BOARD OF AGRICULTURE AND 

 FISHERIES. 



HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BREEDS OF LIVE 



STOCK. 



HEAVY DRAUGHT HORSES. 



There are three British breeds of Draught Horses viz., the 

 Shire, the Clydesdale and the Suffolk. The Clydesdale is 

 practically the only breed known in Scotland, and is kept in fair 

 numbers in the Northern Counties of England. The Suffolk is 

 more or less restricted to the Eastern Counties of England, the 

 Shire occupying the remainder of the country. 



THE SHIRE.* 



History of the Breed. The Shire is the largest and heaviest of 

 all the British breeds of horses, and in these respects is surpassed 

 by no breed in the world. So far back as the Roman invasion the 

 original horses of England were noted for their strength and 

 activity, but it seems highly probable that at that time they were 

 what would now be regarded as little better than mere ponies in 

 size. In the successive invasions to which the country was sub- 

 jected, horses were introduced from the Continent, and without 

 doubt played an important part in the development of the native 

 breed. The chief influence, however, responsible for the size and 

 weight of the Shire was most probably the necessity of developing 

 these characters to fit the " War Horse " for carrying the enormous 

 weights associated with plate armour, and up to the seventeenth 

 century constant endeavours were made by Kings and Parliaments 

 to improve the breed. To a great extent these attempts at 

 improvement took the form of crossing with foreign stock, and 

 large importations of horses, particularly from the Low Countries, 

 were made for breeding purposes. 



Until about the Stuart period the " Great Horses " were used 

 principally for military purposes, but after the introduction of fire- 

 arms the heaviest class was relegated to agricultural and draught 

 purposes. 



In later times the breed became more specifically known as the 

 " Old English Black Horse," and reached its greatest development 

 in Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and adjoining counties. Sir Walter 

 Gilbey in The Old English War Horse points out that the 

 name " Shire " is associated with the fact that the breed " has for 



* See article on The Shire, by C. W. Tindall in Horses of the British Empire, 

 edited by Sir Humphrey de Trafford. Walter Southwood & Co., Ltd. 



