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Our amazing horses mean the world to us and are part of our family. We specialise in Clydesdale and Shire horses due to their fantastic versatility and unrivalled good nature. We know you will enjoy them as we do..
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About Clydesdales und Shires
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Our Clydesdale and Shire horses are, to us and to many in the equine world, very special animals. Their image as a draught horse is forever etched in the minds of our older generations, yet these old farm hands can equally understand the emphasis we put on their ridden use as the Clydesdale and Shire are both considered rare breeds and, as such, we hope that our work here, encouraging folk to try riding them, will ensure the breed's future is bright!! Our horses are all wonderful, kind personalities, and here I am going to introduce you to their individual characters!
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The Clydesdale Horse
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Most of our horses are Clydesdales as we, as a business, started life in Scotland, the home of the Clydesdale horse. This wonderful versatile breed originated in the valley of the River Clyde, hence the name!.... The Clydesdale Horse Society, the first breed society, was established in 1877, almost a century and a half after the breed first began to evolve. The primary purpose of the breed was literally as a farm work horse - true horse power prior to mechanisation. From the early days the reputation of the horse grew considerably and the horse fairs held over several days in the Lanarkshire area attracted buyers from far and wide looking for draught horses to fulfill a variety of roles in the haulage field. The major cities of Scotland and the North of England and Northern Ireland housed as many Clydesdales as the agricultural areas did.
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Early drawings of Clydesdales show a chunky, solid coloured horse, much shorter than todays giants, and close coupled ie short in the back... by the time early black and white photography developed, we see mainly dark coloured horses with dark legs, still short coupled and very powerful.
Gradually white legs became fashionable and the breed as we see it now became more clearly defined.The vast majority of Clydesdales are solid coloured bay or brown with four white legs, the long, silky feathering around the feet being a distinct feature, with soft, not coarse hair.
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The roan colour now commonly seen in the show ring was, for a time, frowned upon by the purists, however is now very popular with almost white horses doing well in show situations!!
Personally I prefer the entire colours with their beautiful white legs and faces, whilst Tim loves the roans.
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As with many things in life, fashion hits the showrings too with some judges favouring one, some another "type" of horse, however for us within the ridden world soundness of limb, kindness of character and strength of physical fitness far outweight the colour, hence the ridden use overrides show "colour" popularity and ensures that any good Clydesdale has a sense of purpose in life!!
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All the heavy horses were affected after the Second World War as mechanisation, in the form of tractors, appeared, with numbers dwindling until the sixties and seventies. The breed was kept alive by a number of mainly farming folk who had strong sentimental ties to these wonderful horses and happily now numbers have increased although the breed is still classified as 'At Risk' by the Rare Breeds Society. The majority of Clydesdales currently being bred within the UK are for showing, hence the breed has increased in size over the decades.
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However those horses who had eg two black legs and were therefore perceived as "not of show quality" were often sent to the "knackers yard", whereas now, as the value of the Clydesdale increases due mainly to this ridden use, these wonderful horses have a use, a value to us within the normal equestrian leisure market; as the actual monetary value increases the number of horses being bred increases, which therefore increases the numbers generally....just what we want!
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There are still many who use the Clydedale for farming (some devotees still farm totally with heavies) and those who are keen on driving for educational or promotional purposes are increasing in number,these folk usually use geldings. Equally in these more eco friendly and environmentally sensitive times, horses are being used again in environmentally fragile areas for extracting timber, however as the foresters develop better machinery, again, the horse is being pushed out of a job...many are paid to be there as a form of historical tourist attraction as they cannot compete against vehicles who can haul huge tonnages out.
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Emma
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Emma is our largest mare at 18hh, this is her with one of her biggest fans Laura having fun on the beach on Skye and in one of her many appearances at Blair Horse Trials. She is a wonderful riding horse, as she is quite fast if bouncy, jumps well too, and is one of our mothers-to-be ....if all goes well! Emma, although every medical care was taken, ended up losing twins in January this year which was devastating as she'd been given a scan to ensure she was only carrying one foal and totally vet checked before her pregnancy. Mares rarely carry twins full term so this was therefore not unusual but we were devastated - at least she was OK. Fingers crossed all will go well this year as we are very fond of Emma, she's been with us for many years! Will keep the news page updated!
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Sparky
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Sparky (photo at top of page) is now owned by Therry who is seen here at Lowther show where they won the ridden class! Sparky came to us on Skye, Therry has known him for two years now, and was delighted when we agreed to sell him to her this year. He still lives with us for some of the year so you are likely to meet him, he's a very handsome showy red roan, standing 17.2hh, with a bouncy trot and big paces.
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Max (Foto with Tim in the gallery and above)
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This wonderful Clydesdale, my best mate, is one of the original team which started life as a tourist dray operation on Skye many years ago. He is an amazing horse, rides, drives single and pairs, does anything - dressage moves, you ask, he'll give it his best shot. He's arguably the brightest horse we have, and although he's now an old boy, he doesn't know it yet...he has earnt my absolute admiration. He stands 17.2hh, and still has plenty of galloping life in him, although his years do slow him down a tad at times. Is a great all round horse for riders of any ability.
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Tommy
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This boy has been here since the business moved into riding. He's now 9 and gorgeous although in the past his slightly pushy character has earned him the name "Asbo boy!" He is a great horse for the serious rider as is responsive to a couple of half halts then becomes magic! Is not kind to novices I adore him as I love training him in the school, he so wants to please has super paces and jumps well. Standing almost 18hh he's one of our largest horses, rides very well on any terrain, as do most of our horses...
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This super horse's posh name is Golden Jubilee although having met him for just a few minutes you'll immediately know why we chose this nickname.....it chose him! He's a real character, a very kind and trusting fellow whose ability to sleep never ceases to amaze us...we have so many photos of us sitting and lying on him in the field, he just does not care one hoot!! He's a big guy standing almost 18hh and a lovely roan, is simply a sweet horse to ride who'll do his best for you!
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I have to say, having ridden him alot over the summer, that he is THE fastest Clydesdale I have EVER ridden both for acceleration and top end! On that note, that's why he won the Marymass Open Clydesdale Race at Irvine this year! He's incredibly sure footed and a pleasure to ride. If you can ever prise Tim off his back you may get to ride him! He's a lovely roan with a pretty honest face, and loves being at the front of rides.
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Gypsy
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This pretty mare has now been working with us for 18 months, and is a very beautiful horse who has been working very well, having taken part in many of our day rides and our recent holiday ride. Much loved by many, (Andy particularly!) she can have mareish moments but in general is a sweet natured girl! She stands 17.2hh, is a gorgeous dark bay, and is kind to her riders!
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This sweet horse whom I call my "hippy horse" because of his wild bushy mane, is a really lovely boy...he came to us as an unhandled four year old, and initially was unimpressed with the work ethic having been allowed to run free, but having grasped the benefits (food??!!) he has proved to himself and the world that he is a reliable, kind, workmanlike lad who just gets on with it. He stands 17.1hh and is a gorgeous bay roan with a flaxen tail. One of his best friends is Steven who loves having him to stay over winter...
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Prince
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This dear old horse is probably our oldest horse, he's one of our two Shires and is owned by Carol and Richard, remaining here with his friends permanently. He's a big lad standing almost 18hh, is a bright bay, with a lovely face. He rides and drives, is steady and reliable yet can put on a turn of speed if required!! He and Max were my original boys, and they will forever be special guys!
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Brutus
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Bru as he is fondly know as, is a lovely horse who, like Max, has not realised that he's getting older!! He's about 16, we dont know for sure, and is a Clydesdale/Shire cross. He's very popular with many of our experienced riders as he's well schooled and forward going, another horse who likes to be out front on rides! Loves the beach, rides and drives..is a super guy easy to admire and love!
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Brogue
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This beautiful blue roan gelding came to us originally from Alan and Evelyn who bred him. Then a scrawny youngster he has since grown into a beautiful huge lad of 18hh plus, a very eye catching horse with super paces. He's now 6 years old and, once the school is built, some further training should see him really develop. He's great at everything we've asked of him, came second in the Ridden Class this year at the Westmorland Show, which was his first outing with us. We are looking forward to watching him develop over the next few years, he has such potential.
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Little Prince
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This quality young horse joined us from Cambridge where he had been living with our friend Nicci. Her change of job meant we were lucky to take charge of him. He is a lively soul with the best intentions. As he matures his potential as an excellent school and riding horse is growing with him. Alan has spent alot of time with him and has brought him on leaps and bounds in the past 6 months.
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Dingle is our first "foray" into heavy horses from across the water!! He comes from a wonderful couple who were mis-sold him as suitable for them, who kindly offered him to us....we were and remain delighted to have him here with the team, he's such an affectionate horse, with a variety of nicknames and a character as big as, well, his backside??!! He stands at 16.3hh is a huge horse, a lovely roan colour, quite light in summer so he stands out. Having researched the breed I find he comes originally from Belgium as they still dock horses there and he is, sadly, docked. He is riding well and has, this past year, proved an asset to our team. Robin has worked closely with him to the extent that we were over the moon when he and Robin won the Ridden Heavy Horse Class at the Westmoreland Show!!!!(Well all exccept me as I came second hurrumph!!!!!!)
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He continues to wow folk with his affectionate nature and I wouldnt be surprised if we have another of these lovely horses here in future.
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Mani's name was Millord, we changed it as, when he came out of the trailer I thought Tim had brought me a Mammoth (have you seen Ice Age??!!)as he was so hairy!!! MRCC rescued him from a trip to the meat market in France, he was being loaded and treated very cruelly en route which sparked the rescue, and they retrained him here at their centre in the UK before we took over responsibility for him. Since arrival he has started going out on rides and getting used to his new home and new life with us as a working horse; he's doing well, getting used to water, opening and closing gates with a rider on board, riding out with other horses, and although unsure is slowly realising that life here will be quite acceptable!! He is good with the other horses and I feel could be quite a popular young man this summer. You may well see or even ride him when you visit so we hope you enjoy the experience!
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Ride with us today and experience our passion for Clydesdales......
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