HEAVY DRAUGHT HORSES. 103 



the English farmer is too conservative to change his views ; he 

 would prefer to stick to the animals he is accustomed to and 

 knows, than resort to an alien, however good. 



The massive size of the Shire is his drawback as a war horse. 

 He is too big. He requires a large ration, and all horses which 

 have to perform heavy haulage must have bulky food in the 

 form of hay and straw, which from force of military circum- 

 stances it is not always possible to supply, or to find opportunity 

 to consume. Major-General Sir Frederick Smith, in his book 

 " Veterinary Hygiene," very aptly hits the nail on the head in 

 the following remarks: — 



" The length of time it takes a horse to consume its daily 

 diet is a question which seldom strikes anyone to enquire into, 

 yet it is of utmost importance, especially for horses employed 

 in commerce and military life. It takes a horse from five to 

 ten minutes to eat one pound of corn, and fifteen to twenty 

 minutes to eat one pound of hay. We shall not be far from 

 the truth in saying that they require from five to six hours 

 out of every twenty-four for feeding, that is to say, one quarter 

 of the day must be expended in taking in nourishment for 

 the repair of the machine. We see here the wisdom of the 

 carter and cabman who puts on the nosebag at every 

 opportunity." 



Alas for the opportunity often on Field Service ! And it 

 sums up the chief demerit of the Shire horse, or indeed any 

 heavy draught horse in war. 



Another drawback to the Shire, and in like degree to the 

 Clydesdales, but not to the same extent in the crossed 

 Percherons — at least in those purchased overseas and sent to 

 France — is that they ill stand movement by rail or sea from 

 their original abode and surroundings. Their temperature 

 goes up, they refuse their food, they begin to cough, and they 

 are laid open to attacks of respiratory trouble. Very often 

 movement from one stable to another is sufficient to bring 

 this about. We had no luck with our heavy horses until we 

 adopted a thorough system of taking temperatures — first at 

 the place of purchase before movement to a Remount Depot, 

 subsequently at Remount Depots before shipment to France, 

 and again on disembarkation. They, above all other animals. 



