1 8 Breeds of Horses 



under the hair on the legs, and allowed to remain for 12 hours 

 before the legs are washed. This dressing not only cleanses the 

 legs, but improves and promotes the growth of hair. It is also a 

 most useful dressing for the mane and tail. 



Colts and stallions require very liberal and judicious treatment 

 in the matter of feeding, and this is especially the case when it 

 is intended to show them. There is nothing better than crushed 

 oats, with a little bran, and plenty of good hay chaff. In the 

 autumn and winter they should have carrots in addition, and later 

 on a mangel or two with their feed, to help digestion. They 

 require plenty of exercise, either turned out to grass or put in 

 a roomy shed with a yard. Failing that, they should be given 

 walking exercise each day. If it is not possible to turn them out, 

 they should be given some green food in the summer time, clover, 

 meadow grass, or better still, lucerne, if it can be procured for them. 

 Lucerne is one of the best fodder crops grown, if not the best, for 

 horses, and indeed for all kinds of stock. Horses are especially 

 fond of it, and do well on it. An acre or two on any farm where 

 horse breeding is done is most valuable, as it is a generous cropper. 

 Three crops can be taken ofif it each year when once established, 

 and in our experience, horses thrive remarkably well on it. It is 

 one of the few crops that can be relied on to give a supply of 

 fodder in a dry season, but to ensure the best return it should be 

 cut early, that is, just when the young flowers appear. It should on 

 no account be allowed to ripen, unless the crop is intended for hay, 

 otherwise the fodder will not only be tough and bitter, and there- 

 fore distasteful to animals, but subsequent crops will suffer; so that 

 in order to secure two or three cuttings in a season it should be 

 mown early. 



The colour of Shire horses varies, but there are certain colours 

 that are more fashionable than others. At one time, as Sir Walter 

 Gilbey shows, black and grey were regarded as indicative of pure 

 blood in the breed. The latter colour, however, is much less 

 common now than was once the case. Black is still common, 

 as might be expected in a breed descended from the old English 

 Black Horse. Roan is also met with occasionally, especially blue 

 roan. Brown and bay, however, are the predominant Shire colours 

 at the present day, and it appears likely that at no distant date 

 well-bred Shire horses will be almost exclusively of these two 

 colours. Chestnut is not a popular colour, especially for stallions. 



The trade in Shire horses in recent years has been remarkably 

 good. In connection with the London Shire Horse Show, which 

 is the great event of the year in the Shire world, a sale is held 



