Horses with Feathers inside the Scenic Rim

Perhaps Scotty, the 7m high equine wonder, at this year's Boonah ‘Clydesdale Spectacular’ June show, will give you a clue to my blog title.  And why's he blue, do you ask? Well, June is winter ‘down-under’, and even in sunny Queensland, the mornings can get cold enough to hear the proverbial orbs from the ‘brass monkeys’ dropping onto the ground.

But let me go back several days to when I was looking through the various options for a Sunday afternoon drive, in my on-line ‘What’s on' newsletters. I purposely searched the hinterland area, inland of Brisbane and within South-East Queensland, known as the ‘Scenic Rim’, since the weather looked promisingly sunny and a drive though this region can be, well, spectacularly ‘Scenic’, with views to the end of the earth, framed by various mountain ridges, and unhampered by the heat shimmer we tend to get in the warmer months. 

The ‘Scenic Rim Clydesdale Spectacular’ advert that caught my eye featured working dogs, Scottish pipe bands, blacksmithing and wheelwright demonstrations, wood chopping, ‘billy’ boiling, whip cracking, the Friesian [horse] Performance Troupe, a harnessing demonstration, and caber tossing, but it was the chance to get up close and personal with these Clydesdale gentle giants that was the drawcard for me. My enthusiasm obviously convinced the wife, and so we were soon off on our drive through some of the most beautiful scenery that you'll find within an hour or two of Brisbane.

Once in Boonah and parked near the showgrounds we set out ‘on the hoof’ to see what this 'Spectacular' was all about, and we weren't disappointed. After walking through the perimeter tented stalls, selling anything from horse toys and tea towels to Scottish tartan and shortbread, we found ourselves surrounded by stalls with many magnificent specimens of these Scottish working horses, their harnesses and a plethora of carriages.

But let me first address the above titled ‘feathers’. It appears that ‘feathering’ is what the hair around the Clydesdale's hooves and ankles is called.  This feature was reportedly developed to help the breed cope with the extreme Scottish winter temperatures.  I remember those winters in my early days in Aberdeen and certainly could have done with some feathers in my extremities, not to mention other parts, to help me disassociate myself from those ever present ‘brass monkeys’.

Once famous as a war horse, the Clydesdale is surprisingly gentle and friendly in nature.  I guess it would need to be, in order to permit its handlers to fiddle around with its tail and hence lose its war-like want to swat flies attracted to its nether regions.

Then there's the complexly magnificent harness, carefully designed to assist this unique equine in pulling carts and carriages, ploughs and cultivators. 

The main harness components are as follows:

• Bridle - connects with the reins and permits the horse to ‘chomp on the bit’, thus permitting steering.  With all that metal in its mouth, there's no question why horses always have a long face.
• Collar and breastplate - no doubt in case of an invite to go out to dinner and the ensuing need to wear a tie to meet door entry requirements.
• Assortment of straps - brings me back to my days in private school in Scotland, when a leather strap was used by some of the more sadistic teachers across my wrists, no doubt in an attempt to 'rein me in'.
• Shafts - these are the components belonging to the cart or carriage being pulled, and not a reference to how this mighty beast procreates.

But the thrill of the day was seeing these creatures putting their energy and spirit to the task of transporting an assortment of items, including people, beer, firewood, and even confectionary.

Furthermore, these horses are capable of individually pulling a load of 200 lb to 400 lb (90 kg to 180 kg) for up to 8 hours per day, and up to an incredible 4 tons (8000 lb) for a short time. 

But perhaps the most impressive characteristic of the breed is its monstrous feet, which have been referred as being “as big as dinner plates.” Indeed they are four times bigger than a thoroughbred's and the shoes need to be affixed with special nails.  Well you know what they say about us men with big feet:

We do trip ourselves up more often.  :)

I hope that my passion for these Scots-origin creatures of power and strength may have rubbed off on you after reading this.  If not, then I guess it's a case of:

Horses for courses?

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When not researching the weird or the wonderful, the comical or the cultured, the sinful or the serious, I chase my creative side, the results of which can be seen as selected photographs of my travels on my website at:

https://ken-boddie.squarespace.com 

The author of the above, Ken Boddie, besides being a sometime poet and occasional writer, is an enthusiastic photographer, rarely leisure-travelling without his Canon, and loves to interact with other like-minded people with diverse interests.

Ken's three day work week (part time commitment) as a consulting engineer allows him to follow his photography interests, and to plan trips to an ever increasing list of countries and places of scenic beauty and cultural diversity.