How Long Do Clydesdale Horses Live? – Amazing Facts About Clydesdale Horses

Last Updated on May 4, 2022 by Cristina

Have you wondered How Long Do Clydesdale Horses Live? Clydesdale horses are a breed of draught horses which are (usually) large horses bred for hard tasks like logging, driving, and basic farm labour. The Clydesdale is a Scottish breed that took the “large” part of the description a little too seriously. So, how long do Clydesdale horses live? In this post, you’ll get to find out amazing facts about Clydesdale horses such as the size of their feet, how much they are worth, and whether they are sweet or sour.

What Is Special About Clydesdale Horses?

Have you ever wondered what’s so special about Clydesdale horses, why they are often spoken about, why they are the preferred choice for pulling Budweiser wagons, or why they even have such a fancy name? How Long Do Clydesdale Horses Live?

Their name is not the only thing that’s special about the Clydesdale horses, their extra-large feet are also peculiar to them alone. Clydesdale horses are often said to have hooves the size of dinner plates, these gargantuan hooves are needed to spread their enormous weight evenly.

Clydesdale horses are some of the biggest and tallest horses, imagine if they had tiny hooves, they probably would be incapable of standing up straight. This special feature of theirs is also useful when it comes to performing their function – working, yes, working. Thanks to their enormous strength and gigantic weight, Clydesdale horses can be used for almost anything, including logging, and riding, as well as being used as carriage horses, which happens to be their specialty.

Clydesdale horses are indeed huge but this is not what is truly unique about them, it is their personality despite their size. Clydesdales are often referred to as gentle giants because of their calm demeanor in almost every situation, even those that call for a few hysterics. 

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Thinking Of Riding A Clydesdales?

Their main function is indeed pulling not riding but thanks to their calm, easy-going attitude and willingness to work, they make excellent riding horses. This gentleness makes it easy to train and steer them, their large hooves them steady on the trail, and their wide back ensures that you are always comfortably seated during your ride. It is not all fun and games when it comes to riding these horses though, there are a few downs to riding a draft horse. 

First on the list of the cons is their incredible height. In the case where you have to quickly dismount, it can range from difficult to impossible to downright dangerous, and getting back on may prove even more difficult in an unsuitable environment.

Also, sitting so high exposes you to branches of trees that you would normally be safe from on a shorter horse. Another thing to know is that these giants consume a lot, as they well should! Other things that they need like horseshoes, saddles, and bridles also cost more than usual because they are larger than normal.

How Gentle Are Clydesdale Horses?

Yes, Clydesdale horses are extremely gentle, it is, in fact, their trademark. The thing that makes them so lovable, useful, and therapeutic is their gentility. It is the reason why they are used as draught horses, this ability to keep calm in almost any situation.

The Clydesdale: Workhorse of the World

Can You Have A Clydesdale Horse As A Pet?

Thanks to their core trait, gentility, Clydesdale horses make amazing pets. They are the whole package; gentle, happy animals that you can use for a form of exercise and play with. It does not get better than that. They are also good as family pets because their friendly nature makes them almost completely harmless to children in the house. They are easy to train and fun to play with.

How Long Do Clydesdale Horses Live?

The main reason why you started reading this article – is how long do Clydesdale horses live? Right? Here’s the answer, Clydesdale horses typically live as long as twenty-five to thirty years.

This, of course, can increase or decrease depending on the life of the horse leading up to that point. Nutrition, workload, and environmental factors are some of the things that can affect your horse’s lifespan. If you feed your horse the right kind of diet, you do not overwork it, and you keep it in a safe, conducive environment, you can get to watch it grow to thirty and die peacefully of old age. 

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The Worth Of A Clydesdale Horse

How long do Clydesdale horses live? Is not the only question you might be asking about a Clydesdale horse. Like anything that can be bought and sold, a Clydesdale has a worth and that depends on several factors. The degree of training, size, coloring, and age are some of the factors that affect the price of Clydesdale horses. A well-trained, beautifully colored, young Clydesdale can cost up to $1500. 

The price goes up if it is a Budweiser Clydesdale, you can expect to pay at least $5000 for that because of its fame. Some Budweiser Clydesdales even go for up to $15,000, especially those that have a particular specialty or have been used for marketing campaigns.

Budweiser sells Clydesdales that do not meet the criterion required to pull the wagon or those that have already been used, the horse would have usually undergone the same amount of training as those you see on the tour, this is why it will be way more expensive than the others.

An untrained foal may only cost you about half the price of a trained one because the worth of Clydesdale horses hugely depends on their skills. Bay and black horses are also particularly favored among the other available colors.

It is also important to know that owning a Clydesdale horse comes with a lot of extra costs because everything they need comes in the extralarge size, from their food to their boarding to their tack. So while you read about “how long do Clydesdale horses live?”, remember you need funds to cater to your Clydesdale.

Conclusion On How Long Do Clydesdale Horses Live

A Clydesdale horse is everyone’s dream horse because of its easy-going temperament, extraordinary strength, and love for people. They are often used as carriage horses and for agricultural purposes due to their large size but they can also be used as riding horses.

In addition, they often live for as long as twenty-five years. These amazing features of theirs make them cost more than other regular horses, even other draft horses but they are worth every single extra penny.

We hope we have answered the question “How long do Clydesdale horses live?” If you have any other questions about the Clydesdale breed, feel free to drop them in the comment section.

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