On a roll...

Pete's end of the day ritual. (It kinda negates the bath, but, hey, if it makes him feel good, I can groom a little more in the morning.)

Mark your calendars...

Teddy and Noodle are going to be on TV. On FOX primetime, no less.

Yes, that's right. At long last, Teddy and Noodle (and Trump the Movie Star, of course) are going to make their debut in episode 103 of New Amsterdam on Monday night (March 10) at 9 PM. Keep an eye out for them, along with our restored Brougham carriage, carriage #8, and its stunt double, carriage #17.

I watched the pilot episode last night (101). The show's really not that bad. In fact, it's at least half good. It may even be very good. So maybe New Amsterdam will get renewed and Trump can have his hoped-for on-going appearances as a New York City carriage horse.

You can catch episode 102 on Thursday night at 9, too.

And, no, you don't need to write Fox and tell them that the scene with Teddy and Noodle is historically inaccurate, because it's set in 1816 or thereabouts, and Percherons weren't imported into this country until 1839. We did our best! Teddy and Noodle were the only ones for the job. (Buzz did not appreciate his understudy role to Trump in Manhattan.)

Is that a Clydesdale?

Tom is not a Clydesdale.

I get asked a lot if the horse I'm driving is a Clydesdale. This usually happens when I'm out on the breaking cart with a big horse like Tom, and the size of the carriage and height of the belgian-block sidewalk doesn't distort the size of the horse and make him look smaller. I cheerfully reply that no, Tom is not a Clydesdale, he's a Belgian, or that Rex is not a Clydesdale, he's a Percheron.

I'm then met with, "So, he's not big enough to be a Clydesdale, eh?"

Not big enough?

Tom is pushing 19 hands tall. (That's nearly 6'4" at the withers.) And while he's all legs, and we haven't had him on a scale recently, I'd be willing to bet he weighs close to 2000 lbs. He wears a size 8 shoe.

Rex, one of our Percherons, is somewhere around 18.2hh or 18.3hh, and probably weighs in the neighborhood of 2200 lbs. Rex wears a 9.

I was driving Tom one day a couple of weeks ago, and a tourist walked past the carriage stand. Tom was pretty much the only horse there, and the tourist remarked, "You all don't use very big horses, do you?" This was not a sarcastic or tongue-in-cheek remark; it was made with all seriousness. I laughed and told the gentleman that Tom was "The Tallest Horse in Town" and gave him his measurements. The tourist mulled this over for a minute, then commented. "But he's not as big as a Clydesdale, right? The Clydesdales are much bigger."

Well, ladies and gentlemen, let's set the record straight: Clydesdales, like Belgians and Percherons are a breed, not type or color or size, of horse. They come in a wide range of sizes (just like people). But, since most people, when they say "Clydesdale" are refering to the Budweiser Clydesdales, let's talk about what it takes to be a (Budweiser) Clydesdale:

The Clydesdales must be geldings, 4 years of age or older, and be 18 hh (6 feet at the withers) and between 1800 and 2300 lbs. They must be bay with white stockings and a full white blaze. They must also be, uh, Clydesdales. (Sorry Donkey...)



Anyway, you can read more "Frequently Asked Questions" and see lots of "simply marvelous" photos of the Budweiser Clydesdales, over at Simply Marvelous - The Wonderful World of Horses.

It's also worth noting that while there are the Budweiser Clydesdales, there are also the Coors Belgians and the Pabst Blue Ribbon Percherons.

And I shall go to work, driving my draft horses that aren't Clydesdales, but are just as powerful and beautiful superstars in my book. Even if they haven't been in any commercials.

Yet.

Beautiful French Percherons

I was working on my links page for thedrafthorse.com, and I came across this blog. It belongs to French photojournalist Jean-Leo DUGAST. He's got some AMAZING photos of French Percherons, and now I really want his new book, "Sur les traces du cheval percheron" (On the Trail of the Percheron Horse).

Which reminds me, all of the Percherons on Dugast's page, as well as my Philadelphia colleagues--Teddy, Noodle, Lance, Carter, Rex, Prince, Trump, et al.--are all kissing cousins. All Percherons are descended from Jean le Blanc, a Percheron stallion foaled in the Perche in 1823.

Another interesting fact about Percherons in America: They were first imported to this country in 1839 by Edward Harris, of Moorestown, New Jersey. That's right across the Delaware from us in Philadelphia. So my horsie friends listed above are carrying on a long, proud tradition of Percherons in this part of the world.

Photo: Teddy modeling his Percheron-ness. This is my Percheron photojournalism--someday I'd like to take as nice photos as Dugast does.