Cleveland Bay

The Cleveland Bay is an English breed of horses which have their origins in the Middle Ages, but is often also dated earlier. It is often referred to as Old Cleveland Bay to make it better from the New Cleveland Bay - also known as Yorkshire Coach Horse - delineate.

Background information on the evaluation and breeding horses can be found at: exterior, interior and horse breeding.

Exterior

Cleveland Bays are always brown in all shades, the legs are black, the hooves black and blue. White stars or flames on the forehead are possible but undesirable for growers. The Cleveland Bay is a large framed horse with harmonious proportions, a refined head, with its relatively short, powerful legs show an expansive gaits and excellent jumping ability. Its shoulder height is about 162-172 cm.

Interior

The Cleveland Bay is considered persistent and left.

Breeding history

In the Middle Ages in North Riding, the northeastern part of Yorkshire, including the District Cleveland heard bred a brown, strong packhorse. The breeding of this horse, the so-called " Chapmen Horse " ( engl. = Chapman traveling salesman ) was primarily made ​​in monasteries, since the rural population Yorshires had neither money nor material to operate the complex breeding. With the development of trade, in particular the livestock trade in the port of Whitby, the blood of the native mares with Andalusian horse breeds and crossed Chapmen Horses were faster and more elegant in appearance due to the genetic material of the Spanish horses.

At the end of the 17th century, the Cleveland Bay was developed, whose main characteristics have been preserved until today. Since the Cleveland Bay was both strong and fast, he had the ideal conditions to ensure driving carts to supply the growing cities. With the population growth there was a need for more and faster transportation, was the basis of the development of rural roads. To satisfy these requirements, faster thoroughbreds were bred, and a new breed of horse developed: the New Cleveland Bay or Yorkshire Coach Horse. This was also opposed the need for a fast and elegant carriage horse.

The strong demand in Europe and in the United States after the Cleveland Bay in 1885 led to the founding of the Cleveland Bay Horse Society to organize the now significant breeding better. As early as 1886 split the Yorkshire Coach Horse Society from her, as it were ambitions within the Society, the Coach Horse completely stay out of the stud book. With the advent of the automobile and the expansion of the railway, the demand fell to coach horses. First, the Coach Horse suffered from this development, as the automobile as a status symbol had a higher value. In 1937, the breeding of the Coach Horse was so far back that the stud book had to be closed, and the remaining breeders who joined the Cleveland Bay Horse Society again.

With the end of World War II almost would also be the original breed, the Old Cleveland Bay, extinct, since agricultural machines were larger and more efficient, and always have been nor needed to transport for field work horses. Since the Cleveland Bay Horse Society despite the lack of demand held to a strong coach and workhorse of the old breeding guidelines and never drew a Umzucht to the sport horse into consideration, the stock in 1960 dropped to about 200 mares and only four stallions. Here it is largely thanks to Elizabeth II that the breed survived and today again enjoying increasing popularity. She bought the stallion Mulgrave Supreme, which was originally intended for sale into the United States. Mulgrave Supreme sired more than 20 male offspring, of which a large part was licensed. The breed is however still highly endangered.