Heavy Horses 1 Shire Horse

They are our working-class heroes because they were part of industrial, agricultural and everyday life until the end of the last war when they were overtaken by mechanisation and ceased to have a use that justified them being bred. They are still regularly used in military pageantry and are the only horses capable of carrying the huge kettle drums carried by the Household Cavalry.

When knights began wearing heavy suits of armour they needed immensely strong steeds to carry them into battle so the Shire Horse was a natural choice. As the population grew the increasing demand for food meant farmers needed the power of the horse to cultivate bigger and bigger fields. Then the Industrial Revolution saw heavy horses pulling barges along canal towpaths and delivering goods to and from factories and the docks. When the First World War broke out in heavy horses were sent to the Western Front to haul gun carriages and transport supplies. Along with the soldiers they faced the horrors of the Somme and Passchendaele inspiring the book War Horse, which was turned into a hugely-successful stage play and Steven Spielberg film.

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In the s the growth in lorries and tractors saw the start of a slow decline in heavy horse numbers. Compare that to when there were Shire foals, 1, Clydesdales and Suffolks.

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At no point in time has the issue been more serious. They started dying out because of mechanisation after the war when there were huge changes in agriculture and industry. The breed is known for its easy-going temperament. The disease is similar to chronic lymphedema in humans.

The Shire has an enormous capacity for pulling weight. In , at a British exhibition, a pair of horses was estimated to have pulled a starting load equal to 45 tons, although an exact number could not be determined as their pull exceeded the maximum reading on the dynamometer. Working in slippery footing, the same pair of horses pulled The largest horse in recorded history was probably a Shire named Mammoth also known as Sampson , born in Though oxen were used for most farm work into the 18th century, horses 'fit for the dray, the plough, or the chariot' were on sale at Smithfield Market in London as early as The English Great Horse was valued during the reign of Henry VIII , when stallions measuring less than 'fifteen handfuls' could not be kept, but the increasing role of gunpowder brought an end to the use of heavy horses in battle.

Oliver Cromwell 's cavalry favoured lighter, faster mounts and the big horses began to be used for draught work instead. From this mediaeval horse came an animal called the Old English Black Horse in the 17th century.

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The Black Horse was improved by the followers of Robert Bakewell , of Dishley Grange in Leicestershire , [8] resulting in a horse sometimes known as the "Bakewell Black". Two different types of black horses developed: The term "Shire horse" was first used in the midth century, and incomplete records begin to appear near the end of the 18th century.

The "Packington Blind Horse", from Leicestershire, is one of the best-known horses of the era, with direct descendants being recorded from to The rough roads created a need for large horses with extensive musculature. The Society published a stud book , with the first edition in containing 2, stallions and records dating back to Between and , 5, Shires were registered each year with the society. The first Shires were imported to the United States in , with large numbers of horses being imported in the s. The American Shire Horse Association was established in to register and promote the breed.

Shire horse - Wikipedia

Approximately 6, Shires were registered with the US association between and Around the time of the Second World War , increasing mechanisation and strict regulations on the purchase of livestock feed reduced the need for and ability to keep draught horses. Thousands of Shires were slaughtered and several large breeding studs closed. The breed fell to its lowest point in the s and s, and in fewer than horses were shown at the annual British Spring Show. In the s, the breed began to be revived through increased public interest.

The first use within the breed of artificial insemination through frozen semen was with several Australian mares in Between the s and s and today, the Shire has changed in conformation. The Clydesdale was used for cross-breeding in the s and s, which changed the conformation of the Shire and most notably changed the feathering on the lower legs from a mass of coarse hair into the silky feathering associated with modern Shires. At the peak of their population, Shires numbered over a million.

In the s and s, this number declined to a few thousand. Between and , only 25 horses were registered in the United States.

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However, numbers began to increase, and horses were registered in the US by The Shire horse was originally the staple breed used to draw carts to deliver ale from the brewery to the public houses. A few breweries still maintain this tradition in the UK. These include the Wadworth Brewery in Devizes, Wiltshire, [19] the Hook Norton Brewery , [20] the Samuel Smith Brewery in Tadcaster , [21] [22] and Thwaites Brewery , which made Shire-drawn deliveries from the early s to the s, then resumed service in , with deliveries continuing to be horse-drawn to the present day.

Today, the breed is also used for forestry work and leisure riding. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A close up look at Cumbrian Heavy Horses

This article is about the breed of horse. For the British band, see Shirehorses. Retrieved 2 August American Shire Horse Association. Retrieved 4 October