132 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 



clearly to a shire cross. The feet should have 

 long hair behind. As regards colour, bay or brown, 

 with a blaze on the forehead, and the whole or 

 part of the legs below the knees and hocks white, 

 is the most prized ; but black, grey, or chestnut 

 occasionally occurs, the last of these being regarded 

 as indicative of a shire cross. 



The history of one of the most famous of the 

 English heavy breeds, namely, the shire, or great, 

 horse, has been fully worked out by Sir Walter 

 Gilbey. 1 This breed (pi. xii. fig. 2) was probably 

 derived from the chariot-horses of the Britons 

 of Caesar's time, and by the time of King John 

 (1199-1216) had become the recognised English 

 war-horse. With the increasing weight of armour, 

 a heavier and larger type of horse became essential ; 

 and accordingly breeders directed their attention 

 to the production of such a type. During the 

 Wars of the Roses (1450-1471) large numbers 

 of great horses were exported, in order to escape 

 being seized for military purposes ; but in the 

 reign of Henry VII. (1485-1509) an Act was 

 passed prohibiting the exportation of these and 

 all other horses. In the succeeding reign Henry 

 VIII. not only was this prohibition continued, but 

 statutes were made for encouraging and improving 

 the breed of shire horses. At this date the weight 

 a charger had to carry (inclusive of his own armour) 



1 The Great Horse^ or Shire Horse, 2nd ed. London, 1899. 



