NEW YORK — Budweiser is putting its Clydesdales out to pasture for the holidays.
The country's number three beer brand said the horses will not play a role in its traditional advertising for the season, though they will be featured in spots promoting responsible drinking.
Anheuser-Busch InBev also said that the Clydesdales will return for Super Bowl advertisements.
Budweiser's share of the US beer market has declined since peaking in 1988. According to Beer Marketer's Insights, Budweiser had 7.6 percent last year, down from 14.4 percent a decade ago — the result of the growing popularity of light and craft beers, said Eric Shepard, executive editor of the industry tracker.
''You look around, and we have this huge group of young drinkers, and almost half of them have never tried the brand,'' he said.
Ahead of Thanksgiving, Budweiser has been running ads for ''Holiday Crates'' that include 18-packs of Budweiser in crates that are replicas of those used to deliver beer after Prohibition.
The Clydesdales have been associated with Budweiser since 1933, when the company introduced them to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition.