Meet Carly: First Clydesdale Foal Born in 2019 Welcomed at Budweiser Training Facility
Horses are generally regarded as the ultimate pet. While they used to be indispensable for travel or farm work, many are kept as companions and don’t see quite as much rigorous activity as their ancestors.
There are definitely some breeds that are more recognizable than others, and Clydesdales are perhaps the most easily recognizable because of their prominence in Budweiser advertising.
Clydesdales aren’t just any horse — they’re massive. They eat a lot, require a lot of care and are striking, especially when they’re all gussied up and drawing a cart together.
While all draft breed horses may be beautiful, there’s a very specific aesthetic that Budweiser maintains in its equine representatives. You’ve probably noticed that all Budweiser horses look almost like clones — and that’s because they must all match.
“In order to join the World Famous Budweiser hitch, a Clydesdale must meet certain requirements,” the Warm Springs Ranch, which raises Clydesdales in Missouri, states on their website. “They must stand at least 18 hands high (or 6 feet tall).”
“They must be geldings and at least 4 years old. They must have a bay coat, four white stockings, a blaze of white on the face, a black mane and a black tail. And they must weigh between 1,800 and 2,300 pounds.”
It’s hard to imagine what 1,800 to 2,300 pounds looks like unless you’ve met one of the massive beasts in person. For reference, your average trail-riding horse weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 pounds.
With Clydesdales being the Great Danes of the horse world, as you can imagine, they eat and poop a lot. According to the Warm Springs Ranch website, they can eat up to 60 pounds of hay and 25 quarts of grain/mineral/vitamin mix a day.
Clydesdale babies, while big, are adorable. Their legs are too long, they’re proportioned adorably and they look so huggable.
The Warm Springs Ranch recently welcomed their first 2019 baby, “Carly,” and she’s been winning hearts from day one. You can even visit her in person at the over 300-acre ranch.
“Each year, we welcome up to two dozen foals,” herd manager Mark Boese told WTHR, “and we’re looking forward to teaching our guests how these majestic animals are bred, raised and cared for.”
“World, meet Carly, our first foal born this year!” the ranch wrote on Facebook on March 13. “Here she is taking some of her first steps. Who wants to meet her on March 23rd when we open for the season?”
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