Shires and Clydesdales

 I just wanted to emphasize something...

I've copied the part about the height from a british encyclopedia about their own horse breeds, and as both Shires and Clydesdales are british breeds, I think that the given standard is the accurate.

While the American Shire and American Clydesdale Association allow and actually prefer bigger ones, in european stud books you wont find them. Needles to say that the British don't approve of making these horses bigger and bigger (for whatever reason) because they see it as changing something that has a set standard which has been the same for ages, which represents their national treasure and as such, it shouldn't be touched.

For example, the Clydesdale is a breed that exists for more than 300 years, why changing it now?!

 Good point kaluha.  I've been reading on this quit a lot and picking the brains of the horsey people I know!  Sounds like the lines between the two breeds in America have been blurred a bit, which is why some people would have seen really tall Clydes.... or horses that could have been either "breed".

kaluha

 I just wanted to emphasize something...

I've copied the part about the height from a british encyclopedia about their own horse breeds, and as both Shires and Clydesdales are british breeds, I think that the given standard is the accurate.

While the American Shire and American Clydesdale Association allow and actually prefer bigger ones, in european stud books you wont find them. Needles to say that the British don't approve of making these horses bigger and bigger (for whatever reason) because they see it as changing something that has a set standard which has been the same for ages, which represents their national treasure and as such, it shouldn't be touched.

For example, the Clydesdale is a breed that exists for more than 300 years, why changing it now?!

You're in Europe, I'm in the US.  I made no comment as to what I thought was the right or wrong thing to do, only commented that here, they can be bigger.  Nor was I criticizing your description, merely adding to it.

spiritdogs

You're in Europe, I'm in the US.  I made no comment as to what I thought was the right or wrong thing to do, only commented that here, they can be bigger.  Nor was I criticizing your description, merely adding to it.

I know that... I wanted to explain where did I get the given description of their height.

And don't be offended, I didn't mean to offend you, or anyone else, but I am a bit sensitive about this theme. I just don't get it why do people try to change something what is/was the basic characteristic of a breed.

I'll give you a different example...

Do you know the Haflinger? A hardy mountain pony from the Austrian Alps? Well, the standard says they should be up to 14 hands. No more. Nowadays, you can hardly see a Haflinger that resembles the standard. People are trying to make them look more like some light horse breeds, and they are insisting on giving them more height. And then, when a buyer comes and looks at the real Haflingers, horses that are completely in the standard, born and raised in Austria, he says "But I haven't seen any Haflinger that looks like this, are you certain he is one?"... And he wont buy it... 

Next, every year I go to see Fierra di Cavalli in Verona, Italy. It is the biggest european horse show. As I adore desert breeds, I'm always where the Arabs, Barbs and Akhal Tekes are. I remember how one year, a sheik (from Bahrain I think, I'm not certain though) looked at all the beautiful euoropean and US Arabs, and said "The only arabian thing on these horses is their tack". As simple as that, he said it all... Those horses are now so far from what a real Arab once was. A small, muscular, sure-footed horse with great stamina and an ability to adapt to every type of environment and climate. Oh yes, and once, only some lines had the jibbah profile. Look at them now...

I could go on and on... But I'll repeat my question, why do people have the need to change everything? If you say that you love a breed (horses, dogs, doesn't matter), that means you love it for all the things it represents, it's looks, it's temperament, it's history and you don't go changing it! That's how I think, just my modest opinion... 

I'f you love Haflingers, you'll buy a Haflinger, not a light, 14.5 to 15 hands tall horse. If that's no good for you, buy a Palomino instead...

p.s. I'm not talking about crossbreeds now...