We made a trip to Warm Springs in central MO. Home of the Clydesdales, this ranch is a top-notch operation with no lack of time, attention or love for the gentle giants.
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| This large "W" stands for Warm Springs, but it came from the old Budweiser sign in St. Louis. |
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| This is the front of the Clydesdale barn. Isn't it impressive? | | | | |
More than 70 Clydesdales make their home on the 300+ acres of rolling hills in the middle of nowhere. This property was established in 2008 and serves as the headquarters for the Budweiser Clydesdale breeding operations. Formerly located in California, it moved here to be closer to the St. Louis headquarters of Anheuser-Busch and maintained the same name.
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| These two photos show some of the "welcome crew" members who greet guests as they arrive. We all got out of our vehicles to snap their pictures! | | |
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| These wagons were built around the turn-of-the-century by Studebaker Corporation, before they produced cars. Teams of ten Clydesdales pull the wagons. | | |
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| Stan is four years old and he loves to be petted. |
As you can imagine, Clydesdales consume a lot of food. Each adult eats 25 quarts of fortified whole grains, nearly 60 pounds of hay and 30 gallons of water daily. In addition to going through a lot of food, Warm Springs goes through many horseshoes.
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| Clydesdale horseshoes measure 20 inches from end to end and weigh five pounds. |
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| The horses all had so much personality! They were interested in everybody and everything! | | | |
While we all loved seeing and touching the enormous Clydesdales, the real show-stoppers were the foals! We had the privilege of being face-to-face with the two newest babies, both of whom were born in March.
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| Henry was born March 1. | | | | | |
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| Jake was born March 19. |
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| I loved when the babies came right up to the bars to visit with us. It was so sweet! |
We knew we were going to enjoy our time with the Clydesdales and our expectations were certainly satisfied. If you are ever interested in going, you need to make reservations online or by phone. Tickets are $14/each and need to be made months in advance as they sell out quickly! All tours are guided and are available all days, but Wednesday (spring through fall).
It was a picture perfect time at Warm Springs Ranch!
