Clydesdales as a breed are going strong here in the North-east, and we at Aberdeenshire Heritage (the Aberdeenshire Council Museum Service) have some of the early stud books.
The travelling stallion would be a high-quality pedigree stallion awarded a 'premium' - which meant that he would be subsidised by the Clydesdale Horse Society or similar and his 'covering fee' would be affordable for farmers to breed their cart mares. The horse would travel a well-publicised route, and any farmers wishing to breed their mare would be able to tell when he was in the area. This was to encourage the breeding of solid, sturdy, long-lived and healthy work animals of a decent type. The little pony was often used as a companion for these rather solitary creatures. The stallion man and his charge would be a common sight throughout Britain from the mid-19th century right through to after the Second World War, walking the roads of britain. In England it would be the Shire and the Suffolk Punch, with perhaps a Breton, Percheron or a Flemish stallion here and there, and in Wales more often than not it would be a big, sturdy Welsh Cob.
The list of Clydesdale premiums was listed every year in the society transactions, so if you contact me at
Helen.Chavez[at]aberdeenshire.gov.uk
I'll see what we can do - and if we can't help, perhaps we mgiht be able to put you in touch with someone who can.
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