The Yorkshire Coach Horse is an extinct

horse breed A horse breed is a selectively bred population of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a broader sense to define landrace animals of a common phenotype located within a lim ...

once native to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was a large, strong, bay or brown horse with dark legs, mane and tail. It was said to be "a longer-legged carriage horse with unmatched ability for a combination of speed, style, and power" and "a tall, elegant carriage horse". With the introduction of macadamized roads, the

Cleveland Bay The Cleveland Bay is a breed of horse that originated in England during the 17th century, named after its colouring and the Cleveland district of Yorkshire. It is a well-muscled horse, with legs that are strong but short in relatio ...

horse was considered not fast enough, and as a result, some Cleveland Bays were bred to

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

horses to produce the Yorkshire Coach Horse. In 1886 a Yorkshire Coach Horse Stud Book was introduced, which contained horses that were three-quarters Cleveland Bay and one-quarter Thoroughbred. The Yorkshire Coach Horse was much in demand by the rich and royal. The late 18th century was the golden age of carriage driving. Yorkshire Coach Horses were exported all over the world to provide matched pairs and teams. During the height of the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

season, it is said that hundreds of pairs of Yorkshire Coach Horses could be seen in

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

every afternoon. The Stud Book was closed in 1936 with the decline of the coaching era. Since the foundation breeds of the Yorkshire Coach Horse still exist, it would be possible to restart this breed, but unlikely.

References

Extinct horse breeds Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in England {{Horse-breed-stub