The ancestors of this draught horse began from crossbreeding Flemish stallions with Scottish mares in the early 1800s. The species was named for the county of its origin: Clydesdale, Scotland. Lampits mare, considered the mother of the Clydesdale breed, was born in 1806. Soon afterwards, the British aggressively exported the work horse to their colonies. By the turn of the 20th century, there were over 25,000 Clydesdales in Australia. Aussies call them “the breed that built Australia.” Sadly, there are only 5,000 of these magnificent horses left in the world.
