Clydesdale Horses

The Clydesdale horse is a draft horse bred and "developed" in Scotland. 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. They are very attractive and also been bread to work hard, while maintaining its friendly nature and therefore it's also a good horse for riding. They are known for their large frames and study working abilities.

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 is called "featherings" and is a distinctive feature of the Clydesdales.