How Old is Oz?
He is 6 years old, as of 2008.
What breed is Ozzy?
He is a purebred Clydesdale, with incrediable bloodlines.
How tall is Ozzy?
He is 18hh
How much does Ozzy weigh?
Last time we went over the scales in May he was approx 1850 lbs
How do you get on him?
I use a step stool or someone has to give me a boost. Which is why we don't often trail ride by ourselves.
Is it expensive to shoe him?
We have an INCREDIABLE farrier, Dean Sinclair, who is not only the best farrier, but a fair priced farrier as well - Lets just say its not much more then what others pay to shoe their light horses.
How do you lift his feet to clean them?
Ozzy has had his feet handled since I owned him, which most draft horses do not do. Due to this Ozzy is a very good boy for both me and his farrier, he stands still and if you put your hand on his leg around the fetlock and say "FOOT" he knows to lift his foot.
Why a Clydesdale?
I have grown up with thoroughbreds, arabians, quarter horses. But after 911 I relized life was just too short to do things half way, why spend money, time and a great deal of heart and sweat on breeds I wasn't passionate about. I always loved Clydesdales and once I found out that you could ride them I couldn't be persuaded to not buy a Clyde.
How much does Ozzy eat?
His barn manager/coach could best answer that question now, but as of 2007 when he was on my farm, he ate no more then a light horse. In fact he eats less then some of our light horses. He ate then 15 lbs of hay in the am and 15 lbs of hay in the pm, with enough beet pulp to put his suppliment in. Remember its all about metabolism. Think about teen age boys and their dad, a lot of times the teenage will eat double what their father eats, despite the fact that their dad outweighs them.
How do you find tack to fit him?
Over the past few months we've had a saddle that didn't fit Oz, as I thought he needed an extra wide saddle. As of the past couple of weeks we have found out that he takes a regular saddle size equivelant to a Warmblood or TB. His bridle, halter, and blankets though have to be specially ordered in. He currently takes a 90+ sized blanket.
Can Clydesdales jump?
I'm not sure if ALL clydesdales can jump, or should jump, but Ozzy can and loves it. I was never interested in jumping prior to buying Ozzy. We used jumps to work on his canter, and it was at that time we relized that he loves to jump. If given a choice to go around, refuse or go over a jump, it takes all your strength to keep him off the jumps. Ozzy's coach and myself are very aware of his limitation, his size and such, which is why you will never see Ozzy jumping every weekend at a show, and we also have an idea of a height limitation, regardless if Oz believes us or not. Oz's health and safety is always forefront on our minds and we will never push him or allow him to go to something that will put him at risk.