Monday, September 27, 2010

Strong and graceful creatures...

More photos from the Great Northern Exhibition.  One of my favourite things is watching the Horse Pull.    The first three photos are from the "light class" of horses; they were lovely, helped by the fact the sun was shining at that time.






 Here are the larger class horses.
 Here they are putting more weights on the sled. 
The winning pair of horses pulled 8,900 lbs, and they pulled that for well over 60 feet.


I didn't realize that Belgians were originally used to pull lumber out of the bush/forest.  Prior to coming to Canada, the only large horse I was familiar with were Shire Horses

9 comments:

JohnD said...

Absolutely love horses - especially the Cydesdales and Belgians - Beautiful creatures.

Did you know that Australia has now its own official breed of horse - The Waler - bred from many horses imported to the colony as a remount horse for the British army in India. They are a stand-alone 'classic breed' and took part in the last great cavalry charge , made by the men and horses of the Australian Light Horse at Beersheba against superior and entranched Turkish forces.

Here's a link if you want to have a look at their history:

http://www.walerhorse.com/whsa/

MyBulletinBoard said...

Wow! Think I'd rather have a pony!

Jane and Chris said...

I love Shire horses! It seems to me, the bigger the horse the gentler it is.
Jane x

Stephanie V said...

That's the show I always want to see at our exhibition. It's the draft horses, every time! They are so beautiful and strong.
Now, my father was a harness racing fan. These were the horses that he would always stop to watch when they practiced.

Rose said...

I am enjoying your series...I have never been to a horse pull but I think I would really enjoy it.

Sandi McBride said...

Such beautiful creatures, I love the draft horses particularly the Clydesdales. Those and Sheep Dogs, how intelligent God made these creatures! Thanks for sharing, Gill!
Sandi

DeniseinVA said...

Horses are amazing animals Gill and your photos of these are great. I'm back from my holiday and am glad to be visiting again. Have a great week.
An English Girl Rambles

Karine said...

I am a total horse lover! I took six years of riding (dressage) lessons and still dream that I'm riding some nights. I have a soft spot for Clydesdales and Belgians, they are truly gently giants :o)

Canadian Saver said...

Love these photos, they remind me of Babe, our Belgian... although she's no longer doing any type of hauling/showing.

{{{SIGH}}}

Tuesday was a mixed bag type of day. Had the appliance repair guy come again to install another circuit board in the fridge.  When hubby got...