The Shire Horse
From ASHA Summer 1994 Newsletter
As an introduction, it may be in order to explain briefly the premise for these articles. For many years I have been aware of people becoming interested in Shire horses who have little or no knowledge regarding the background of the breed or of conformation considerations. Many would-be breeders, and surely some new owners, have sought information regarding the breed, only to find little or none available. What little they do find, in many cases, is misleading or too vague.
As Americans we all value, and guard with fervency, our freedom to do as we please, as long as we don't harm others. By the same standard, we have a desire to achieve excellence in whatever we undertake. A sound, knowledgeable breeding program allows us, as Shire breeders, to do both. It was with this in mind that lead the American Shire Horse Association, under the direct leadership of the Education Committee Chairman, Randy Chapman, and his committee members, especially Clark Jensen, to support the Shire Horse Conformation Course (SHCC). This course was prepared by myself.
The SHCC is nearly 5 hours long and was presented at both Des Moines, Iowa in August of 1993 and Denver, Colorado in February of 1994. It is not possible to provide all the information given there, but hopefully we can provide some highlights and basic principles in this series of articles. The number and details of each will depend on your wishes and comments. Any comments or questions that you have should be sent to Des Surles or myself. Hopefully we can cover them in future articles.
I will attempt to be as factual as possible and in some cases will provide references for information given. If I am aware of something being controversial, I will either note it as such or give both viewpoints. If it is my opinion, I will state it as such. With all of the above rules and disclaimers, it is time to start out with some history of the Shire breed, which is important and provides a basis for the horse we know today as a Shire.
I. HISTORY
The Shire horse, developed in England, traces it's history to the days of the Roman Conquest and is one of the oldest of the well-defined draft breeds. Shires, in general, were used in the 16th century with paintings dating back to the 15th century that show them in the perfection of form. Without question, the Shire horse was used as a war horse. Most people believe, and the story is told, that it was the Shire that was used by the knights, as they rode into battle, dressed in heavy armor with sword and lance poised. This belief is not shared by everyone; in England some doubt this as being true. I am not taking sides on this issue, but the next time you tell the story about the knights and their mighty Shires, just put a little footnote in your mind that not everyone agrees.
The Shire was found and developed in all parts of England, but the counties of Lincoln, Derby, Cambridge, Norfolk, Nottingham, Leicester and Huntington, were the special homes. These are presently termed as the Midlands. History mentions the horse by different names notably, the Great Horse, the War Horse, the Cart Horse, the Old England Black Horse, the Lincolnshire Giant as well as the Shire.
Like the other standard draft breeds, the Shire was improved by the infusion of outside blood at various times in history, notably that of the north German Flemish horses (Belgian) and the horses of flander. Reasonably good records exist, dating back nearly 1000 years. During this time outside blood coutinued to influence the breed. Breeders were not hampered by a breed registry and no limits were imposed. The use for which the Shire was primarily maintained also changed.
It was during the 18th century that this horse came into special use for draft and farm purposes. With the improvement of roads and the use of coaches, the draft horse came into special demand. During this time, Robert Bakewell greatly improved the Shire under the name of the Leicestshire Cart Horse, by introducing blood from Holland best, the Dutch Fresian. (The Freisan Horse is a very interesting story in it's self).
It was not until the mid to late 1800's that the breed registries were developed. Horses such as the stallion, Prince of Wales, who is recognized as the fore-runner to the Clydesdale breed was at least half Shire, some accounts say more. It isn't important because if registries are to be developed, a split or a beginning must start somewhere. what is important is the quality of the animal, not the name assigned to it. I am not suggesting that we throw down all or any breed registry barriers, but let us remember just to breed a Shire to a Shire is not good enough.
Lawrence Drew, born in 1826 and a renowned horseman said, "If the horse has merit, this is, if it has all good points of a first-rate draft horse - substance, symmetry , size, weight, bone, sinew, muscle, durability and action, and if it be free from all hereditary diseases, you may depend that blood and pedigree are in that horse in a degree sufficient for the purpose of breeding first-rate stock or performing hard work."
Much of the above information can be found in Keith Chivers book called "The Shire Horse.". It is interesting to read and the information given is helpful to all Shire enthusiasts.
In the next issue, we will begin with the Shire's registries.
Lincolnshire Lad II
Not a very good picture of a not very prepossessing horse -- narrow, tall, light-bodied
but, for all that, destined to be "the father of the stud book".
He was foaled in 1870.
Please email the Webmaster with questions or comments about this site.
The ASHA Secretary, Myrna Rhinehart, may be reached at (888)302-6643 or send email to Secretary@ShireHorse.org.
Office hours are 9am to 3pm CST Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursdays.
Office Address:
Amerian Shire Horse Association
P.O. Box 408
Lake Delton, WI 53940
All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by the American Shire Horse Association.
