Heavy horses rarer than giant panda!!!

Oh FFS my eyes are bleeding. This isn't news! Why do they have to trot out stats like 100 PAIRS of suffolks. Yes heavy horses aren't as popular as they are but they WILL NOT GO EXTINCT IN A GENERATION! F'ing daily mail. I wouldn't used that facist tripe for toilet paper.
 
I was speaking to the Clydesdale Society secretary yesterday and she said the numbers of clydies being registered are increasing. They are also bringing in new blood from Canada and the US.

The Suffolk Society as I understand, had a few arguments internally over using American stallions to increase the gene pool even though the stallions were from British bloodlines.

More interest is also being shown in using the heavies as riding horses - indeed our old and now our new clyde have done/will do everything ridden and Cairo never actually did what he was bred for - driving/ploughing.

As said, they won't go die out - there are thank goodness too many people still willing to put the money and time into keep the old breeds going.

We intend to breed at least one foal from Farra later, providing the Society agree that she is of a standard to put something into the breed of benefit.
 
No mention of the Cleveland Bay - throws all toys out of the pram
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Saying that at work we're contributing to the problem.... out of 4 horses, 2 are pure percheron (although bred in yourkshire), 1 is a brabant/boulanise bred in belguim and the last 20yr old is a 3/4 shire.... Unfortuantly as a charity you go for what you can afford..... it wasn't that long ago that we have 4 british bred horses.....
 
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No mention of the Cleveland Bay - throws all toys out of the pram
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When I win the lottery I'm having a "British Breeds" stud and clevelands will definatly be in there! As will suffolks, shires, clydies, fell, dales, exmoors, dartmoors, new forests, shetlands, highlands, Welsh B's and C's (there are millions of A's and D's about) and I may even sneak in a old fashioned ID on historical grounds....
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Oh and I'd stand a sane TB as most of those breeds make a nice cross. Not sure about hackneys... not a big fan but they are british I suppose!
 
Yes when we win the lottery or Andy's company makes a huge profit and he sells it and we retire, we will have a few Clydesdales and Suffolk mares to continue the breed.

Andy did say that one gypsy cob is enough though - yes I know he is a pest. However, I will have a couple of gypsy mares and breed the best gypsy horses possible as I love them even if they are not that rare.

I would also like an Exmoor and Dartmoor as these were my first ponies but the good old fashioned do anything type and not the show ring types.

Problem is that a lot of the heavies when crossed with TBs do make very good hunter and SJ types. I would love a rule that for every two x bred born the breeder should then have a pure bred foal, but not everyone wants the pure breds - though they don't know what they are missing.
 
The Hackney is the nearest we have today to the Norfolk Roadster which is now extinct.

The NR was the most important influence on the modern French Trotter which is very popular for riding and harness racing here in France - and they carn't arf go!!
 
Arabs can drive, in one of my sally walrond books she breaks an arab for private driving classes and although she has a tough time and had to adapt her methods she did it and he won rather a lot.

BUT....

I don't really like them so they won't be on my "british" stud. I may have to have some foreign breeds but they will all be bred in blighty with british lines.
 
I love heavies, i have to say, i would like to buy a youngster of a rare native type and breed from it one day, i do love our natives, as silly as the article may seem to some, the native heavy breeds are not as numerous, and i think publicity even such as this may help in some small way
 
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They are also bringing in new blood from Canada and the US.


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Now that doesn't surprise me in the slightest Theresa. We have literally tonnes and tonnes of Clydes, Belgians and Percherons around my area. Here they are still used for working in the fields and for logging. I must take my camera out with me when I'm out on errands over the summer and then I can show you all the horses who work for a living. Right now, they are all turned away and their manes and tails are growing long and unruly, however the minute summer comes along they have their manes trimmed up and their (usually docked) tails cut short again.

I warn you though, North American Clydes are not like Scottish ones - they look far more like Shires.

Clyde X TB is a very very popular crossbreed over here too.
 
I've seen a few american clydies, and they are dramatically different! Why can't american's leave any breeds alone!? They have to "improve" everything. Plus I don't get how an "advanced" country can have docking. Scroogie is an "american Belgian cross" and god knows what that is as he has the most bizarly shaped back legs I've seen in real life. I've heard they're really into their belgians and percherons too.
 
This is a bit silly.

Heavy horse breeds are just that breeds - not species.

The Giant Panda is a species. Once it's gone it's gone. Horses will always be around. Many of the more modern heavy horse breeds have only been around for about 200-300 years and if people don't need them any more...

I think it's useful to preserve the genetics from breeds, but to compare them with endagered species isn't very accurate or fair on proper conservation.
 
Agree with Tia, there are dozens of heavies, particularly Belgians, to be seen out in paddocks around here all year round. They are certainly not a rarity.

As for Esme's comment about the breed standards differing across the continents, then yes, that does seem to happen. If you compared a North American bred Clyde, Shire, Percheron to the, for example, Observers book of horses (anyone remember that one?) then they are much leggier.

As for Percherons, well, I was always of the impression that they were generally grey and not hugely tall (shows what little I knew) Here, Percheron teams are invariably black, and massive. I have talked to local people who compete their teams and they prefer them well over 17 hands for display work, and "black because they look better that colour."
 
Black is a colour in a continental percheron but its just no where near as common as in the states and even most of them born black go grey with age. I always think they should be smaller but:

"Stallions should not be less that 16 hands 3 inches in height and mares not less than 16 hands 1 inch, but width and depth must not be sacrificed to height at maturity." (from British Percheron society)

I think the last sentance should be sent to every breeder of shires, clydies and percherons....
 
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