ce THE HORSE. 



CHAPTER XI. 



SHIRE HORSES. 



Shire horses are the principal English breed of heavy draught 

 horses. The breed is well known in all parts of England, and 

 possesses a great deal of popularity among farmers. It fur- 

 nishes the majority of the heavy draught horses used in towns, 

 and there is a great and constant demand for heavy geldings 

 of this breed for town work. 



The Principal Features of the Shire Breed 



are its size, weight, and strength, Avhich qualities all combine 

 to "ive it "Teat powers of drauirht. The colours of Shii-es are 

 bay and brown, Avhile black and grey are also met with, but 

 these last tv/o colours are not popular, and breeders of Shires 

 should go for brown or bay. White markings usually occur on 

 some of the legs, and are considered desirable. 



The " feathering '' on the legs is a prominent feature of 

 the Shire, this point receiving great attention from breeders. 

 The feathering should be as profuse as possible, but it must be 

 of a silky and soft texture. Coarse and hard feathering is 

 considered a defect. From a practical point of view, the 

 amount of feathering on the legs of a Shire horse is of no im- 

 portance, and it matters little whether it is scanty or profuse. 

 But wheii pedigree Shires are bred with a view of showing 

 or selling them for breeding purposes, great stress should be 

 laid on getting the feathering as profuse and long as possible, 

 as plenty of feathering adds to the animal's market value when 

 intended for showing or breeding. 



The Head of a Typical Shire Horse is long, the 

 face, when looking at it in profile, being arched outwards or 



