They used to come every year to the St. Patrick's celebration and parade my old Alma Mater had. Now, THAT'S A HORSE! I'm smitten also with Percherons. Have a distant relative who raises them. All horses are noble.......but there is something very basic and primal about a work horse. Power and confidence just exudes from their sinews.

One of the teams was at the Keller Festival a couple of years ago. Got this picture then.

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I can't even imagine the training these horses must have to accomodate parade routes with all the noises, surprises and distractions. If you've never had horses, they have an inborn aversion to crossing water, bridges. They also take off when spooked by noises like firecrackers. You have to train them to do it confidently and trust them ........ a lot.

When I lived in a little rural village, we didn't get mail service and had to go to the post office to pick up mail. I rode my horse once and had to cross an old creakity one lane bridge across a large stream. Midway across, a car just zooms over the bridge past me and the rectums inside thought it would be a good idea to honk as they passed us. It's a wonder to this day the horse didn't jump the rails over the side with me on her. We have a large Amish community here and the way the English approach horse traffic is very scary. Not a year goes by there isn't some sort of fatality concerning cars and buggies. I guess people just don't know any better.

No matter what the promotional schedule is, there are always a pair at the brewery in St. Louis so the tourists can see them. If you've never seen them in person, it's hard to understand how massive they are.

My favorite of the Clydesdale's was when old Augie Busch II was still alive. Every year for the opening day of the baseball Cardinals, he'd drive a beer wagon pulled by 6 Clydesdale's around the stadium as part of the opening day festivities. The crowd always loved it.

When we lived in E TX, someone in White Oak had a ranch with some and we would drive out that way to see them.
vickie

These horses are magnificent. Suzy, horses are very strange and skittish. I think they're color blind but one of my friends says that her horse is spooked by anything blue, especially blue plastic!

Percherons were brought to this area in the 1800's and there's a large history built around that breed. The Garfield Farm Museum has a rare breed show every year and there's someone who brings Shires - WOW. They are huge dreamy white draft horses that look like something out of a fairytale. They braid their manes which makes them look even more the part.

They also had a Suffolk Punch horse and a Friesien (sp?).

My friend has two Paints - one of which has special markings on his side which make him a "spirit horse" among the Indians. Only the chief or spiritual leader would have been allowed to ride him.