THE BREEDS OF HORfiES "157 



breeds in England, and is as popular with the Englishman 

 as the Clydesdale is with the Scotchman. These horses dif- 

 fer in certain important respects, though they have the same 

 color and markings, as a rule, and both have the hairy legs. 

 The Shire is a somewhat larger and more massive breed 

 than the Clydesdale, and has a wider back and deeper, 

 heavier body. Mature stalhons should stand about 17 



Figure 40. — Shire stallion, Rosco \, in yearling form, owned by Unii'ersity of 

 Illinois. Photograph from Prof. J. L. Edmonds. 



hands high and weigh from 1 ,800 to 2,000 pounds in ordinary 

 condition. For many years the Shire was regarded as very 

 slow in movement, and lacked good action and quality. In 

 recent years, English breeders have done much to improve 

 it, and the criticisms of slow movement and coarseness 

 are not as correct as they once were. The criticism due to 



