More Horses

Laura, tour guide extraordinaire, found us a tour that would appeal to everyone in the group from oldest to youngest.  She took us on a private behind-the-scenes tour of the Clydedale Operations at Grants Farm in St. Louis.

On the tour we learned that Clydesdales that become part of the eight horse wagon pulling team have to meet stringent physical and behavioral qualifications.  They have to be a gelding, weigh around 1800 pounds, have a white blaze down their nose as well as a black mane and tail.

They also have to have an even temperament.  Geldings begin their training between one and two years of age.  Some of the first things they must do is acclimate to people- both stablehands and the general public.  We got to help the young horses practice these skills.  

One of the reasons the horses have to be a certain size is that they will be pulling a very heavy wagon in many public appearances.  The harness and collar (custom made for each horse) together weigh approximately 130 pounds.  Here Sela demonstrates the custom collar fit.

It was definitely the second best activity to choose to end Sela and Eli's two week vacation.  

The top activity for our group is a visit to Cici's Pizza.  Everyone enjoys that.  

So we did both activities on Andy, Sela and Eli's very last day in St. Louis.  However, no time to be sad at their leaving.  We will see them in a month at the wedding.