SHIRE HORSE 



of other breeds, are not regarded as objectionable features. 

 The forehead should be broad and the eyes of a good size, 

 but not too prominent, the ears are long and rather pointed, 

 the neck very powerful and of moderate length, and the 

 shoulders well supplied with muscle, fairly long and 

 moderately sloped. If they are very long and laid back 

 they are not likely to carry as much muscle as is required 

 in a heavy draught horse, which is not expected to move 

 fast, but to draw very heavy loads. A Shire should possess 

 plenty of girth, long back ribs, and very powerful loins ; 

 whilst his quarters must be long, level, and muscular, else he 

 could never move the heavy loads he is called upon to draw. 

 The chest is wide and the fore-legs big and heavy in bone, 

 with big knees and a wealth of hair extending from the 

 backs of these down to the pasterns ; and this hair or feather 

 should be silky in texture and free from curl. The dis- 

 believers in hair upon the legs of Shires maintain that it is the 

 cause of grease, and renders its possessor unfitted to work 

 on heavy soils. On the other side, it is asserted that hair 

 is associated with heavy bone such as a Shire horse should 

 possess. The bone of this breed is not, however, of the same 

 density as that of most of the lighter varieties, probably 

 owing to the fact that the heavy clay soils upon which so 

 many Shires are raised is opposed to closeness of grain and 

 hardness of bone ; but in the case of horses which are only 

 called upon for slow work the quality of the bone is a matter 

 of less importance than the quantity. 



The hind-legs of the Shire are a little inclined to be 

 straight, as this formation is better adapted for starting a 

 heavy load than if the stifles and hocks are bent ; the hocks 

 require to be clean and broad in front, and the pasterns all 

 round must be powerful and just of fair length. Practically 

 all colours are found in the Shire horse, but of late years 

 there has been a perceptible increase in the number of 

 chestnuts, whilst the old-fashioned roans have become much 

 rarer. 



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