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My sister had a horse when we were growing up. If I remember correctly, General was pretty big, maybe 16 hands (64 inches at the shoulder). General didn't like men very much, and I can't say I had much love for him either, but my sister did teach me to ride, and as long as there weren't any low branches he could use to scrape me off his back, we did fine.

Yesterday I stood in front of the stall of another horse named General. At 18 hands and 2,200 pounds, this horse is more than "pretty big". He has 26 companions in similar stalls: this is the home of the Hallamore Clydesdales you may have seen at parades or state fairs.

I'm not sure exactly how to describe this. It's not exactly public; these horses are kept at the Lakeville home of Dennis Barry, owner of Hallamore. They don't advertise that you should come see the Clydesdales here, but the staff that takes care of them isn't unhappy to see you either: they hand out postcards with a picture of a team all dressed and hauling a wagon, they are friendly and willing to answer your questions, and there are informational signs on every stall (and signs asking you to leave your pets in your car, too). I think it really comes down to this: the owners love their horses, and they are willing to let other people come see them. No doubt if this turned into swarms of picture snapping tourists littering the grounds and annoying the horses they'd close it down instantly, but as long as everyone behaves, they keep it open.

The home is on a major road, but there is no sign to help you find it. If you are driving slowly, you can see a statue of a horse from the road, but that's well in, and trees do mask it. I feel like I shouldn't say anything more about that: if you really want to go, you'll ask around and you'll get there, but I wouldn't want to ruin it by helping direct dozens of rude folk to it. Remember, this is a private home, these animals are truly loved, and you need to respect that.

The horses themselves are very well cared for, The stalls are neat and clean, each equipped with a fan and a bug zapper. They don't spend their lives here waiting for the next State fair: there are large paddocks behind the stall barns, and in the summer, the horses are turned loose there all night. In the winter, that's reversed: they are outdoors during the day and warm in their stalls at night.

You wouldn't want the feed bill for these animals: each of them might chow down two bales of hay in a week, many, many pounds of grain, and more than a hundred pounds of carrots. I'm sure you wouldn't want the responsibility for the other end of the digestive process, either.

When we were there, the horses were all in their stalls. I'd like to go back sometime in the late fall and see them out in the paddocks; they are magnificent beasts. By the way, one of them has blue eyes - that's something I sure hadn't seen before.

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