{"id":40027,"date":"2024-09-03T14:15:25","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T12:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/6ca9b4a0-8df4-42f7-ae95-488bcffd7b22"},"modified":"2024-09-03T14:26:39","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T12:26:39","slug":"meet-the-clydesdale-horse-the-gentle-equine-giant-of-scotland","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/meet-the-clydesdale-horse-the-gentle-equine-giant-of-scotland\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Clydesdale horse: the gentle equine giant of Scotland"},"content":{"rendered":"

With their striking appearance and calm demeanour, Clydesdale horsess continue to capture hearts, showcasing their versatility and enduring legacy in modern-day equestrian events. <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 03 September 2024 at 12:15 PM<\/p>

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Once a stalwart of agriculture, these days the Clydesdale is more often used in showing, riding, or pulling carriages.<\/strong><\/p>

What is a Clydesdale?<\/h2>
The king inspecting Clydesdale horses at a show. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The Clydesdale is a heavy draught horse<\/a>, like the shire horse (the biggest horse breed in the world<\/a>) and Suffolk punch<\/a>. These breeds, because of their strong, heavy build, were the tractor of yesteryear, used for hundreds of years to pull hefty loads and machinery in agricultural, mining and forestry industries.<\/p>

The Clydesdale breed originates, unsurprisingly, from its namesake area (now known as Lanarkshire<\/a>) around the River Clyde in central southern Scotland.<\/p>

To make farms in the area more efficient, local horses were bred with Flemish stallions to create a heavier and stockier offspring to be more suitable for farming. It is thought they contain other blood as well, like Shire.<\/p>

What does a Clydesdale look like?<\/h2>
\"clydesdale
One of their most recognisable features is the long, silky “feathers” of hair around their lower legs and hooves. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Clydesdales are huge, broad horses that are usually bay (brown with a black mane and tail) or brown (with a brown mane and tail) in colour, with a broad white stripe down their nose and white lower legs (known as socks and stockings).<\/p>

Are Clydesdale only found in Scotland?<\/h2>

While most concentrated in the south and centre of Scotland, they can also be found across the UK and even worldwide thanks to their desirable genetics.<\/p>

How big are Clydesdales?<\/h2>

While early Clydesdales were smaller in stature than the Shire horse, modern animals have been bred to be larger, weighing in at a hefty 900kg (that\u2019s approximately 3-4 times an average Dartmoor pony, one of Britain’s native pony breeds<\/a>). <\/p>

Clydesdales stand about 17-18 hands high (4 inches equals a hand) at their withers (the point where the back – thoracic spine – meets the shoulder). In modern money that’s 1.7-1.8 metres or over 6 foot tall).<\/p>

What do Clydesdales eat?<\/h2>

Like other horses the Clydesdale’s diet should be made up of hard feed and roughage i.e. grass, haylage or hay<\/a>, each day. The amount of feed very much depends on their workload, age, season and grazing quality.<\/p>