Old English Black

[citation needed] Eventually, a distinct type evolved that was known as the Old English Black Horse.

For a long period of time, bays and browns were more commonplace than blacks.

The colour markings were not unlike those of Clydesdale horses, with the desired pattern being four white stocking and a well-defined bald face.

Large Dutch horses (possibly of Brabant and Friesian descent) were imported by William III when he discovered that the cart horses of his era were not strong enough for the task of draining the Lincolnshire Fens.

The Old English Black Horse heavily influenced the bloodlines of the Clydesdale and Shire, and these breeds today have many features inherited from their ancestors.