86 BREEDS OF HORSES 



should weigh as much as 2000 pounds, and the females 

 should weigh at least 1600 pounds when mature. 



Characteristics. — These horses have been selected for 

 their true and snappy action, excellent conformation and 

 quality of feet, pasterns, and Umbs. The best Clydesdales 

 have large feet with open hoof heads and Uberal width at 

 the heels ; the pasterns are long and sloping ; the cannon 

 bones are clean, hard, and supported by strong well-defined 

 tendons. The feather or hair that grows back of the can- 

 non bones is fine, denoting quality. The hock joint is 

 usually well set and clean, and the knees are large, straight, 

 and flat. The thighs and quarters are strong, and the arm 

 and forearm are well muscled. They, have gently sloping 

 shoulders and are high at the withers. 



The body is somewhat rangier than that of the Belgian 

 or Percheron. The Clydesdales are excellent draft horses 

 and good tj^es sell well ; but they have not met with the 

 favor on the market that the Percherons enjoy, because 

 they lack compactness of form. American farmers who 

 have used the Clydesdale horse object to the hairy legs, 

 which gather mud and snow, and are thus hard to keep 

 clean ; and the market does not favor pasterns that slope 

 extremely. ■<; 



In America, they were first imported to Canada in 1842, 

 where they are found to-day in greater numbers than in 

 the United States. Their continued use has greatly im- 

 proved Canadian horses. 



The favorite and commonest color of the Clydesdale is 

 bay with perhaps one or more white feet and cannon bones, 

 and a white star on the forehead or white strip in the face. 

 Black, gray, and chestnut colors are also found, but they 

 are not encouraged in fancy breeding. 



