It was bred to meet not only the agricultural needs of these farmers, but the demands of commerce for the coalfields of Lanarkshire and for all types of heavy haulage on the streets of Glasgow. The Clydesdale developed as a result and soon acquired more than a local reputation. In time the breed spread throughout the whole of Scotland and northern England.

The district system of hiring stallions was an early feature of Scotish agriculture and did much to standardize and fix the type of the breed. The records of these hirings societies go back in some cases to 1837. The Clydesdale Horse Society was formed in 1877 and has been an active force in promoting the breed not only in Great Britian but throughout the world. The Clydesdale alone has enjoyed a steady export trade to all parts of the world. The most active trade has been to commonwealth countries and the United States. Today the Clydesdale is virtually the only draft breed in its native Scotland and New Zealand. It holds a commanding lead in Australia and is popular, though not the numerical leader, in Canada and the United States.

A Clydesdale should have a nice open forehead (broad between the eyes), a flat (neither Roman-nosed nor "dished") profile, a wide muzzle, large nostrils, a bright, clear, intelligent eye, a big ear, and a well-arched long neck springing out of an oblique shoulder with high withers. His back should be short and his ribs well sprung from the backbone, like the hoops of a barrel. His quarters should be long, and his thighs well packed with muscle and sinew. He should have broad, clean, sharply developed hocks, and big knees, broad in front. The impression created by a thoroughly well-built typical Clydesdale is that of strength and activity, with a minimum of superfluous tissue. The idea is not grossness and bulk, but quality and weight.

As in all breeds of livestock, the Clydesdale has gone through several changes of emphasis, over the years, to meet the demands of the times. In the 20's and 30's the demand was for a more compact horse; as of late, it has been for a taller, hitchier horse. Most of the horses range in size from 16.2 to 18+ hands and weigh between 1600 and 2000 lbs. Some of the mature stallions and geldings are taller and will weigh up to 2400 lbs.

The most common color in the Clydesdale breed is bay(brown body with black mane, tail and points). Black, brown, and chesnut are also seen with roans (solid body color with white hairs throughout the coat) in all of the colors. We have a blue roan stallion and a red roan gelding currently for sale. The preferd markings are four white socks stretching to or above the knees and hocks, and a wide, well-defined blaze or bald face.

For anyone desiring an active yet tractable, intelligent, stylish and serviceable draft animal for work, show, or simple pleasure; the Clydesdale merits his or her most serious consideration.

We have seventeen horses including a filly born March 4, 1998. We own mostly Clydesdales and one each of Percheron and Belgian. Clydes are some of the bravest and kindest of all the different breeds of equines. They are often referred to as the "Gentle Giants" with good cause. Each stands between 17 and 21 hands high, averaging about six-feet-three-inches high. At most they can weigh two-thousand-five-hundred pounds and pull easily three times their weight. In Austin, they handle the traffic and the craziness of downtown with a grain of salt and a spring in their step. The following links are to pictures of each of our horses with a little bit of background information about them as well.

Billy

Buddy

Barney

Prissy

Charlie