HORSE BREED
Clydesdales – the Gentle Giants Originally bred to be a work horse, these days the Clydesdale is as much admired for its temperament as for its work ethic, writes DANNII CUNNANE.
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he Clydesdale, the Scottish gentle giant known for its beautiful flowing mane and feathery legs, is one of the most easily recognisable horses in the world. The Clydesdale was named after the area in Scotland where it was originally bred, and has kept its name, even though the name of the district has since been changed to Lanarkshire. The large hardy horse was suited to most agricultural needs, but its strength also came in on the coal fields when large loads needed to be transported from the mines. The Clydesdale breed quickly became well known outside of its local area for its ability to pull heavy wagons, and was soon in demand across Scotland and Great Britain. Sometimes referred to as a ‘clumper’ the breed is anything but that – it combines its strength with style, with an active stepping action that cleanly covers the ground. The bottom of each hoof must be visible from behind, so there’s no room for clumping around with the Clydesdale!
What are Clydesdales used for? Originally the Clydesdale was built for heavy farm work, such as ploughing
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hard land or hauling great loads over short or long distances. While it still is used for agricultural purposes today, the introduction of farm machinery made the Clydesdale almost redundant. Nowadays the Clydesdale is used for pleasure, as a cart horse or as a ridden horse. The most famous driven horses in Australia were the Carlton Clydesdales, however they were sadly retired in 2018 after 65 years of collective service. That isn’t the end of the Clydesdale though, with many agricultural and Royal shows offering classes for this beautiful heavy horse. These classes often have the horses re-enacting their agricultural heritage, as well as offering driven classes with period costume and original carts and wagons that have stood the test of time.
Breed standards The Clydesdale societies are all about uniformity of type and there is no breed of heavy horse so famous for its quality. The horse should stand proud and its bone should be strong, hard and dense but there is a bit more to the breed than these qualities. Height: The Clydesdale horse should range in height from 16hh to 18hh. When the horse is fully matured it
HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - MARCH 2019
A magnificent Clydesdale, showing all the best attributes of the breed.
should be evenly balanced. From the side, the body should show plenty of depth, and from the front or rear should appear broad and thick. The depth of the body, through the chest and length of leg, should be approximately the same. These proportions allow the Clydesdale’s weight to be used to its
