With an early-afternoon event Saturday at CoolToday Park in North Port as part of the Atlanta Braves fan experience, the Budweiser Clydesdales had a busy schedule early in the morning at the Sarasota Polo Club.
They needed to complete all their primping early so they would look fantastic while pulling the famous wagon at CoolToday Park.
The seven-person team was busy attending to the massive horses on the polo field grounds. It was the final event on their leg of their trip that began with a stroll down Main Street at Lakewood Ranch on Wednesday evening, then went to UTC on Thursday before making an appearance Friday at Thunder by the Bay at the Sarasota Fairgrounds.
The Clydesdales are scheduled for an off day on Sunday before hitting the road on Monday. The team is based in St. Louis.
Lauren Lambeth finishes up grooming Rocco before moving to the next Clydesdale. The team is made up of 10 horses with two sitting out each event because an eight-horse team is needed to pull the wagon.
The Clydesdales are ready to be fed just after 7 a.m. Saturday before getting cleaned up for another appearance.
This Budweiser team or "hitch" is based at the Anheuser-Busch brewery complex in St. Louis.
Scott Morrison brings another Clydesdale to be groomed on Saturday morning.
The Dalmatian became the Budweiser Clydesdale mascot in 1950.
Lauren Lambeth says they only wash the Clydesdales' lower legs on the day they are pulling the wagon because they don't want their skin to dry out.
Nine-year-old Bud, the team's tallest member at 19.2 hands, gets hosed off by Lauren Lambeth.
The groomers need help to work with the massive Clydesdales. Lauren Lambeth stands on a scaffold to work with Rocco.
Lauren Lambeth washes up 11-year-old Rocco, who is the team's heaviest member at 2,300 pounds.
Yes, the two Dalmatians assigned to the team like each other.
Lauren Lambeth leads Bud to be cleaned up for the afternoon's performance. Bud gets in a little stretch.
A couple of Clydesdales snack on some hay.
The Clydesdales are groomed head to toe for their appearances.
Sparky is the team's oldest member at 15 years old. Sparky began appearing with the team when he was 4.
The Clydesdales' bedding is changed each day.
A small scaffold is standard equipment when it comes to grooming Clydesdales.
The Clydesdales stand in the grooming area Saturday morning with the team's three tractor trailers in the background.
These Clydesdales aren't attempting to pull down the stable roof ... they are waiting for their stalls to be cleaned.
Purina buckets are everywhere on a Budweiser Clydesdale road trip.
