Origin
England
History
This breed is of great antiquity and is thought descended from the "great horse" used in medieval times as a charger for jousting.
The history of England and that of the Shire horse are inexorably entwined. During the reign of John I (1199-1216) one hundred stallions were imported into England from the lowlands of Flanders, Holland, and the banks of the Elbe. At least some strains of England´s heavy horses must owe their origin to these stallions. In the period between the reign of Henry II and that of Elizabeth I, large, strong horses were needed to carry horse soldiers, who, combined with their armor, weighed upward of four hundred pounds.
Both the Friesian and the Flanders Horse played important parts on the evolution of the British Shire.
Large numbers of Flanders Horses were imported by Dutch contractors in the first half of the 17th century, when work began on draining the Fens in eastern England. When the work had finished, these horses remained and were bred in the area. At this time references to the Great Horse ceased, and the English draft horse became known as the English Black.
The Shire proved to be very useful in the 1800s. Large geldings moved the commerce of England off the docks and through the streets of the cities. For decades there was a great demand for massive horses with great muscular strength.
Between 1901 and 1914, breeders enjoyed a thriving export market to the US. However, after the Second World War, there was little need for the Shire either in industry or agriculture and the numbers dropped.
The foundation stallion of the Shire breed is generally recognized to be the Packington Blind Horse, who stood at Packington, between 1755 and 1770. He was black and appears in the first Shire studbook because of the large number of horses claimed to be descended from him.
A society for the Shire, known as the English Cart Horse Society, was formed in 1876, and the first studbook was published two years later. It changed its name to the Shire Horse Society in 1884.
The traditional centers of breeding for the Shire Horse are the English counties of Leceistershire, Staffordshire, and Derbyshire, and the Fen country of Lincolnshire.
Description
- Head:
small in relation to the size of the body, with pronounced jaws and a somewhat convex profile; broad forehead; large and prominent eyes; long ears - Conformation:
-quite long, arched and muscular neck
-wide withers
-broad and muscular chest
-long and well sloped shoulder
-short back
-sloping croup
-short, well muscled legs
-the hooves should be open, and big round the top of the coronet, with plenty of length in the pasterns - Average height:
16.1 to 17.3 h.h. - Colours:
black is the most popular colour, but bay, brown and grey are also found - Temperament:
docile, gentle and hard working - Today:
the revival of the Shire owes much to the breweries´support, and perhaps also something to the Drive of the Heavy Horses at London´s Horse of the year show. Today the annual Shire Horse Show at Peterborough attracts more than 300 entries and more than 15,000 spectators.
