Wanderings and Side Trips travel blog

The Budweiser Clydesdale Hitch

The drivers and the Dalmation

The clean up crew

Wes was having a great time :-)

Mr. Photogenic and his handler

Jan with Mr. Photogenic

This gives new meaning to "pony tail"

French braiding the mane

Even the feet are groomed - "feathered"

One of three semi trucks for transporting horses and their gear

It's a long reach to bridle these horses

It takes a big guy to carry the harness

This one is being a little onery

One ready

Two in place

Waiting his turn

Third one ready

Looking for the camera

Ah - there it is

Little Baz

His legs are so long, he can hardly eat

Sunny with Baz

This one is more my size

You called?

Think I'll try some hay

Lunch time


Horses, that is. Sunny has a new baby colt named Baz here at her farm. We have been having a lot of fun playing with him. You can see the horse's pen from the kitchen window and I have spent a lot of time just watching Baz and his mom. What a treat to have that view every day!

And the Budweiser Clydesdales are in town! We drove down to Hutchison, KS earlier in the week to see them at a local shopping center. They are participating in several festivals etc. in this area this week. Today, they came to McPherson to kick off their annual May Day festival. All the schools and a lot of businesses are closed for this local holiday. We were able to catch the action as the horses were unloaded and fitted with all their gear and hitched to the beer wagon. Then they paraded down Main Street. They were on display in another shopping center here as they were unhitched etc. and loaded up for their trip back to Hutchison.

These are beautiful horses. Full grown they weigh about 2000 to 2300 pounds. In order to be included in a Budweiser hitch, they have to be a certain appearance - bay colored, white blaze on the face, black mane and tail and most important, white feathering on all four legs and feet. Their manes are french braided with red and white ribbons. Their tails are also braided and decorated with ribbons and flowers. Each horse has a custom fitted leather harness. It takes 5 hours to prepare them for an appearance.

They travel in a caravan of 3 custom-built semi truck trailers, with thick rubber flooring, air suspension and vent fans. Two carry the horses and the third one transports the beer wagon and all their harnesses, feed, portable stalls and other gear. I really wanted to be able to see the inside of one of their trucks, but they (the handlers) were not allowing that.

I had my photo taken with one of the horses while we were in Hutchison. His handler told us he was "Mr. Photogenic". He loves the camera and poses for pictures. He was very cooperative with all the people around him in Hutchison. He was the third horse hitched up to the wagon while we watched in McPherson. Sure enough, as soon as he was in place, he looked around for the cameras. It made it very easy to get some nice shots. When he hears the camera click, he looks right at you.

This would be a dream job for me - working as part of the team with these fantastic horses. Wonder if they hire Workampers? :-) Wes, on the other hand, was pretty bored with the whole thing. But then, I am pretty bored with all the car shows he wants to attend. It's a good thing that we have "trade offs".

Bookmark and Share