CHAPTER XVII 



THE SHIRE 



The very early history of the Shire horse traces back into the 

 days of Roman conquest and almost prehistoric times. Abun- 

 dant evidence as set forth in British history by the earliest 

 writers makes it clear that a heavy type of work horse existed 

 in those days. During the period when armor was worn it was 

 necessary that a horse be of good size and be able easily to bear 

 heavy weight in the saddle. According to the Venerable Bede, 

 however, the English did not commonly use saddle horses until 

 about A. D. 631. Neither was the horse used for war purposes 

 in the first thousand years of the Christian Era. In the sixteenth 

 century in England, when armor was used, according to Tower 

 of London officials a man's armor weighed 99I pounds, the 

 horse's 81 pounds, and the spear 20 — a total of 200 pounds 

 approximately. Adding to this the weight of a man, the horse 

 had to support nearly 400 pounds, so that the necessity for a 

 heavy horse in these days was very apparent. 



Various early paintings show the draft type of horse in use. 

 Albert Diirer, in 1505, made a painting of "The Great Horse," 

 as it was termed. Vandyke, about 1620, painted a picture show- 

 ing the Duke of Arenburg on such a horse. A famous painting 

 by Paul Potter shows such a horse about 1652. 



The special region of Shire horse breeding in England has been 



in the east-central part, in the counties of Lincoln, Cambridge, . 



Huntingdon, Northampton, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, and 



Norwich. However, the breed has been extensively produced on 



the low-lying lands outside of this area. During its past history it 



has been known in England as the " Great Horse," the '" War 



Horse," the " Cart Horse," the " Old English Black Horse," 



the "Giant Lincolnshire," and the "Shire." The name "Large 



Black Old English Horse " was in use from the time of Oliver 



Cromwell (1649-1659) to modern times. 



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