''Whats with the carthorse..???''

[SatansLittleHelper]

Does anyone else here have a large heavy horse like a Clydesdale or Shire etc..??
I get alot of predjudice and mick taking about my Clydie, its a running joke where I live. He gets called alsorts, mainly carthorse And jokes about warning people if he is going up the hill due to falling trees etc (We live on the doorstep of Nesscliffe Hill in Shropshire).
Do people really believen that heavies are 'inferior' to other horses..?? I have 2 young sports horses too and apart from the coloured being known as cowhorse no-one ever comments but Im stopped all the time when out on my Clydie...''wheres his plough..??'', ''shouldnt that thing be pulling a cart'' etc etc

 

[katastrophykat]

Haha!! That's nowt- my usually fit and trim welsh D does trials and round here we're known as 'the blind horse' by the small kids who adore him and know to come pet him from the front, and 'the gypsy and her carthorse' by varying teens and young adults. I get all the same comments as you- he does have four hairy white socks mind

 

[TheoryX1]

I dont know, but I sympathise with you. I have a 14.3 hh MW Irish bog pony (AKA a cob) ], who is either fully hogged and trimmed or like he at the mo, hairy with feathers and a long mane and tail. Whatever he looks like, he is referred to as the carthorse mainly by my family, and some ignorant members of the equine community. I guess in another lifetime he would have probably pulled a cart, and to be fair he is also broken to drive. Its always said in a pretty insulting way.

I personally love all the heavies and chunkies myself, do believe that its very much each to their own with regard to horses. No 'type' is better than another 'type', its down to personal preference. We also have a very beautiful coloured warmblood as well, which is my daughter's eventer, and we love them both equally. This also leads onto the subject of a horse's 'worth', not in monetary terms, but in the value of them as horses, as some pretty ignorant people of my acquaintance have made it clear that they consider our mare more 'valuable' than our cob, which is total tommy rot. Urghhh....... could go on, but it will all end in a rant.

 

[StormyMoments]

i can sympathise my ISH has been called a carthorse on many occations (usually by people who have no idea what they are on about) just because hes big and has a broad chest but he definatly looks nothing like a heavy horse (which would be traditionally called a carthorse because that was their job) its a bit like coloured cobs being called P**** ponies... i dont own one (have done) but i can totally see why people would feel insulted for their horses being called that :/

 

[Alphamare]

Thankfully no what we tend to have is people stopping to stare and say how awesome they think he is

 

[Darcydoo]

You all need to move to Lancaster .I hack mostly with apache a beautiful coloured cob big blue eyes full mane feathers the lot,and a forever stopping whilst people admire him. They just sort of ignore me on darcy Tb with ants in her pants wanting to get going.x
Other hacking buddy is a giner cob .Cob types are great for hiding behind when the monsters are out.

 

[Gentle_Warrior]

I have a very chunky Suffolk Punch x Cob, only 15.3hh but about the same wide (no not fat), people look at me in disbelief when I say no they can not hack him out, or to the fact that he bucks and tanks off. I had someone point blank laugh at me until they rode with me ! or at sponsered rides asking if 'will that make it round?' replied once saying see me when i come back, still with plenty or running or try to keep up and you will see for yourself.

I get a lot of gasps at his size, he has a lot of presence. The chunkies in my eyes at least have a character and test your riding abilities!

Generally yes they should be pulling and are not designed to be ridden, but hey if they enjoy it, who cares. Would never look at any horse to buy unless it had a lot of chunk to it,

Love them, ignore people ...... they know nothing ...... until they own one and start having fun with horses

x

 

[CrazyCarly]

I have a shire x who had a few snickers and rude comments made out at a pony club event...we both had the last laugh when we showed them what a "carthorse" could do! xD

Apart from that,we normally get wonderful responses from people out hacking - always having to stop for people to pet him...one elderly lady even ran inside her house to find some polo's one day - Nelson was thrilled!! l

 

[KSR]

My Cleveland Bays were called cart horses once because they don't do anything..

Excuse me??

What about Spring Pascal and Arun Tor for example and all the purebreds doing stuff..

Even if they didn't, so what? Why the name calling for any of our draught/lighter draught types :|

 

[indie999]

No yours is proper horse in my eyes.. I dont like the weedy looking horses but something solid and strong. I suppose it comes from pulling beer carts. Stereotype.

But I think they are regarded as more approachable horses and most people regard them with fondness of a time gone by. We had one at our riding school X and he was a gentle giant definitely. I know someone who was looking for a X clydes as chap needing weight carrier/tall etc. Really hard type to find nowadays. Too many skinny things.

 

[missroses nanna]

Where my daughter keeps her shire cross they breed and the clyde stallion is awesome love the big horses

 

[rara007]

Is a carthorse not just a type of draught (pulling) breed? Doesn't seem unfair to me to call a draught bred horse a carthorse any more than it's unfair to call all TBs racehorses It's just stating the type.
I like driving horses but don't like cobs/heavier horses so I'd much rather my horse be called a carthorse than a cob

 

[KSR]

It's because it's meant in a derogatory fashion I think.. That's all..

Like calling warmbloods dumbloods..

 

[Beausmate]

My Cleveland Bays were called cart horses once because they don't do anything.. :|

But they're not cart horses

They're carriage horses

 

[KSR]

Exactly, you mongrel and *whispers* racehorse owner you

 

[Beausmate]

He's not a mongrel! He's a p pony Or carthorselette.

 

[Beausmate]

I don't care what people call my horses, I love them and think they're all ace. Idiot racehorse, miserable old git and rag-and-boney pony too.

 

[ridefast]

I join in with the jokes about mine. She IS a cart horse, it's what she was bred to do, unfortunately I came along and decided to make her into a riding horse. All warmbloods were originally carriage horses. No need to get upset about it, laugh with the jokes and prove everyone wrong, simples

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Thankfully no what we tend to have is people stopping to stare and say how awesome they think he is

That's the reaction we get too.
I've had 2 Clydies and a Shire previously. When we went out with sister and the VERY spotted Appaloosa, we certainly drew admiring glances. Admittedly the black Clydie and the roan Appy didn't get so many admirers but now that I have a Westphalian Kalt Blut (Draft) horse, she stops the traffic. There are several driven ponies/cobs/SBs round here though, so people are used to seeing 'unusual' horses.
When I had a big grey ID nobody took any notice of us.

 

[mudmonkey17]

I have a cob that has prob driven in a previous home as well as hunted etc. he is built like a cart horse but gets admiring comments rather than rude ones he is much more of a handful than my tb ex racer x

 

[Love]

I absolutely adore the large heavy breeds. But even my Connie gets called a cart horse by people I know because he is so laid back!

 

[TandD]

just appsolute ignorance! love the big hairies!!!!! and know of a few who compete at dressage
even my dad, who isnt very horsey calls my 17.3 WB X TB mare, whose very fine, a carthorse......only cos shes so big!!!! personally i cant see her being very willing to pull a cart.....

 

[Tarte Au Citron]

Just laugh at them like they're joking I get such randomness all the time on my spotty one, i just find it funny . For example a little boy once said "mummy does that horse have chicken pox"!! it was so hard to suppress the giggles and the last one was a group of lads asking repeatedly whether he was a zebra they were trying to be mean but i just giggled at them with a few no's chucked in .

 

[Trot_On_Dressage]

I used to have a shire x tb. Unfortunatley for me she had the body of a shire and the brain of a tb! She was as sharp as a knife and as fast as a racehorse but built like a brick ****house bloomin strong!

 

[RutlandH2O]

I don't know how I missed this post. I have pure Shires, and had a pure Clyde until his death 2 years ago. I have never had a negative remark from anyone regarding my heavies. Contrary to anything derogatory, when people meet my herd there is, invariably, a deep sucking in of breath and a dropping of jaws. Older people tend to reminisce about the days of yore on their fathers'/grandfathers' farms. Younger individuals are always in awe of their size, presence, and gentle natures.

Don't let ignorant remarks get the better of you. You know what you have, even if the people making silly comments don't.

 

[swilliam]

Our big boy - Shire x TB used to get lots of horrid comments about carthorses, until people saw him pop over 4' or produce his amazing extended trot. We've still got him, but he's broken his navicular bone and now has atrial fibrillation as well. so he doesn't go far these days - both a problem with big horses I think

 

[**Vanner**]

I get the opposite - my boy gets lots of complements when we are out and about. Much less snobby up north

 

[dominobrown]

I have a shire X
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=576565

 

[poiuytrewq]

Wow, I'm so jealous of you op! I used to ride a Clydesdale and absolutely loved him. He was probably the most excitable horse but controllable I've ever ridden!
My horse is quite big (hunter type) and yes I get some comments which irritate me a little sometimes but just laugh them off. I know he's not the clutz people try to make him sound! X

 

[POLLDARK]

Is a carthorse not just a type of draught (pulling) breed? Doesn't seem unfair to me to call a draught bred horse a carthorse any more than it's unfair to call all TBs racehorses It's just stating the type.
I like driving horses but don't like cobs/heavier horses so I'd much rather my horse be called a carthorse than a cob

Agree with this. Why object to an accurate description, it's not an insult in my eyes just saying what the breed was originally for & formerly known as. I've seen some very smart cart/draught horses (IE heavy breeds) ridden & driven, racehorses doing dressage etc. Enjoy & be proud of your horse.