Budweiser Clydesdales Visit Fort Collins [Video] [Pictures]

The famous Budweiser Clydesdales were in Fort Collins this weekend. We were eating nearby their Saturday night stop, so we decided to go see what a horse "appearance" was like. We stood around watching the team of handlers dress the 8 horses with tons of fancy equipment brought out of one of three huge, fancy Budweiser semi trailers. They hitched them to a beautiful wagon with two drivers and a Dalmatian dog. We left realizing that these are indeed celebrity horses and the ones that get to tour are the best of the best. It was pretty cool. The Budweiser Clydesdales first made an appearance in 1933 to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition. There are hundreds of Clydesdales bred and raised at stables owned by Anheuser-Busch, but the selection process for touring is very strict.

According to Wikipedia:

To qualify for one of the hitches, a Budweiser Clydesdale must be a gelding with an even temperament and strong, draft horse appearance,^[4] be at least four years old, stand at least 18 hands (72 inches, 183 cm) at the withers when fully mature, and weigh between 1,800 and 2,300 pounds (820 and 1,000 kg). In addition, each horse must be bay in color (a reddish-brown coat with a black mane and tail), have four white stocking feet, and a blaze of white on the face.^[8]