THE SHIRE DRAFT HORSE 203 



rear ribs lacked depth and were so placed as to give 

 the body an appearance of undue length and lightness. 



Famous Shire sires. — Among the many notable stallions 

 that have aided materially in the perfecting of the Shire 

 draft horse may be mentioned Packington Blind Horse, 

 Honest Tom, Prince William, and others. 



Packington Blind Horse. — The village of Packington 

 has the credit of possessing one of the oldest draft 

 stallions of which we have record. This horse d6es not 

 appear to have been recognized by any distinctive name, 

 but is generally alluded to as the "Packington Blind 

 Horse." It is assumed that he was in the vigor of life 

 some time between the years 1755 and 1770, also that his 

 color was black with white markings. His chief 

 descendants, of which we have record, were bred and 

 owned by Oldacre of Peatland Lodge, Leicestershire. 



Honest Tom (1105). — This horse was sired by Thumper 

 (2123), and out of Beauty, a noted winner of many prizes 

 in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk and second prize brood 

 mare at the Royal Show at Wolverhampton in 1871. 

 Honest Tom was a bay, born in 1865, and owned for 

 many years by T. H. Miller of Singleton Park, Lan- 

 cashire, England. He won first prize each year from 

 1867 to 1872, at the Royal Agricultural Society shows of 

 England, as well as at numerous others. Many of his 

 descendants also proved noteworthy show animals. 



Prince William (3956). — This horse was sired by 

 William the Conqueror (2343), a very famous show 

 animal, and out of Lockington Beauty, by Champion 

 (457). He was born in 1883, and for twenty years stood 

 at the head of Lord Wantage's stud, where he was very 

 successful. In 1894, 52 of his offspring sold at an aver- 

 age of $600. Prince William died in 1905, at the age of 

 22 years. 



Other famous sires. — While the list of notable Shire 

 sires that have contributed to the improvement of this 

 breed is very long, the following table contains a few of 



