The superbowl Clydesdale commercial reminded me of this. Once, while working at USCENTCOM/Tampa I went over to  Busch Gardens, its only a couple miles away.

In the park there was a team of Clydesdales. I've seen a fair number of horses here in Va. but those Clydesdales are BIG horses. Anybody ever have any real experience with these creatures?

Here a pic from the Bud/fun web site.

[img]http://www.budweiser.com/fun/wallpaper/clydes/clyd_15.jpg[/img]

I've seen the bud team in about a dozen parades.  I've seen some sort of coffee company with one too

I've been to St Louis a couple of times and once at the Bud Brewery the horses were in and one of the stable hands put my little girl, Emily, up on "Emily".  She, my daughter was only 4 or 5 at the time.

I had an uncle that had a Percheron and I remember my older brother, my older sister and myself all on that "pony" as my uncle called her, at the same time.  We would ride her through the field corn that seemed 10 foot tall at the time and the tasles would be tickling the horses belly.  Just sitting on her made it seem like you were doing the splits.

I love the horse pulling contests come fair time.  These creatures are some of the best mannered, mildest dispositioned animals on the face of the Earth,.....until you put a sled behind them.  They will seem like they're half asleep walking up to the rig but as soon as they get their 2 tons of ass pointed to it they turn into a totally different animal. Their eyes go wide and you can see the red.  They start to pant and blow snot out their nose.  The handler will give a "shshship" and they lunge with a force that makes the ground shake.  They leap and strain and dig and pull that makes you wonder, why did man ever need a John Deere.  The handler will give a "HEY" and they are transformed back into a half asleep docile creature that you can sit under to get out of the sun.

If I ever had a horse it would be one of these gentle giants.

I used to drive a team of belgians, I love draft horses.  

I used to see the Budweiser Clydesdales every Mardi Gras.  They were always in Bacchus's parade.  And you're right, those are some big horses, especially when you are standing right next to them.

They definitely are BIG and impressive horses.  Not to demean this post, but a couple of years ago, I was at an annual fair called "The Big E" in West Springfield, MA, with my girlfriend and while standing next to a few of these massive horses and admiring their presence, one of them began to urinate, but not until it had fully extended it's MAMMOTH member.  Boy, I never thought of myself as "small", but this was one of the more humbling experiences I've ever had.

That WOULD explain their mild disposition, now wouldn't it?   I mean, why would anyone have a reason to have a bad disposition with he's got equipment like THAT?  [shock][:I]

Beautiful animals for sure, though. Makes me want to look up the record for the world's largest/heaviest horse, though, just for the curiosity of it.  

CJ

Draft horses are one of the most beautiful examples of natures heavy equipment. Beautiful. Just plain powerful!!

My family and I saw them at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix a few years back. We had just left the gun show and were headed back to our truck, when a security guard asked us if we would like to see the Budweiser Clydesdales. He pointed to where they were being kept and told us to tell the handlers that he had sent us. I knew they were big horses, but up close, they were huge! My kids were truly amazed.

coyote3

Roger that, I"m only 5'11" so if Stiker is looking up at Clydesdales then I'm staring straight up at the sky! There so really big and heavy I approached them with caution, but they seemed very gentle.

My wifes Uncle used to breed them.  Quite a few of them ended up as members of the Bud team.

HUGE!!!! does not quite cover it.