6o 



stamp and character of the Shire Horse at 

 various periods of the history of the breed. 

 We have traced its progress down to a date 

 when the Stud Books reheve us of the neces- 

 sity of further pursuit, and can only hope 

 that success has attended this endeavour to 

 show that our modern Shire Horse is de- 

 scended from the animal which has filled so 

 important a part at all times in the history 

 of our country. It is also certain that dur- 

 ing this century the Shire Horse has played 

 no mean part in building up size and mas- 

 siveness in all the other Draught breeds 

 in the Kinodom. That he has underoone 

 great changes is certain ; but the charac- 

 teristics of the breed, size, strength, sub- 

 stance, courage and docility, have been 

 perpetuated and developed by careful selec- 

 tion till we have now in our Shire horse the 

 ideal beast of draught. 



Blythwood Conqueror, whose portrait 

 faces page 64, stands as an excellent repre- 

 sentative of the modern Shire stallion. This 

 horse is by Hitchin Conqueror (4458) out 

 of Blythwood Bountiful (11607), and was 

 bred at Wood House Farm, Stansted, by 

 Sir James Blyth. He was foaled in 1893, 

 and is a bay, with white blaze and white 

 feet. 



