THE SHIRE 153 



the bones tend to be a bit coarse. British critics in the past have 

 objected to round cannons and meaty bone. In recent years this 

 criticism has not been warranted. The pasterns have been subject 

 to unfavorable comment as being too short and not sloping enough, 

 though this does not apply so much to modern, well-bred Shires. 

 The feet are very large and often shelly and tend to be flat at 

 the heel. The back of the cannon bones, knees, and hocks have 

 long, flowing, fine hair (frequently termed "feather") on the best 

 examples of the breed. Excessive leg hair and heavy bone are 

 objected to as evidences of sluggishness and lack of quality, as 

 compared with less hair and finer bone. The hairy legs of the 

 Shire have always prejudiced Americans against the breed, while 

 in England considerable adverse criticism exists, as is evidenced 

 by the following from C. W. Tindall in the Live Stock Journal 

 of London : 



What I would particularly like to call attention to, and which for some years 

 has been a matter of great controversy and is now one of very serious im- 

 portance, is the question of hair. In my opinion we have for a long time 

 thrown away the substance for the shadow, and the excessive quantity of hair 

 that we have in many of our Shire horses is not only a detriment to the 

 horses, but loss in money value to the breeders. So far as I can make out, 

 none of the users of the Shire horse want it. I am in London most weeks, 

 and I never go through London without seeing a number of Shire horses with 

 the hair clipped off their legs. None of the users in town want it, and so far 

 as I know, few of the farmers, especially on strong land, want it. I believe 

 there is no doubt whatever that the Shire is the finest draft horse in the world, 

 and in my opinion if he could be divested of hair he would take possession 

 of all the foreign and colonial markets. . . . From what I could gather in the 

 Argentine, everyone liked the Shire the best, but they could not stand the hair 

 on his legs ; hence the reason the Percheron has practically taken possession 

 of the market, and from what I can gather this applies equally to Canada, 

 Australia and other markets, and I am of the opinion that in the future some- 

 thing must be done to remedy this defect. 



The action of the Shire in the past has been a subject of un- 

 favorable comment, it being regarded as heavy and sluggish. 

 The great weight of this horse naturally influences his action, 

 causing a slow movement. The more modern type of the Shire, 

 however, has been improved in this regard, although he is yet 

 decidedly inferior to the other draft breeds of prominence. 



