Famed Budweiser team to make stops in county
By Matt Caulder
Published in News on May 14, 2013 1:46 PM
Before the Budweiser Clydesdales kick off the summer Center Street Jam concert series in the Waynesborough House parking lot Thursday, they will make an appearance at the Walmart in Rosewood Wednesday.
Eight of the Budweiser "gentle giants" will be hitched to the Budweiser beer wagon from 5 to 7 p.m..
At the concert Thursday, the Clydesdales will make their way down Center Street and back pulling the red beer wagon starting at 5 p.m.
Band of Oz will play at Thursday's Jam.
Clydesdales have been a symbol for Anheuser-Busch since 1933 and make hundreds of appearances each year.
They were originally used to pull the wagons to make beer deliveries.
Each eight-horse hitch also travels with a Dalmatian. The dogs were originally trained to protect the horses and the beer while the driver was inside making deliveries.
Horses chosen to join the Clydesdales hitch must be at least 3 years old and stand approximately 18 hands high or six feet at the shoulder.
They weigh an average of 2,000 pounds, must be bay in color, have four white legs, a white spot on the face and a black mane and tail.
Because the horses interact with millions of people a year, it is very important they have a gentle temperament.
A single Clydesdale will consume 20-25 quarts of feed, 40-50 pounds of hay and 30 gallons of water per day.
The Budweiser Clydesdales can be seen at the Anheuser-Busch breweries in St. Louis, in Merrimack, N.H. and Ft. Collins, Colo.
The horses can also be seen at a 300-acre breeding farm near Boonville, Mo.