Tireless and always trained, strong and resistant, the Shire horse is a draft horse for heavy loads but is also used in many sporting competitions since it does not do badly at all. We find it excelling in many different disciplines but does not excel in complex ones such as jumping or dressage. We can find it nicknamed in many different ways and each of them tells us something about it: large horse for its imposing size, beer wagon horse, war horse , old English black horse.
Shire Horse: Origins
A large black horse, powerful and robust, already appears in the works of Julius Caesar, in his work De bello Gallico, and all experts suspect that it is precisely our Shire, the same breed of horse that later, in the Middle Ages, was widely used as a war horse, given its imposing size . It was in fact indicated not with the name Shire but as war horse and great horse .
Around the year 1000, after the Battle of Hastings in England in 1066, these horses were crossed with stallions of other breeds such as the Friesian, the Flemish and the German and changed some characteristics that had been distinctive until then. For example, by mixing their blood with that of the Friesian, their movements became more fluid, agile and light.
Another shake-up to the breed standard, not yet written down, came in the first half of the 17th century when the Dutch arrived in England to reclaim the marshy Fens area in the eastern part, and brought with them Dutch, German and Flemish horses. From the cross with the local war horse breed, the Old English Black originated. We are close to the birth of the Shire breed because the first specimen, therefore the founder, lived between 1755 and 1770 and his name has remained in memory: Packington Blind Horse.
From that moment on, there were fewer changes and crossbreeding and the breed acquired esteem and importance over time. These horses were often used for the transport of goods in the nineteenth century and the breed was also made official with the creation of the English Cart Horse Society which then became the Shire Horse Society in 1884. Being very tied to the transport of people and goods, Shire horses risked extinction and disappearing from circulation when motor vehicles arrived but today they are still used in races and sporting competitions with great success, as we will see later.
Shire Horse: Characteristics
When we talked about a big horse, it wasn’t a joke, we are talking about a horse that must be at least 173 cm tall and have a weight between 900 kg and 1100 kg as an adult. If you compare these figures with those of other breeds you will see what a difference!
It is sometimes described as a black horse but in truth it can also be brown, bay or grey, never roan or chestnut and if possible without too obvious white markings on the body. The mane and tail must not be too thick, but with fine, straight and silky hair.
It has a head of proportionate size to its mass, long and lean , sometimes with a very evident jaw, with two very sweet and expressive eyes, and also large, with a Roman profile and a nose with wide and thin nostrils and attached lips, never drooping. The ears emerge nice and long and lean, always seem very attentive and also have a pointed shape.
The neck is long, slightly arched and well-turned, the shoulders strong and oblique , and also wide enough to support the collar. Let’s move on to the limbs which cannot but be very robust given the performances that this animal can boast. The ribs are round, deep and well sprung, the back is muscular and short and the loins strong and harmoniously inserted. The front legs are straight and well in line above the pastern while the hind legs have hocks that must not be too receding nor swollen or sickle-shaped. The feet must also be strong, solid and wide, with thick and open walls.
Shire Horse: Character
This horse is definitely a resistant animal , otherwise it would not have been at man’s side for so long to carry loads before the advent of engines. It is also very docile and tame, it is not difficult to train it but it has a strong character that makes it tenacious and gritty even in competitions.
Shire Horse: Aptitudes
Given its size, in the past it was thought appropriate to use the Shire Horse as a draft animal, even for agricultural machinery or beer carts, it had become almost a symbol for this. We also find it as a champion in many competitions and holder of some interesting records.
The tallest horse of all time was a Shire, measuring 2.20 metres at the withers and weighing around 1.4 tonnes (1,400 kg). He was nicknamed Mammoth. Today it is difficult for any Shire to surpass this record dating back to the 19th century because the maximum height of the breed has decreased and is only 2.07 m at the withers. Another Guinness won is related to its power. At the Wembley Fair in 1924 Vesuvius and Umber, a pair of Shires, pulled a load of 18.5 tonnes on a slippery granite surface.
Shire Horse: Breeding
There are some farms in Italy that deal with this type of breed, an esteemed breed and without a doubt that knows how to surprise and make you fall in love. For more information we recommend you consult the website of the Italian association www.shirehorseitalia.it.
Shire Horse: Price
Due to its size but also to its tireless nature, this horse is one of the most precious and expensive today: the price varies from 5,000 to 30,000 euros for a stallion, a price that varies greatly depending on the characteristics of the individual specimen.