According to the Cleveland Bay Horse Society, "The Cleveland Bay is England's oldest breed of horse with a history that goes beyond a time when records were kept. It is an incredibly versatile horse that can turn its hoof to all disciplines, a legacy of its need to adapt through the ages to the changing face of civilization.  It is a horse with substance, activity, stamina, and a temperament that is unsurpassed by any other breed of horse."

What does it mean to breed Cleveland Bays?

I am often asked this question by people who aren’t familiar with livestock husbandry. It means we have a herd of horses. While lots of people have horses, we have lots of horses. We have those that we ride in order to promote the breed. We have stallions that we use for breeding our mares as well as outside mares. We have mares for breeding - both Cleveland Bay mares (full or part) and other types of mares. We have foals, weanlings, yearlings, and other young horses that are still maturing and haven’t yet found their partner and future home. Breeding Cleveland Bays is tricky. We just don’t let stallions run with mares and end up with pretty babies the next spring. Because our breed is rare and endangered, we breed primarily through artifical insemination with the aid of a vet. It often takes 3 or 4 cycles to get a mare in foal successfully. It costs us an average of more than $3k in vet costs alone to produce a foal. By breeding our mares over many cycles and many years, we’ve learned what we think increases our shot of success and what to avoid - sometimes different with each mare. It’s a puzzle and all of that is contributing to why the Cleveland Bay is endangered. We breed what we can do reasonably each year, but resources are limited. That’s why folks that support our breed are so darn important. Your support - whether a purchase of a foal or simply a donation (not tax-deductible) - helps us breed another Cleveland Bay and every one counts! Thank you for learning more about our breed and it’s predicament!

The CLEVELAND BAY HORSE SOCIETY

The CBHS is the breed society for Cleveland Bay horses and maintains the only studbook of the breed.  It is UK-based. CBHS handles all particulars regarding the breed including registration, licensure of stallions, and maintain the breed standards.

CBHS has a great number of Cleveland Bay resources and history on their website.  See here...