THE DRAFT BREEDS OF HORSES 35 
horse in Great Britain. It is reported of Cesar, that 
when he invaded Great Britain, 55 B.c., he was impressed 
with the excellence of the horses that were attached to 
the war chariots of the Britons. The breed attained its 
greatest development in the lowlands of England, in 
Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire especially. Other near- 
by counties contributed more or less to the development 
of the breed. In early times, heavy active horses were in 
greatest demand for war purposes, and this led to the 
importation of heavy horses from Flanders and Normandy. 
Large importations of the heavy Black horses of Flan- 
ders were made as early as the eleventh century, and in 
succeeding years during the reigns of King John, Edward 
II and Henry VIII. One of the early improvers of the 
Shire was Robert Bakewell, who introduced blood of 
imported Holland mares in his breeding efforts. The 
development of the breed received much impetus in 1878, 
when the English Cart Horse Society was formed. The 
“name of the society was due to the fact that the Shire 
was known primarily as a cart horse. 
The history of the Shire shows a slow but persistent 
development of an improved type through a great space 
of time. The improvement of action and quality have 
received most attention from the breeders, and the results, 
as shown in a modern Shire, have been marked. 
31. History in America. — The progress of the Shire in 
America has been substantial but yet not so rapid as 
might be expected, considering the decided merits of 
the breed. This, in a measure, has resulted from the 
dislike of the American trade for hairy-legged horses 
deficient in quality. It seems that hairy legs are more or 
less characteristic of all heavy breeds of horses reared 
in low countries, and they have been a breed character- 
