When it comes to riding a horse, you might think of Thoroughbred or American Quarter, but when it comes to carrying weight, Clydesdale horses have been the hot favorites because of their strong and powerful performance along with gentle behavior. The Clydesdale horses are the horse breeds that trace their origins to the horse farms of Clydesdale is Scotland.

The Clydesdale horses have been bred explicitly for hard and more cumbersome tasks. They have been well known as the best options for carrying loads through the rough terrains, and that would explain their specific importance during the pre-industrial era.

But, have you wondered how much weight can Clydesdales carry? Well, let us check out the facts and also understand the Clydesdale horses in finer detail, along with some details of other different horse breeds too.

How much weight do the different breeds of horses carry?

Now that we are discussing the ability of the Clydesdales to carry weight, it may be worthwhile to check the carrying capacity of the other compatible horse breeds. That would perhaps be helpful in making the right choice between the horse breeds.

How do Clydesdale Horses differ from other compatible breeds?

A better understanding of the Clydesdale breed of the horse will only be evident if you are comparing it with other similar breeds. Let us undertake a comparison between the different breeds.

Belgian Draft Horse vs Clydesdale

They have different origins. Belgian horses are bred in Belgium and Clydesdales in Scotland. The Clyde is a relatively younger breed compared to the Belgian breed. The latter has been around from the middle ages, while the Clyde is about 200 years old.

Clyde has its coat color in bay, black, brown, chestnut, or roan, while the coats in Belgian breed are typically sorrel, chestnut, bay, or gray. While both of them are used for a wide range of applications similar to one another, Belgians outnumber the Clydesdales.

Shire Horse vs Clydesdale

Once again, the region is a significant difference. Shires are typically bred in Midlands, Southern England, and Wales. The Shires are a little bigger than the Clydesdales. Shire grows to around 19 hands. They tend to be all white in most of the cases.

In fact, there has been an extensive cross-breeding between the two, and you would not find much of a difference between the features in terms of being a workhorse.

How much does a Clydesdale weigh?

Now that we are discussing the Clydesdale horses, won’t it be interesting enough to find how much do they weigh themselves?

If you have come across a Clydesdale horse’s hooves, you will have an idea of how much do they weigh. They are enormous and have been considered to be one of the most giant breeds of horses. The normal saddle or riding horses would be nowhere near them in terms of physique, build, and weight.

A healthy and normal Clydesdale horse should weight around 2000 pounds. They are the tallest and most prominent of the draft horse breeds currently in vogue. The actual weight will vary in individual cases, but any Clydesdale horse should ideally weigh anywhere between 1600 to 2400 pounds.

Thee male Clydesdale horses are more well built and can weigh around 2600 to 3200 pounds in some cases.

How much does a Clydesdale horse cost?

Well, that would be something dependent on the quality of the Clydesdale horse you have opted for. However, you can be sure of one aspect of their price – they are extremely expensive.

The cost of getting a Clydesdale horse would depend on many factors, and then there are other maintenance costs as well that you would want to know. That would ideally provide you a better insight into how much does it cost to own a Clydesdale horse.

How big is a Clydesdale horse?

Well, as you have already understood, based on the discussion that we have already had, the Clydesdale horses can get really big. They have been observed to grow as large as 20 hands.

The average height of Clyde would range across 16 to 18 hands for a healthy breed. The hooves of these mighty horse breeds can reach as large as a human face!

They were initially bred to be the warhorses, and that is perhaps one of the reasons why they are so big.

Few Interesting Clydesdale Horse Facts

The Clydesdale horse has been one of the most promising draft horses and has been observed to be employed since the pre-industrial era to agriculturists and warfare.

We thought of unearthing a few interesting facts about the Clydes. So, here we go with the interesting aspects that Clydesdale horses can offer you:

The Closing Thoughts

As we have found out, the Clydesdale horses have been an excellent choice for the hard and heavy work. While you may not find many of them, these breeds have indeed been one of the best choices when it comes to carrying considerable loads in the rough terrains. Of course, they can be quite costly when you compare them to the other breeds; we would still consider them one of the best companions if you are looking out for something that really offers a high degree of performance.