Riding the Clydesdale in Scotland

Hello Equestrians! My name is Alyssa and I am on a quest to ride every breed. There are hundreds of different horse breeds and each one has their own unique story. So saddle up and join me on a ride to discover the horse. In this episode, we are going to meet the Clydesdale. They are Scotland's largest horse breed and one of the most recognizable draft breeds in the world. Tucked away in southwest Scotland, about an hour from Glasgow, there's a special place that offers visitors a chance to immerse themselves in the experience of getting to know this majestic breed. Oh this is just such a beautiful place that you have here. Thank you. Have you lived in this area for long? I have, I've been here all my days. Oh cool! I was born and bred here. So I have, it was a dairy farm years ago and a sheep farm and it's been all sorts of things. Awesome! But I've always been around about horses so I wasn't expecting to have as many horses as what I've got. I've got 30 of them here. I mean 100 acres all together. Oh wonderful! This is Jack. Oh hi Jack! Now he's just turned a year. He's just a year old in a month. Wow, that's amazing. He's huge! He is, he's actually quite big for his size. Wow! Right and this now, his mother's here and his father's here. Oh cool! This is George. Hello George! How tall is he? He's just turned 18. Wow, that is one beautiful horse right there. He's a broad boy isn't he? Oh my gosh! You're quite a good rider aren't you? If you want we'll organize you with him. That'd be great. This is Millie Mischief. Hello, are you mischievous? This is Lucky and he's a very quiet boy. This is Clyde and next door's Abe and that's his best friend. Oh Clyde and Abe! Clyde and Abe. Wow, they're just so big. He's a big boy. All right, oh my gosh! Talk about dinner plate size hooves here. I mean their hooves are literally larger than my hand. I like the Clydesdale sized head hole that is here. It's nice for them so they don't burn their heads when they go back out. We go to Maid Furry's specialty to shoot the horses. Sure. So when they're all out in a field together, how hard is it to tell all of them apart? Oh it's dead easy. You know every one of them. Oh good. It's like 10 humans been out in the field. You know who's who. Oh yeah, it's no problem. Now the only time you have a problem is actually if they're a distance. Well the sisters look very alike. She's related to the Millie Mischief. Yep. Now they're half sisters. Now see if you look at them there, look at the bottom one and look at this one. The face markings are very alike. Very similar. Yep. All right so if you're looking up the field and me getting a wee bit older, you just don't pick it very straight. Especially if one's in one corner and one's in the other corner. This is Alfie. They just keep getting bigger. You're all so sweet. Go on. Their average height is between 17 and 18 hands. For reference, 18 hands is six feet tall at the withers. They are most commonly bay and brown with white markings. But can also be black, roan and chestnut. So you have, you have a pretty great breeding program. Yep, yep, I have quite a few. I try and breed and keep. Yeah. If possible. Yeah. Well and you have a great way of using them. Well we need to, we had to incorporate that in to try and keep them. There may be you can keep that amount of horses and no do something with them. But that was, that was my reason. You are not a Clydesdale. No, no, no, he's definitely not. He's definitely not. I've known them since they were foals. So you can with it's like, you can with it's going to do it. Yep. You know it's, so it's attributes. And to be able to have the different horses for the different people as well. It is, it is, it is. Wow. Yes, he's a big tall boy. He's a big boy. And he does, he's one of the only ones, he's got a lovely big mane too. He keeps his mane, you know what I mean? He never rubs it. Yeah. This place is just magical. That's Eddie there. Now Eddie, he's, he's a big, he's a tall horse, right? And he'll be coming, he'll be four, four this year. Okay. And he's a slow developer, right? So we broke him in last year. We'll not really use him to maybe next year or the year after. Okay. He's just, he's no, he's no big enough yet. He needs to fill out and muscle up a wee bit. One of the things I really love about these big draft breeds is just their calm, gentle personalities. You know, they are so big, but they're also so quiet and fun to be around. Gentle giants. That's it. I'm ready for my nap now. Oh, good man. Oh my gosh. He's so sweet. He's unbelievable. You know, you were talking earlier about knowing them from foals and learning their personalities and you can tell how much he trusts you. You know, we're walking in here as strangers and he just recognizes like it's a safe position and he doesn't have to worry. And that's saying a lot for what you do with your horses. That is a cheeky fella. I'm beginning to see this. Ah, he is, he is. I have nothing at all. Are you checking? Are you sure? Bottom pocket, top pocket. Good boy. There's always a chance, but you never know. I'll just bring Sonny out. There are just big horses everywhere here. It's so cool. This is officially the like largest mounting block I've ever seen. All right. Fidesdale time. Such a pretty view from up here. He's a lovely boy, isn't he? Yeah, he is. He's a footage, isn't he, big boy? He just has this presence about him. There's something so amazing about being on these big draft horses. The Clydesdale breed dates back to the middle of the 18th century. Historically, they were used for heavy farm and industrial work. Today, they are still used for driving, but are also becoming quite popular as riding horses. Another breed in the books. I don't want to leave. This place is too great. I know. I just want to hang out with draft horses all day. End of trip. I have ridden all of the native Scottish horse and pony breeds, and of course, the best way to finish this trip is to not get blown away and to visit the world-famous Kelpies here in Scotland. They are a sight to be seen, and it has been quite the ride. Make sure to check out all of the videos here on the channel to meet more amazing horse breeds, and I'll see you all in the next video.