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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
Clydesdale
horse |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Mammalia |
| ORDER: |
Perissodactyla |
| FAMILY: |
Equidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Equus
caballus |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Clydesdales
are large, barrel chested and extremely strong,
horses. In color, Clydesdales are usually bay (deep
mahogany brown) although some are gray, black or
roan. It is typical for members of this breed to
have white markings on the face, legs and sometimes
on the body. |
| MALE |
Mature
male Clydesdales tend to be larger than females. |
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| SIZE: |
Horses
are measured from the ground to the withers (the
highest point of the "shoulders") in units
called hands (one hand equals 10.2 cm, or 4 in.).
At birth, Clydesdales average about 1.1 m (3.5 ft.)
in length. |
| MALE |
Adult
male Clydesdales measure 17-19 hands (1.7-1.9 m,
or 5.7-6.3 ft.). |
| FEMALE |
Adult
females measure 16-18 hands (1.6-1.7 m, or 5.3-5.7
ft.). |
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| WEIGHT: |
Newborn
foals average 57 kg (125 lb.). |
| MALE |
A
male's average weight is 771-998 kg (1,700-2,200
lb.). |
| FEMALE |
A
female averages 680-771 kg (1,500-2,000 lb.). |
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| DIET: |
All
horses are herbivores (plant eaters). In their natural
environment, they graze continually. At the SeaWorld
and Busch Gardens Adventure Parks, Clydesdales are
fed hay and feed. The feed is a mixture of beet
pulp, oats, bran, minerals, salt, molasses, and
water. Each Clydesdale consumes approximately 19
liters (20 quarts) of feed, 18-23 kg (40-50 lb.)
of hay, and 114 liters (30 gallons) of water every
day. |
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| GESTATION: |
Gestational
period 11 months |
| ESTRAL
PERIOD |
Clydesdales
usually breed in April and May. Foals are usually
born in the early spring. Male foals are called
colts and females called fillies. |
| NURSING
DURATION |
Approximately
6 months (wean) |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
Clydesdales
typically reach sexual maturity in about 3-4 years. |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Typically,
Clydesdales survive into their late teens to early
20s. |
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| RANGE: |
Clydesdales
are bred in the United states, Canada, United Kingdom,
Africa, New Zealand and Australia. |
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| HABITAT: |
Typically,
agricultural settings |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
| REGIONAL |
The
estimated US population is between 2,500-3,000.
Anheuser-Busch currently maintains the largest Clydesdale
herd in North America, between 175-200 horses. |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not
listed |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
There
are at least 111 recognized breeds of domesticated
horses, including Suffolks, thoroughbreds, quarterhorses,
Arabians, and Clydesdales. They all belong to the
scientific family Equidae. |
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| 2. |
All horses have very acute hearing and excellent
eyesight, and can probably see color. Although their
vision during the day exceeds their night vision,
they see as well as dogs and owls at night. |
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| 3. |
The Clydesdale breed originated in the mid-1700s
in Scotland, in the Clydesdale region of Lanarkshire.
This region, along the banks of the River Clyde,
contained rich farmland. According to legend, one
of the dukes of Hamilton imported six black Flemish
coach stallions from Flanders and made them available
for breeding. Many of the horses sired from these
stallions were progenitors of the Clydesdale breed
today. Following contributions from Flemish and
Frisian stallions, the definitive characteristics
of the breed were fixed at the beginning of the
18th century. The Clydesdale breed was officially
recognized in 1878. |
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| 4. |
Clydesdales
have a long history with Anheuser-Busch arising
from August Busch, Jr.'s lifelong love of horses.
When making deliveries, horses, often Clydesdales,
were used to pull the A-B wagons. In 1933, August
Busch Jr. commemorated the repeal of Prohibition
by presenting his father with a six-horse team of
Clydesdale geldings pulling a Budweiser beer wagon.
This evolved into the eight-horse team used to pull
the A-B beer wagons that is now a highly recognizable
symbol. |
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| 5. |
Anheuser-Busch
Clydesdales must meet a number of criteria to qualify
for pulling one of the traveling hitches. They must
be a gelding of three or more years, 18 hands (1.8
m or 6 ft.), weigh 817-1,043 kg (1,800-2,300 lb.),
gentle in temperament and be bay in color with four
white stocking feet, a white blaze and a black mane
and tail. |
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| While
several species of zebra and wild horse are listed
on CITES and IUCN, Equus caballus is not
listed. |
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| |
|
|
| Bongianni,
M., Telegin, D. and D. Brown. Simon and Schuster's
Guide to Horses and Ponies of the World. New
York. Simon and Schuster/ Fireside Books. 1987. |
|
|
Coleman, A. and S. Price. All the Kings Horses:
The Story of the Budweiser Clydesdales. New
York. Viking Press. 1983. |
|
|
Edwards, E.H., ed. Encyclopedia of the Horse.
New York. Crescent Books. 1990.
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| MacDonald,
D., ed. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New
York. Facts on File. 1984. |
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| Norwak,
R.M. Walker's Mammals of the World. Vol. II.
Baltimore. The John Hopkins University Press. 1991. |
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