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clydesdale
Historic – scotland – Vulnerable
height
16–18 h.h.
appearance
A noble head with large,
wide-set eyes and a wellformed neck. Defined withers
and a short, strong back
leading into long , muscular
hindquarters. Long in the leg
with sound feet and long ,
silky feathering on the legs.
color
Bay or brown; sometimes black,
gray, roan, or chestnut, with
white markings on face and legs.
aptitude
Heavy draft, agricultural
work, riding , showing , cavalry
of the island, which were of influence on English horses
The first step toward developing the breed was the
and those over the borders in what is now Scotland—
introduction of the great Flemish horse, or Belgian Draft,
particularly from 71 to 213 c.e., when the Roman Empire
to the local stock, which occurred between 1715 and 1720
had a huge influence in Scotland.
when the sixth Duke of Hamilton imported a number
These horses, which included Friesians brought over
of Flemish stallions. Flemish horses were not new to
during construction of Hadrian’s Wall begun around
Scotland—they had been imported for some years for use
122 c.e., bred with local native stock and developed
on the land because of their strength and size and had also
characteristics based on their environment, and further
been popular as warhorses—but this appears to be an early
eighteenth century, although the stock from which
qualities were fixed through deliberate breeding. This was
occurrence of a considered breeding program between the
the breed developed is much older and could have had
the base stock from which the Clydesdale was originally
Flemish stallions and local mares as the duke, a major
the prehistoric Forest Horse at its roots. There has also
developed. The horses needed to be hardy to cope with
landowner, made his stallions available to his tenants.
been a long tradition of hardy, working horses in Scotland
the inclement weather and sure-footed to travel across the
Meanwhile, one John Paterson of Lochlyoch brought a
that dates back to pre-Roman times and to the Picts, a
difficult terrain; they were used for farming and transport,
Flemish stallion up from England who would have a
Celtic people who lived in northern and eastern Scotland
riding, and packing and were tough, versatile animals.
particular influence on early stock. This stallion was black
The modern history of the Clydesdale dates to the
until around the tenth century. The Picts were primarily
The breed developed specifically in Lanarkshire, which
with a white face and white markings on his legs and gave
although the clydesdale is a heavy draft horse, it has
farming people who raised crops and kept livestock. The
was traditionally called Clydesdale after the river Clyde,
rise to a number of impressive offspring, which rapidly
all the attitude and elegance of a much lighter-weight
quantity and quality of their cattle and horses were a sign
which flows through the area. The local farmers wanted
became very popular as word of these large, strong,
horse. It is a large creature, among the tallest of horses, and
of wealth, and it is likely that they operated a selective
to improve the quality, size, and strength of their native
beautiful horses spread.
has a huge pulling capacity, but despite this the Clydesdale
breeding process to increase the size of both these animals.
horses, particularly to produce a horse that was capable
is not a massive horse. It does not have the weight and bulk
Later, the Romans brought a substantial number of horses
of hauling coal from the developing coalfields. Roadways
important to the early breed development was Blaze,
of the northern European heavy breeds such as the French
to England from northern Europe particularly during
had improved significantly by this time, allowing for
a native stallion who came to Lanarkshire from Ayrshire
Breton and the Ardennais, and it is beautifully proportioned,
Julius Caesar’s invasions of 55 and 54 b.c.e., but also in
the more efficient transportation of hauled rather than
and had won a gold medal in 1782 at the Edinburgh show.
as well as being one of the most athletic breeds for its size.
subsequent years and throughout Roman domination
packed goods.
Although his heritage is unclear, it is widely believed that
sublime power
Another black horse with white markings who was
sublime power
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Blaze had some coaching blood, which might explain the
great freedom of movement inherent in the Clydesdale.
A defining year for the emerging Clydesdale was 1808.
It was during this year that a gentleman breeder, Mr.
Somerville, purchased what later came to be known as
the Lampit’s Mare, and it is to this mare and her progeny
that many Clydesdale lines are traced. Among others,
she produced Farmer’s Fancy and Glancer (also known
as Thompson’s Black Horse), a foundation stallion for
the Clydesdale breed. His descendant was Broomfield’s
Champion 95 (f. 1831), a great horse who in turn had
a son called Clyde (or Glancer 153), who is said to
have contributed many of the characteristics seen
and appreciated in the modern Clydesdale.
The popularity of the Clydesdale rose during
the nineteenth century as the horses proved their
extraordinary worth within agriculture and industry.
Their strength was unmatched, but alongside this
phenomenal power they were also agile, moved well,
looked good, and had superb temperaments. They
were used primarily for farming in Scotland and for
work in the coalfields, eventually replacing the Shire
horse in this northern area. Word of the Clydesdale’s
merits extended far beyond its Scottish homeland,
with an amazing twenty thousand horses recorded as
being exported internationally between 1880 and 1945.
Many Clydesdales were shipped to Australia and New
Zealand, as well as Russia, Austria, and the Americas,
and it is in North America in particular that the breed
still flourishes. The horses were used extensively during
World War I, but their numbers began to decrease after
the war. In England, there were two hundred licensed
Clydesdale stallions in 1946, but by 1949 this had
dropped to eighty.
As with all heavy horse breeds, their decline mirrored
advances in mechanization when they were largely
replaced in the workplace by vehicles. There has been a
recent renewed interest in these beautiful horses, which
has seen a concerted effort to improve breed numbers,
and the UK Rare Breed Survival Trust has moved their
listing from rare to vulnerable. Because of their
athleticism, Clydesdales are now being used as heavyweight riding horses or for crossbreeding to lighter stock
to produce competition horses.
sublime power
sublime power