The Clydesdale Breed Today

The popularity of the Clydesdale in the 1990’s is growing continually. Although there are only approximately 700 registered brood mares in the United Kingdom and about 100 registered stallions, more and more people are using Clydesdales not just for showing and driving, but for farm work, horse logging and even riding. People with a love of the Clydesdale are not only rediscovering the uses of the breed, but with the skills needed for working these animals, including harness making and shoeing, traditions which began a hundred years and more ago being kept alive.

Useful though Clydesdales can be, most of them are kept for pleasure. Their grace and vigour are refreshing in this mechanical age. Those who show their horses can rarely hope to recover any substantial part of their outlay but they admit this cheerfully.

The show season is a busy time and Clydesdale entries over the years continue to increase. The Royal Highland Show in June is the showpiece of the Clydesdale year, where the top award, the Cawdor Cup, goes to the best female. The Male Cawdor Cup is awarded at the National Stallion Show in the spring of each year. The Clydesdale draws in amazing crowds, regardless of the size of the show.
 

It is not just in the summer that shows take place. Foal shows are held throughout the winter months, giving enthusiasts an interesting picture of what new talent is coming forward.

Since 1982, the Society has been awarded a grant by the Horserace Betting Levy Board to help with the breed improvement. This grant is used to fund the Stallion Premium Scheme whereby a maximum of 16 paraded stallions are eligible for a premium, provided they leave four or more foals registered in the Stud Book the following year. The scheme is also of benefit to breeders who register foals.

Filly foals forward for registration are also DNA’d. This involves pulling hair from the foal which is then sent to the Animal Health Trust at Newmarket for testing against both sire and dam. Stallions forward for registration are also sampled and this ensures that pedigrees of horses are correct.