ABOUT THE BREED

Subject: ABOUT THE BREED Thu Jan 29, 2009 11:16 am

The Shire horse is a breed of draught horse (BrE) or draft horse (AmE). It is the tallest of the modern draught breeds, and a stallion may stand 18 hands or more (about 180 cm). Their weight is frequently in the region of a short ton (910 kg).

Breed History

Like its close relative, the Clydesdale, the Shire horse is descended from the Great Horse brought to England in 1066 by William the Conqueror.^[3]^[4]
Only stallions were imported, to carry knights in armour into
battle—weighing up to 32 stones (450 lb or 205 kg)—and it is probable
that they bred with native mares in the vicinity. Though oxen
were used for most farm work into the 18th century, horses 'fit for the
dray, the plough, or the chariot' were on sale at Smithfield Market in London as early as 1145
A hundred horses 'of large stature' were imported into England from the Low Countries during the reign of King John. When Robert the Bruce rode a palfrey in the Battle of Bannockburn
(1314), the English knights, mounted on heavy horses, realised a
lighter, more maneuverable horse was needed. Horse breeding became
important again during the reign of Henry VII,
from 1485, and laws were passed making it illegal to export mares worth
more than 6s. 8d. and stallions. At about this time, the practice of
gelding (castrating) male horses began, again making breeding more
selective..
The English Great Horse was valued during the reign of Henry VIII, when stallions measuring less than 'fifteen handfuls' could not be kept, but the advent of gunpowder in the late 16th century brought an end to the use of the Great Horse in battle. Oliver Cromwell's cavalry favoured lighter, faster mounts and the big horses began to be used for draught work instead. Stage coaches needed strong horses to draw them and the Great Horse found a new niche.^[4]
From this medieval horse came an animal called the Old English Black Horse in the 17th century. The Black Horse was improved by the followers of Robert Bakewell, of Dishley Grange in Leicestershire,^[4] resulting in a horse commonly known as the "Bakewell Black."^[5] Bakewell imported six Dutch or Flanders
mares, notable since breeders tended to concentrate on improving the
male line. Two different types of black horse developed: the Fen or Lincolnshire type and the Leicester or Midlands type.^[4]
When the pedigree society was founded in 1878, the name was changed to English Cart Horse, since "black" was a misnomer.^[5] Six years later, the name was again changed to Shire. The breed was improved during the following years as rigorous veterinary
examinations virtually eliminated the old unsoundness of wind and limb.
With the increased use of mechanized farm and transport equipment, the
numbers of Shire horses began to decline. By the middle of the 20th
century their numbers had dwindled to a small fraction of what they had
been in their heyday.^{[citation needed]}
Numbers of Shires are on the rise again, however. They are now widely used in breeding heavier hunter types by crosses with Thoroughbred mares, and are also seen in Draught or Draft horse competition worldwide.

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