The Shire Horse. i6i 



of breeding live stock, thought he had brought to perfection. Bakewell had crossed the native 

 Lincohishires with Dutch stallions, and they held a prominent place in the works of everj' 

 agricultural writer up to 1825. As late as 1840, Mr. Burke, who was one of the editors of the 

 early volumes of the Transactions of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, wrote in a 

 note on cart-horses : " A Lincolnshire black of the pure breed stands foremost in the rank of 

 every cart race in the kingdom." But this opinion has not been maintained by the decisions 

 of the judges at the shows of this Society, the balance of favour being decidedly towards well- 

 shaped cart stallions, bay and brown being predominating colours, although blacks and 

 greys have also taken honours. Honest Tom, supposed to be the best cart stallion ever shown 

 in an agricultural ring, was a Shire horse of a bay colour. In the counties where the cultiva- 

 tion of a stiff retentive soil has been carried out on large farms, the name " Shire " has for 

 several generations been the accepted term. But when an attempt was made to found a stud- 

 book of agricultural horses not being Clydesdales or Suffolks, the name was objected to 

 as being too narrow and special, and the indefinite title of the English Cart-horse Society was 

 adopted. Nevertheless, the Shire horse is the only agricultural horse which has a pedigree 

 to be traced for from seventy to even a hundred years. 



The following description of this tribe is from the pen of a gentleman who has devoted 

 many years to collecting and breeding specimens of first-class merit for use in his business 

 and on his farm. 



" In considering the more important points in an agricultural horse, I will place action 

 first. Unless he can move true and well in the cart, horse pace-walking, his value is con- 

 siderably lessened; if required to trot — and trotting in these fast days has for manj' purposes 

 become a necessity — he should have the action of a Norfolk cob. 



" The feet should be well proportioned, better too large than too small : depth of foot and 

 width at heel being important elements, but wide flat feet are very objectionable, especially for 

 road purposes. 



" The fore-leg should be put on parallel at the shoulder and wide enough, so as to support 

 weight. Too great width between the fore-legs is not often seen, but is possible ; this is objection- 

 able, as it generally impedes the action. The pasterns should not be long or straight. The 

 leg-bones flat and short between fetlock and knee ; they should not measure less than 10 or 

 loj inches below the knee. A stallion should not be less than 11 inches; a few reach 12 inches. 

 The Earl of Ellesmere had one that measured nearly 13 inches. The hinder legs of a cart-horse 

 are even more important than the fore-legs. A horse should not be "split up" too high behind, 

 or be cow-hocked; he should have large, round thighs, large, flat, clean hocks, short pasterns, 

 and the leg should measure between the hock and fetlock at least one inch more than the fore- 

 leg. The legs should be well covered with long silky hair, this being regarded as a sign of 

 constitution." 



As to height, 16 hands 2 inches is high enough for work, but 17-hand horses sell well. Seven 

 feet six inches is a good girth, but 8 feet is often reached. "The first thing," said an eminent War- 

 wickshire grazier, "that I look at in a cart colt is 'his cupboard.' If this is not roomy he will not 

 have the constitution to stand a day's work." The chest should be wide, shoulders well thrown 

 back, head big without coarseness, back short, with wide muscular development of the loin, long 

 quarters, and the tail set on well and high. To sum up : a good specimen of the Shire horse is a 

 long, low, deep, wide, well-proportioned, and active animal. Geldings of this description are in 

 great demand, and in their prime fetch from lOO to 140 guineas each. 



The other points of a Shire cart-horse are ihose of every well-shaped harness-horse, con- 

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