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The destiny of the Shire and
England is inexorably entwined. In the period between the reign
of Henry II, 1154, and that of Elizabeth, 1558, it seems to have been a
constant aim of the government to increase the size and number called
the "The Great Horse". Little wonder, the weight of many horse soldiers in armour was upwards of 400 pounds for rider and armour. But if he was useful in war, he proved to be even more so in peace. Turning his attention from battle to commerce and agriculture in a nation that takes both very seriously indeed, the Shire has become nothing less than a national treasure in the 1800's. |
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The Shire geldings moved the
commerce of this most commercial of all nations of the docks and
through the streets of the cities. The needs of the empire and the temper of the times called for a horse of enormous bulk, prodigious muscular strength, and docility ... and the stockmen and farmers of England responded with one of the finest living creatures - the Shire horse. Shires are known as the tallest of the draft breeds. The American Shire Horse Association issued its first stud book in 1888. From 1900 through 1918, there were 3907 registered Shires imported from England. That period became the years of the greatest Shire expansion in the country. Preferred colors are black, brown, bay, gray, or chestnut with excessive white markings and roaning undesirable. Feathers should be fine, straight, and silky. |