| Scientific
Classification History
and Distribution
Physical
Characteristics
Senses
Behavior
Diet and Eating Habitats
Birth and Care of Young
Longevity and
Causes of Death
The Anheuser-Busch
Clydesdale Teams
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- A. Diet preference
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- All horses are herbivores (plant eaters). In their natural environment, they almost
constantly graze.
- Clydesdales are fed hay and feed. The feed is a mixture of beet pulp, oats, bran,
minerals, salt, molasses and water.
B. Diet amount
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- Each Clydesdale consumes approximately 20 quarts (19 l) of
feed, 40 to 50 lb. (18 - 23 kg) of hay and 30 gallons
(114 l) of water every day.
- Each Clydesdale on a hitch team is fed grain twice a day and hay four to seven times per
day. They are given water every two hours.
C. Method of grazing
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- Highly prehensile lips gather food and work with the sharp front teeth when cropping
grass.
- The tongue pulls food to the back teeth.
D. Dentition
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- Depending upon the breed, horses have 40 to 48 teeth that continually grow throughout
their lifetime.
- Cheek teeth have high crowns for grinding. This grinding breaks plant cell walls to
release the digestible contents.
- Rear teeth have table-like surfaces crossed by ridges that form a grinding surface
between the upper and lower jaw. The jaw moves in a sweeping transverse motion, in
contrast to the more up and down motion of other mammals such as humans.
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