Ag Minute: Draft Horses - Past, Present, and Future

There are plenty of equine events lined up for the 2026 Illinois State Fair, from rodeo nights to harness racing to a society horse show. For fairgoers interested in draft horses, there will be additional opportunities to view these magnificent animals during the Draft Horse and Pony Show, which runs August 16^th-18^th at the Coliseum, and the Draft Horse Pull, held Sunday, August 23^rd.

Draft horses are specifically bred for the ability to perform heavy work, including plowing fields and pulling substantial loads. Known for their impressive strength and calm demeanor, draft horses are easily recognizable by their massive size. A typical draft horse weighs between 1,600 to 2,400 pounds, depending on the breed, and stands nearly 6 feet tall at the shoulder. Common breeds include Belgian, Percheron, Shire, and the most well-known Clydesdale. While humans have relied on work horses since ancient times, the Clydesdale is a relatively new breed developed in Scotland in the mid-1700s, when native Scottish horses were bred with larger Flemish horses with a goal of increased strength and endurance for farm work.

The name Clydesdale is derived from the River Clyde which flows through western Scotland and Glasgow before emptying in the Atlantic Ocean. In addition to being the birthplace of the draft horse breed, the River Clyde is known as a shipbuilding powerhouse. The river served as a shipbuilding center since the 1500s, but saw a production boom in the 1800s with the invention of the steam engine. At its peak in the years before World War I, shipyards along the River Clyde produced approximately one-fifth of the world’s ships. Many famous ships were built along the river banks, including RRS Discovery which launched in 1901 for the successful British National Antarctic Expedition, the Lusitania in 1906, and the Queen Mary in 1936. Following World War II, foreign competition took a toll on ship production along River Clyde. However, in the maritime industry, the term “Clyde Built” remains synonymous with quality workmanship.

Clydesdales were exported heavily from Scotland during the mid-1800s to North America, Australia, and New Zealand. They soon became a horse of choice for farming and logging. Thousands of Clydesdales were used by the military during World War I, hauling heavy artillery guns, supply wagons, and even field ambulances. By 1917, the Allied Forces had positioned over 368,000 horses on the Western Front, the vast majority of which were draft horses. The crater-ridden, muddy terrain was not conducive to motorized transportation, which was unreliable under the best conditions. As a result, draft horses became critical to the military supply chain. Given their large size and slow-moving assignments, draft horses became prime targets for the enemy, and they suffered a large number of casualties over the course of the war.

Following World War I, the rapid expansion in the use and reliability of tractors and trucks during the 1930s reduced the need for draft horses for agriculture and hauling. About this time, Clydesdales experienced a fortunate transition in the United States with the end of Prohibition. On April 7, 1933, the Budweiser Clydesdales made their debut outside the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis, Missouri. Anheuser-Busch traces its roots back to 1857. Unlike many of its brewery counterparts, Anheuser-Busch survived Prohibition by shifting its manufacturing to focus on non-alcoholic options, including soft drinks, Bevo (a cereal based "near-beer" beverage), baking yeast, and ice cream. As a celebration of the repeal of Prohibition, August and Adolphus Busch gifted their father, August Anheuser Busch, Sr., a team of Clydesdales pulling a red, white, and gold beer wagon. The six-horse hitch proceeded to carry the first case of post-Prohibition beer from the Anheuser-Busch brewery through the streets of St. Louis to the delight of spectators. August Busch, Sr. soon recognized the advertising potential associated with the attention-grabbing team of gentle giants. He sent the hitch to the East Coast on a promotional tour that included delivering a case of Budweiser beer to the Empire State Building and to President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House. The connection between Budweiser and the Clydesdales remains to this day.

Anheuser-Busch has been instrumental both in making the Clydesdale an American icon and in promoting and preserving the breed in the U.S. The company, which owns approximately 250 Clydesdales, maintains a state of the art Clydesdale breeding facility, Warm Springs Ranch, in Boonville, Missouri. While officially based at Grant’s Farm near St. Louis, the working hitch horses spend almost ten months of the year on the road, making appearances at fairs, sporting events, and parades. A team of experts oversees the horses’ diet. According to Anheuser-Busch, each hitch horse consumes 20 to 25 quarts of whole grains, vitamins, and minerals, 50 to 60 pounds of hay, and up to 30 gallons of water on a warm day.

Given the expense to feed and upkeep large horses, it is not surprising that the population of Clydesdales and other draft horses in the United States began to decline in the 21^st Century. Recently, however, draft horses are experiencing a resurgence in connection with the rise of sustainable farming practices. As their Scottish predecessors did nearly 300 years ago, farmers seeking to integrate eco-friendly farming methods in the U.S. today have come to value draft horses for their natural ability to assist in working the land. It appears that draft horses will maintain a place in the future of agriculture and it will certainly be interesting to see how draft horse breeding evolves to meet this opportunity.