production of mules. Poitevin mares were put to jacks of the large Baudet du Poitou breed of donkey. The resulting Poitevin mules were highly regarded, and from the latter part of the nineteenth century were in demand for agricultural and other work in many parts of the world, including Russia and the United States. In the early twentieth century there were some 50,000 brood mares producing between 18,000 and 20,000 mules per year.