You can find Clydesdale horses in SeaWorld, Orlando, parading down the streets, showing their beauty, and pulling a Budweiser brewery wagon. Eight horses are hitched together to pull the wagon while two others travel with them to be alternates.
Clydesdales are sort of 'ambassadors' for the Anheuser-Busch ever since the then president of the company, August A. Busch, got a hitch of them as a present from his son in 1933.
Physical features
Clydesdale horses usually stand about 16 to 18 hands high. In the horse world, a hand is 4 inches. It was a convenient way to measure a horse without a yardstick. They measure from the ground up to the horse's withers, which is the high part of its back between the shoulder blades. That means these heavy animals are quite large!
Clydesdales may weigh anywhere from 1700 lbs. to 2000 lbs. The majority of them are solid colored bay or brown with four white legs. The soft hair around their feet are called "featherings" and is a distinctive feature of the Clydesdales.
Brief history
The name Clydesdales is derived from the Clydesdale (nowadays Lanarkshire) area in Scotland where the breed was developed. The breed first originated in the 1700s when imported flemish male horses were bred with Scottish mares. The result was extremely strong horses.
Back in the times of knights, a heavy, solid horse was needed to carry a man covered in mail and carrying shields and weapons. They were considered the "tanks" of that time. Later they were bred for farm work and for hauling wagons full of coal from nearby mines or other goods for short or long distances. Clydesdales were referred to as "draft" or "draught" horses.
Status
The industrial revolution brought about the decline of animals as machines. They hit their low number in the 1950's and 60's. The Amish have continued to use them however, and some logging companies are making use of them in ecologically sensitive areas instead of "swath cutting".
Clydesdales have also made a comeback as a parade animal or carriage horses for special occasions such as weddings. Their high-stepping walk is eye-catching and a crowd pleaser. Although they have achieved this success, they are still considered "at risk" by the Rare Breeds Society.
The company Anheuser-Busch breeds their own Clydesdales on two farms (one of them is Grant's Farm). Anheuser-Busch owns the largest Clydesdale herd in the world, between 225 and 250 horses.
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