interesting Horse sale ... and Clydesdale draught horses

To followers of Cricket – Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Somerset, Essex, Nottingamshire, Northamptonshire, Hampshire, Leicestershire, - are all known............. have not heard of Lanarkshire ... but read about this as Clydesdale, a district forms part of this former county - Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark is a historic county in the central Lowlands of Scotland.

Other than my self-professed love for elephants, the horse that used to go in front in the Temple procession at Thiruvallikkeni was also a hit... this year Brahmothsavam – there were two of them... horse  is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus. It is an odd-toed ungulate mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. Humans domesticated horses and needed them to perform a variety of duties.  There is an extensive, specialized vocabulary used to describe equine-related concepts, covering everything from anatomy to life stages, size, colors,markings, breeds, locomotion, and behavior. One type of horse-powered work was the hauling of heavy loads, plowing fields, and other tasks that required pulling ability.

At Anthiyur in Erode, in Tamilnadu, takes place an annual gathering for sale of horses.  Then there is the ‘Kathiawari’  a breed of horse originating in the Kathiawar peninsula. Closely related to the Marwari horse, and resembling both that breed and the Arabian horse from which they descend, the Kathiawari was originally bred as a desert war horse for use over long distances, in rough terrain, on minimal rations. Originally used as war horses and cavalry mounts, they are currently used as mounted police horses and for the sport of tent pegging. Then there is the draught horse (also a draft horse) meaning to draw or haul;  less often called a work horse or heavy horse, a large horse bred for hard heavy tasks such as ploughing and farm labour.

This article on Clydesdale prompted this post.  The Clydesdale is a breed of draught horse derived from the farm horses of Clydesdale, Scotland, and named after that region. Although originally one of the smaller breeds of draught horses, it is now a tall breed. Often bay in colour, they show significant white markings due to the presence of sabino genetics. The breed was originally used for agriculture and haulage, and is still used for draught purposes today.   The Daily Mail report of date wonders about the magnificent heavy horse galloping  across fields ahead of annual festival celebrating vintage farming and old-fashioned land skills

It states that event at Milfield, Northumberland, just over Border from Coldstream, Berwickshire, was enormous attraction last year; the festival organised by the Cockburn family will feature many equine roles including carriage driving and riding... main attraction will be Clydesdales, breed of draught horses derived from farms of the Clydesdale area, as the organisers hope that this year the event will once again draw large crowds from all over the country.

On display will be an assortment of vintage farming machinery, much of which is still in working order. but for most, the main attraction will be the Clydesdales breed of draught horses derived from the farms of the area after which they are named.  Here are couple of photos of the attractive horses, which we generally do not see in India.  

Before concluding, Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival ~ and here are some of the names of the horses that would be on show.......... : Vicar’s in trouble; Uncle Sigh; Danza; Samraat; We miss Artie; General A Rod, Vinceremos; dance with fate; Chitu; Tapiture; Intense holiday.... have you ever placed bet in a horse race ?

With regards

S. Sampathkumar

3^rd May 2014.

First photo credit : Thirumazhisai Kannan and rest from Daily Mail.