which are one of the oldest driving horses are on the rare breed critical list,
there are as quoted in the nags mags mag a little mag that covers driving a lot
saying that there’s only about 500 pure breds in the world,
Cleveland Bays are now on sparks-- a single population animal records keeping system
i didnt know where to put this little bit of an article but as the Cleveland bay was mainly used as a driving horse and was at one time, the horse that everyone relied on, thought that the driving forum was the best bet,
quote - Article written by hilary britton
A horse with a history and a future
My Biggest concern whilse writing this was that it would be just another article
about a rare breed which leaves the reader feeling rather depressed and disinterested
With this in mind i aim instead to " sew a seed" in the hope that someone else out there might be inspired and consider thier options when buying there next warmblood
i worry this title of “rare breed” is a self fullfilling prophecy
the UNSUNG HEROES OF BRITISH HISTORY
the Cleveland bay is is Britain’s oldest breed, originating from Cleveland.
North Yorkshire, they date back as far as the middle ages. Where a clean legged sturdy
bay coloured horse developed they became known as " The Chapman- horse"
where they were used to carry goods,by travelling salesman of the same name.
They were refined over the centuries into a strong but athletic ride and drive animal
that could go hunting but could still plough the land and pull carts,
the same requirements that were sculpted the more widely known breeds ie
Oldenburg, Hanoverian , Trackehner, Gelderlander, Holsteiner etc,
Being as ancient as it is the Cleveland Bay can actually be found in all the acestories
in all the above breeds.
As roads improved there was a need for a bigger and faster animal and thoroughbred
blood was introduced, The Cleveland Bay adopted yet another name being the
“Yorkshire coach horse” although still true to type both the bloodier coach horse as well as the sturdier “Chapman” stamp is still apparent in breeds today.
During the 1800’s the trend for coaching horses opened up an export market, The cleveland
was used in Europe and thousands were sold to America
the Next century was not so kindand sadly the Cleveland,s lost there lives on the battle field
of the 1st world war.
They were then driven near to extinction in the 1960’s due to the use of modern
transport fortunately Queen Elizabeth 11 gave so much needed support and began using
the Cleveland’s they are still used in ceremonial duties to this day.
it also quotes-
thorough generations of traditional breeding we have lost much of the cleveland bays genetic
meterial.Given the small population this is scarey, intelligent breeding of the cleveland is paramount of the future.
One thing not helping i the cuase of the cleveland bay has with some nagative reputation
stubborn, aggressive, are descriptions used
from talking to other sand own experiences have found that they are basically intelligent
and if they mistrust you they will question your judgement having said that once you gain there trust they will walk through hell for you. Hence why they used them in years gone by as a stoic war horses and police horses.
Its sad that people even judge them as a breed given how few there are around these days
i cannot see how an opnion can be fairly formed. it begs the question that if they were not
" trainable" why on earth would people have continued breeding for centuries
especially when in days gone by the horses wasnt just a leisure it was a daily necesity
the Cleveland bay - are 16-16.2hh
bay with black points . black mane tail and legs and no white beyond a very small star
the feet must be in best should be blue in colour
i know Thomas gets the mag sometimes i know he has Cleveland bays i also have had partbred and x breds with Clevelands they are an eceptional horse to work with
even though i have only had part breds i didn’t realise how close to extinction they are
until i read the the aritcle
i always knew they had a lot to do with history and 1st world wars etc and some were shipped to Africa of which none returned
and i think its sad that this true general all rounder hat is so versitle in both ridden and driven- has to be on a rare breeds list
Thomas you must know more about clevelands i bet
)