Meet Mairi the Clydesdale

Mairi has now joined the payroll of the Farm. This favourite is a little different, she stands 1.83 metres to the shoulder and weighs in at just under a tonne, yet is only 10 years of age. She is of course Mairi the resident Clydesdale, who was gifted, unbroken, to the museum.

Since arriving at the museum Mairi has progressed well, building her confidence from being first put into long reigns in readiness for her being broken to harness.  It was always the plan to have her demonstrating working activities on the farm.Now she has come of age and is starting to earn her keep.

Horse power at Harvest Festival

We saw the historic working horse engine in operation for the very first time since the museum opened, this was at our Harvest Festival event in September 2009.

Mairi was attached to it, to demonstrate how the horse engine operated and how it powered the stationary threshing mill in the barn. A gear wheel turned by the horse rotates a drive shaft which operates the stationary mill. The engine itself dates back to the 1860s.   

Also demonstrated that day was the ¾ size mobile threshing mill which was powered by a Massey Fergusson 35 tractor. It brought the working farm to life and a reminder of the era when the heavy horse gave way to the tractor.

The stationary mill at the working farm has been freed off and we intend to demonstrate this at next year's event using our home grown oats. 

Paid in carrots

Our new employee does not work for free, as payment for a hard days work she gets her favourite treat in her feed, half a bag of carrots!

The Clydesdale Breed

The Clydesdale horse is a native breed which comes from Lanarkshire.  The breed dates back to the 18th century when native horses of Lanarkshire were bred with Flemish stallions in an effort to produce greater weights and substance.

At its peak in the first decade of 20^th century, Scotland had around 140,000 farm horses plus an unknown number in towns and cities, most of which were Clydesdales in whole or part. Clydesdales were conscripted by the army to serve in World War I.  The conditions prevailing in Britain during the World War II however necessitated the agricultural industry producing ever greater quantities and this could only be achieved by extensive use of the tractor. Sadly, horses were replaced by mechanical power . During the 1960s and 1970s the Clydesdale was recognised by the Rare Breed Survival Trust as “vulnerable”. Over the years and with the increase in breed numbers, it is now categorised as “at risk”.

Qualities of the Clydesdale

Male or female, a Clydesdale should look handsome, weighty and powerful.

• Hoofs must be wide and springy.
• Hair covering hoofs should be silky.
• Forelegs must be planted closely together.
• Hindlegs must be planted closely together.
• Head should have a nice open forehead, broad between the eyes, a flat profile, wide muzzle, large nostrils,  a bright intelligent eye, big ears and an arched long neck.
• The back should be short and strong.
• Colours most common are bay and brown with white markings but blacks, greys and roans and chestnuts are occasionally seen.

Clydesdales today

The popularity of the Clydesdale in the 1990s is growing continually. Although there are only approximately 700 registered brood mares in the United Kingdom and about 100 registered stallions, more and more people are using Clydesdales not just for showing and driving, but for farm work, horse logging and even riding.

People with a love of the Clydesdale are not only rediscovering the uses of the breed, but with the skills needed for working these animals, including harness making and shoeing, traditions which began more than a hundred years are being kept alive.