Equine Spotlight: Clydesdale

Although, I like ponies a lot because of their hit cartoon, they are not my favorite of the equines. In fact, the pony is my least favorite equine. Donkeys are far more interesting to me, and the main reason for this is because they are amusing without the need of a cartoon show to prove it. Today, we will have a look at my all-time favorite equine, the clydesdale.

The clydesdale is a beautiful horse that presently stands at 6 feet tall and can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds. The reason I dropped the word "presently" in there is because, the clydesdale used to be one of the smaller breed of horse. In the 1940s, breeders attempted to make a much taller breed of the clydesdale, and that is what we have had to this day.

This horse is commonly a reddish-brown color; however, they can also be black and grey. Their mane is often very long and impressive. They are a broad species--especially about their head and muzzle. Oddly, one of my favorite aspects of the clydesdale are their legs. They tend to have an excess of white, fluffy, and long fur around their hooves that is commonly refereed to as "feathering." I love watching these horses walk.

Now, I am not going to enjoy just any ol' clydesdale. When it comes to this horse, I am unforgivably shallow. They must be perfectly groomed, trimmed, and gussied up to a perfect sheen. Clydesdales are usually known to be show horses, but they also work. When they work, they are also being shown off. That's what is so interesting. Here, we have a horse that is strong enough to work, and it is also very wonderful to look at too. They usually have them pull important people in parades. A king or queen is not above their pay-grade.

If I had to choose one thing that the clydesdale represents, it's manliness. Although there are other big horse breeds out there, I consider the clydesdale to be the studliest of all studs in the world of equines. I know it sounds very silly, but that is precisely why I like them, and I am entirely unashamed to say so. I like them for being so manly.

There are no notable clydesdales in fiction; although, I have seen them here and there. Probably the most popular clydesdales in history were the Budweiser Clydesdales. The tradition began in 1933, but these horses only got more and more beautiful throughout the years. They were a team of 8 clydesdales that would pull special Studebaker wagons which were modified to carry beer. These were old-fashioned wagons that were originally manufactured in 1900.

This iconic wagon-pull was very popular in parades, but they were more commonly remembered in many, many Superbowl ads that ran religiously until 2010, when they were unfortunately discontinued. The tradition has slowly been disrupted by Budweiser's recent new management, and I honestly think it is a very sad thing. I see a beautiful tradition being pushed away, and for all I have seen, it has its origins in penny-pinching.

Nevertheless, the Budweiser Clydesdales are alive and well on a farm located in St. Louis. They were the reason I wanted to write this spotlight--and I don't even drink beer! Have a look at the pictures below and see if you don't notice how beautiful these horses really are. Enjoy!

Thank you for reading this blog! If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Manly!