The Anheuser-Busch company spent $20 million on its TV commercials during Super Bowl LI on February 5. For years we've adored ads featuring horses and puppies. This year, one 60-second spot called "Born the Hard Way" features the story of Adolphus Busch's immigration to St Louis, where the viewer spots two Clydesdales in the background briefly as the young beer maker lands in the city in 1857. Because they looked surprisingly clean and well groomed for working horses depicted in the 19th Century, I decided to find out if the Clydesdale breed was already in America by the time of Busch's arrival.Historic MomentNearly Extinctbudweiser.comIn 1950 the company added the Dalmatian as the horses' official mascot due to its heritage as a coach dog and fire truck mascot. The company also breeds its own Dals as well. My first sight of the Budweiser Clydesdales hitch was in 1980 at the Danbury Fair, a year before its closure after 112 years. They were quite impressive to this horse-crazy teenager. They've not only appeared in Super Bowl commercials for many years, but travel around the country. If you have a chance to see them, go and enjoy not only their majestic fame, but the dedication of the company to keep this breed alive and thriving. You can find the Budweiser hitch schedule at Lisa Peterson writes about horses, hounds and history at lisaunleashed.com. Contact her at lisa@lisaunleashed.com.

What are the origins of these famous equines that celebrate beer? According to the Budweiser website, which by the way, makes you give it your age before they let you read it, the Budweiser Clydesdales made their first appearance on April 7, 1933. A gift from August A. Busch, Jr, his father August Sr in celebration of the repeal of Prohibition, the presentation of the original two six-horse hitches of champion Clydesdales moved father, son, and drivers to tears. The phrase "crying in your beer" was officially coined shortly thereafter. This team actually brought the first post-prohibition beer to the White House.

And why use Clydesdales to haul the heavy beer wagons? These horses were bred in the Lanarkshire section of Scotland as far back as the early 1700s because of their ability to pull great weights, up to one ton per horse. Flemish stallions were imported by Scotch farmers who began breeding programs with local mares to develop the breed named for the local River Clyde. They pulled great weight as coach horses and in agriculture and were first exhibited at a show in Glascow in 1826. Nearly 2,000 stallions were exported all over the world in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. So many to New Zealand and Australia, they became known as "the breed that built Australia."

By 1877, the Clydesdale Horse Society of Scotland was formed with breed registry records going back to the 1830s. The first horses exported to America were in the 1840s, about a decade before Busch's arrival. In the United States, by 1879, the American Clydesdale Association was founded. Many of these heavy horses were used in World Wars I and II to pull heavy artillery in the fields of France and across Europe.

By midcentury their numbers dwindled and they soon faced extinction. It was right around this time, in 1953, that the Anheuser-Busch company began its own breeding program to preserve the Scottish draught horses. The King of Beers is credited with the breed's survival in North America. According to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, today the breed has progressed positively to its "watch" list toward survival, with approximately 5,000 Clydesdale horses in the world. The breed has never seen such optimistic numbers of new foals each year.

As their work dwindled with the advent of industrial mechanization, Clydesdales became prized for their distinctive moving action, or stepping abilities, which looked great under hitch and in parades. Not to mention those vibrant long white furnishings on their legs. Unlike some draft horses who shuffle along, the Clydesdales actual lifts each large round hoof completely off the ground, so a judge standing behind the massive animals (from 16.2 to 18 hands tall and weighing up to 1,800 to 2,000 pounds each) can see the entire bottom of the foot.

In order to make the cut as a Budweiser Clydesdale - only 10 out of approximately 40 foals born annually at the company's dedicated breeding ranch are selected - each horse has to have correct markings and color. A broad white blaze on the face, four white stockings (white hair up to the knee) on the legs, a bay color with black mane and tail. And they have to be male. Some of the well-bred females are kept to produce future generations of hitch horses. Clydesdales come in a variety of colors including black and white (piebald), roan and skewbald (brown and white). Because the Budweiser Clydesdales have become one of the world's most recognizable advertising symbol, many people think they only come in one color.

, but only if you divulge your birthday first.