heavy horses

R

rainer

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 January 2013
Messages
686
Location
herefordshire
Visit site
Saw some heavy horses being ridden on the beach today on youtube :)
Looked amazing :D and I have a soft spot for clydesdales
Just wondering how many of u own and regularly ride heavy breeds?
Is it hard getting tack for them?
Are they quite hardy? Or do they need special diets and care?
Just curious really :)
I did once help look after 2 shires+a clydie and I love them :)
 
I have a clydesdale who is my baby, she is in 7ft3 rugs extra full bridle and made to measure saddle :) eats a awful lot of hay but i wouldnt change her for the world she has such a nice manner :D
 
My friend owns a Breton - she is an absolute sweetheart. Only 15hh (I think), so not massive, very hardy, lovely nature but eat - dang, that horse can eat!!! :-)
 
I've got an Ardennes gelding as a ridden companion. He is gorgeous. A complete softie, nice to handle and lets the kids sit on him. It's like having an enormous pet bear!

Only downside is that he's on a continual diet - could live on fresh air! And he does enormous poos :eek: Farrier not his biggest fan either as his feet are sooo heavy - his shoes are not easy to get hold of either apparently!
 
My best friend has a 3 year old pure-bred Shire gelding, he is only just 3 and already measures over 18hh. He is a delight on the ground with very nice manners usually, but when you are trying to lead him when he's excited its hell cos all you can think about is not getting stepped on! :o
 
I have a Ted. More Shire than anything else. Only 20 months old and 16h
Tedgetsbrave008.jpg
 
I have previously had a Shire and 2 Clydesdale mares. I now have a Westphalian Draft mare. They have all been easy-going, affectionate girls. The Draft horse as to have her weight managed carefully but the others were not such good-doers. They have all been 'leaners' both ridden and with the farrier and have needed extra large shoes. They have all needed consistent handling and would have (and did) taken advantage of novice handlers but were excellent with beginner riders.
 
I lost my gorgeous Clydesdale boy in December :(. He was the biggest gentle giant you could ever wish to meet :)
He was a fab hacking horse, lovely and fun to ride but EVERYTHING was expensive for him. Be it rugs, tack, farrier etc it all cost a fortune and, while I would give just about anything to have him back, I dont miss the high maintenence costs of keeping such a big guy. My friend has a Breton who is gorgeous :D And I ride her, she is only 15.1hh but BIG..!!!! :cool:
If I was ever in a position to have a heavy horse again it would be a Clydie everytime. :D
 
I have a Clydesdale x ID, and he is a total gem.

He is a good all-rounder, jumps well, and is very laid back.

He is only 16hh, and fits normal sized tack and rugs, so not at all awkward to kit out. He gains weight through the summer, but not so much he needs restricted grazing, so needs no food, and in the winter he drops all the excess, needing a small feed to keep him ticking over.

img432.jpg
 
^^^ omg he is beautifull!
I have a shire cross, finding tack and rugs isnt really a problem but he definatly isnt low maintanance by any stretch of the imagination, costs an arm and a leg in feed and will get through a full big round hayledge bail in a week in winter, plus extra wormers ect definatly not cheap!
 
We had a beautiful Shire a few years back called Bess. A real gentle giant and such a baby! Everybody loved her and she was so well known in our village.
She wasn't what we were looking for at the time and was advertised as a heavy hunter. When we went to see her she had been hogged and all her feathers shaved off. Very much a pity buy as although we stressed that all we wanted was a quiet hack (for my mum mainly) the seller insisted on trying to get her to jump and was heavy handed to say the least with a crop. Horrible man:mad: We never sold her and kept her to the end.

I kept saying to mum she's a Shire, which the horrible man vehemently denied, low and behold 6 mths later we had a 100% Shire :D

We had her bridle made by a company that had a stall at the heavy horse show. (Shire show this weekend at Peterborough)

Anyway here's a photo of Bess with my mum and stepdad :-

bess.jpg
 
080611033_zpsf11081e7.jpg


This is Jack my Clydesdale/Welsh D

He stands at 16hh, has huge feet (second largest shoe the farrier carries),
The rest of his tack is the same as any other large cob or 16 hander.


Domjumping1_zps162f4069.jpg



He doesn't like poles as you can see here (he obviously thought this was 2 feet high) he caught me off guard, hence the bad jumping position, i thought we were just going to walk over it.


27thOct079_zpsdac0f8f7.jpg
 
nostromo70 said:
This is Jack my Clydesdale/Welsh D

He stands at 16hh, has huge feet (second largest shoe the farrier carries),
The rest of his tack is the same as any other large cob or 16 hander.


Domjumping1_zps162f4069.jpg



He doesn't like poles as you can see here (he obviously thought this was 2 feet high) he caught me off guard, hence the bad jumping position, i thought we were just going to walk over it.
Click to expand...

:confused:

Why walk when you can jump ?



;) Or maybe he saw something you didn't... :eek:




Gorgeous horse. :D
 
I love heavy horses with a passion. Clydes especially, im also very partial to a friesian or two so ive been enjoying the friesian thread also lately.
 
Kikke's OH here,
I've got a 17hh (but still growing as he's only 5) Belgian Draft. I ride him and have done in hand showing with him. Couple weeks ago we tried successfully our first jumps. He just loves going fast, Gallup field bring out the racehorse in him.

image_zpsffa6b5e7.jpg

b279dcc1abd572a43671ef7f27e83856.jpg


Luckily he fits regular rugs, the XL range from Amigo is best. He lives out 24/7 and you do need to watch his weight, had to feed him extra over the winter.

Had the osteopath out this week who remarked he had a big bum, but when he got closer he realised there was still a lot of growing to be done. :)
 
cambrica said:
We had a beautiful Shire a few years back called Bess. A real gentle giant and such a baby! Everybody loved her and she was so well known in our village.
She wasn't what we were looking for at the time and was advertised as a heavy hunter. When we went to see her she had been hogged and all her feathers shaved off. Very much a pity buy as although we stressed that all we wanted was a quiet hack (for my mum mainly) the seller insisted on trying to get her to jump and was heavy handed to say the least with a crop. Horrible man:mad: We never sold her and kept her to the end.

I kept saying to mum she's a Shire, which the horrible man vehemently denied, low and behold 6 mths later we had a 100% Shire :D

We had her bridle made by a company that had a stall at the heavy horse show. (Shire show this weekend at Peterborough)

Anyway here's a photo of Bess with my mum and stepdad :-

bess.jpg
Click to expand...

Bess is a knockout! She's such a stamp of a traditional Shire. I love her!

I've got two retired broodmares, both black with four whites and blazes (one was a Shire Horse of the Year finalist, before I acquired her), and their rising four years old gelding sons, both black with four whites and blazes. Bess would have fit in just perfectly.

I don't ride, but I can assure the OP that heavies do require more of everything: forage, space, wormers, water, fencing, muscles on the part of the owner for mucking out particularly voluminous dung. But then, there's so much more horse to love!
 
Due to my size, the larger horse has always been wheeled out for me through my years of riding especially when learning due to the weight issue and whilst some have had there difficulties most have been fantastic to ride. I used to be bewildered why motorists would stop to photograph me when out on the black and white Shire types until it dawned on me I was not the topic of the photo. It also amuses those who ride with me the terror in the eyes of some motorists when the see the size of the well ridden Rhino they are gingerly trying to edge past in there combustion powered boxes.

My latest was also brought by others as a family ride horse and became the larger than expected war horse look alike (I cant seem to post pictures on here like the rest of you, not sure why sorry!) he has his attitude problems but I have grown to like him, I think as he comes to me these days that he likes me too!

Custom saddle, custom bridle, hand made brow band, strained leg muscles, flattened toes, which led to toe protector boots. A coat that fits from the Big Horse Shop, Pig Oil and Sulphur for the feathers. Extra large leather head collar. All to be considered when taking on a giant, ground shaker. But well well worth it!

Thanks Ian
 
Last edited:
This is Fany Du Champ, aka Doodles. She is an Ardennes and stands just 14-2hh but is a true heavy horse. At present she is on loan to a riding school and is loving all the kids. Sorry they are big, no idea how to re-size.:p
Poor mare is on a permanent diet as extremely good doer.
Hogged and clipped out.
2011-May5th2012188.jpg


Pretty face
June2010022.jpg


Windswept and interesting.
June2010016.jpg
 
I've never owned a heavy, but I have shared a few over the past six or seven years, and they've all been lovely, sweet-natured cuddle monsters!

Here's me riding my old pal, Bracken, bareback, up to his field.
264038_10150215421158149_236276_n.jpg


He was fantastic fun, in the saddle or on the ground!!
 
For those that are interested in watching or competing with ridden heavy horses there are classes for them at Cheshire County Show on the Wednesday morning in the Shire/Private Driving ring.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top