09/04/2020
Cleveland Bay horses were selected for strength, speed, soundness, and stamina, qualities needed for long distance transport, farm work, and riding over rough terrain.
Developed in Yorkshire, England from a foundation of native horses with some addition, the Cleveland Bay takes its name from the local Vale of Cleveland and its “Bay” color (reddish brown with black points).
Cleveland Bays are always bay in color with no white markings except an occasional small star. They stand 16-17 hands and weigh 1,200-1,500 pounds. They have well-muscled hindquarters, sloping shoulders, and dense bone. Sound, durable feet are characteristic, as is a calm disposition.
Two hundred years of pure breeding created a genetically consistent breed, unique among medium weight breeds known as warmbloods, which have extensive Thoroughbred blood. This distinction gives it excellent hybrid vigor in a cross and Cleveland Bay stallions are often bred to Thoroughbred mares to produce sport horses, combining the best qualities of each.
The breed became rare in the 1900s when mechanization eliminated demand for farm, coach, and road horses. The growing market for sport horses proved problematic because lighter and faster Cleveland Bay crossbreds had more value than purebreds. Crossbreeding nearly caused the purebreed to become extinct. By 1960, only six purebred Cleveland Bay stallions remained alive. The British royal family and others helped conserve the breed.
The breed was imported to the U. S. in the early 1800s. The Cleveland Bay Society of America was founded in 1885, with over 2,000 horses registered by 1907. Buffalo Bill Cody drove a hitch of four Cleveland Bay stallions in his Wild West Show. The breed’s fortunes waxed and waned, however, and the society became dormant. It was reestablished in 1985 and the numbers of horses and breeders in North America are increasing.
http://bit.ly/ClevelandBay
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