Shire horse
Encyclopedia
The Shire horse is a breed of draught horse
(BrE
) or draft horse
(AmE
). The breed comes in many colours
, including black
, bay and grey
. They are a tall breed, with mare
s standing and over and stallion
s standing and over. The breed has an enormous capacity for weight pulling, and Shires have held the world records for both largest overall horse and tallest horse at various times. Throughout its history, the breed has been popular for pulling brewery
wagons that delivered ale
to customers. This practice continues today, with the breed also being used for forestry, leisure and promotional pursuits.
In 1884, the organization now known as the British Shire Horse Society was created, with the American Shire Horse Association beginning in 1885. The breed was exported from Britain to the United States in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but popularity fell with the advent of mechanization, reaching a low point in the 1950s and 60s. Popularity began to increase again in the 1970s and after. However, population numbers are still considered to be at critical levels by both the UK-based Rare Breeds Survival Trust
and the US-based American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
.
Shire stallion
s may be black
, bay or grey
. They may not be roan
or have large amounts of white markings
. Mare
s and gelding
s may be black, bay, grey or roan. In the UK stallions may not be chestnut
, but the colour is allowed by the US registry. Stallions must stand at least high when mature, and they average around . Geldings stand at least high and mares at least . The head of a Shire is long and lean, with large eyes, set on a neck that is slightly arched and long in proportion to the body. The shoulder is deep and wide, the chest wide, the back
muscular and short and the hindquarters long and wide. There is not to be too much feathering
on the legs, and the hair is fine, straight and silky. Smaller Shires, under , are generally preferred for working horses, while taller horses, especially those over , are used for show and promotional purposes. The breed is known for its easy-going temperament. Shires have been identified to be at risk for chronic progressive lymphedema
, a chronic progressive disease that includes symptoms of progressive swelling, hyperkeratosis
and fibrosis
of distal limbs. The disease is similar to chronic lymphedema in humans.
The Shire has an enormous capacity for weight pulling. In 1924, 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 16.5 tons at a later exhibition.
The largest horse in recorded history was probably a Shire named Mammoth, who was born in 1848. He stood high, and his peak weight was estimated at 1500 kilograms (3,306.9 lb). At over , a Shire gelding
named Goliath was the Guinness Book of World Records record holder for the world's tallest horse until his death in 2001.
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 1145.
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. During the 16th century, Dutch engineers brought Friesian horse
s with them when they came to England to drain the fen
s, and it is probable that these horses had a significant influence on what became the Shire breed.
From this medieval horse came an animal called the Old English Black
Horse in the 17th century. The Black Horse was improved by the followers of Robert Bakewell
, of Dishley Grange in Leicestershire
, resulting in a horse sometimes known as the "Bakewell Black". Bakewell imported six Dutch
or Flanders
mares, notable since breeders tended to concentrate on improving the male line. Two different types of black horse developed: the Fen or Lincolnshire
type and the Leicester
or Midlands type. The Fen type tended to be larger, with more bone and extra hair, while the Midlands type tended to have more endurance while being of a finer appearance. The term "Shire horse" was first used in the mid-17th 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 descendents being recorded from 1770 to 1832. This horse is usually recognized as the foundation stallion
for the Shire breed, and he stood at stud from 1755 to 1770. During the 19th century, Shires were used extensively as cart horses to move goods from the docks through the cities and countryside. The rough roads created a need for large horses with extensive musculature.
In 1878, the English Cart Horse Society was formed, and in 1884 changed its name to the Shire Horse Society. The Society published a stud book, with the first edition in 1878 containing 2,381 stallions and records dating back to 1770. Between 1901 and 1914, 5,000 Shires were registered each year with the British registry. The first Shires were imported to the United States in 1853, with large numbers of horses being imported in the 1880s. The American Shire Horse Association was established in 1885 to register and promote the breed. The Shire soon became popular in the United States, and almost 4,000 Shires were imported between 1900 and 1918. Approximately 6,700 Shires were registered with the US registry between 1909 and 1911. Around the time of World War II
, increasing mechanization and strict regulations on the purchase of livestock feed reduced the need for and ability to keep draft horses. Thousands of Shires were slaughtered and several large breeding studs closed. The breed fell to its lowest point in the 1950s and 1960s, and in 1955 fewer than 100 horses were shown at the annual British Spring Show.
In the 1970s the breed began to be revived through increased public interest. Breed societies have been established in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, France and Germany, and in 1996 the first World Shire Horse Congress was held in Peterborough
. The first use within the breed of artificial insemination
through frozen semen was with several Australian mares in 1997. Between the 1920s and 1930s and today, the Shire has changed in conformation
. The Clydesdale was used for crossbreeding in the 1950s and 1960s, 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, there were over a million Shires. In the 1950s and 1960s this number declined to a few thousand. In the United States, the Shire population dropped significantly in the early parts of the 20th century, and continued to decline in the 1940s and 1950s. Between 1950 and 1959, only 25 horses were registered with the US registry. However, numbers began to increase, and 121 horses were registered in the US by 1985.
The National Shire Horse Spring Show is still held annually and is the largest Shire show in Great Britain. Currently, the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
considers the population of the Shire to be at "critical" levels, meaning that the estimated global population of the breed is less than 2,000 and there are less than 200 registrations annually in the US. The UK Rare Breeds Survival Trust
considers the breed to be "at risk", meaning that population numbers are estimated to be under 1,500. The Equus Survival Trust
considers the breed to be "vulnerable", meaning that there are between 500 and 1500 active adult breeding mares in existence today.
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, the Hook Norton Brewery
, the Samuel Smith Brewery
in Tadcaster
, and Thwaites Brewery
, which made Shire-drawn deliveries from the early 1800s to the 1920s, then resumed service in 1960, with deliveries continuing to be horse-drawn to the present day. Several breweries have recently withdrawn their Shire horse teams, including the Tetley brewery in Leeds
.
Today, the breed is also used for forestry
work and leisure riding.
Draft horse
A draft horse , draught horse or dray horse , less often called a work horse or heavy horse, is a large horse bred for hard, heavy tasks such as ploughing and farm labour...
(BrE
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
) or draft horse
Draft horse
A draft horse , draught horse or dray horse , less often called a work horse or heavy horse, is a large horse bred for hard, heavy tasks such as ploughing and farm labour...
(AmE
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
). The breed comes in many colours
Equine coat color
Horses exhibit a diverse array of coat colors and distinctive markings. A specialized vocabulary has evolved to describe them.While most horses remain the same color throughout life, a few, over the course of several years, will develop a different coat color from that with which they were born...
, including black
Black (horse)
Black is a hair coat color of horses in which the entire hair coat is black. Black is a relatively uncommon coat color, and novices frequently mistake dark chestnuts or bays for black. However, some breeds of horses, such as the Friesian horse, Murgese and Ariegeois are almost exclusively black...
, bay and grey
Gray (horse)
Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike many depigmentation genes, gray does not affect skin or eye color Their adult hair coat is white, dappled, or white intermingled...
. They are a tall breed, with mare
Mare
Female horses are called mares.Mare is the Latin word for "sea".The word may also refer to:-People:* Ahmed Marzooq, also known as Mare, a footballer and Secretary General of Maldives Olympic Committee* Mare Winningham, American actress and singer...
s standing and over and stallion
Stallion
A Stallion is a male horse.Stallion may also refer to:* Stallion , an American pop rock group* Stallion , a figure in the Gobot toyline* Stallion , a character in the console role-playing game series...
s standing and over. The breed has an enormous capacity for weight pulling, and Shires have held the world records for both largest overall horse and tallest horse at various times. Throughout its history, the breed has been popular for pulling brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
wagons that delivered ale
Ale
Ale is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a warm fermentation with a strain of brewers' yeast. The yeast will ferment the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste...
to customers. This practice continues today, with the breed also being used for forestry, leisure and promotional pursuits.
In 1884, the organization now known as the British Shire Horse Society was created, with the American Shire Horse Association beginning in 1885. The breed was exported from Britain to the United States in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but popularity fell with the advent of mechanization, reaching a low point in the 1950s and 60s. Popularity began to increase again in the 1970s and after. However, population numbers are still considered to be at critical levels by both the UK-based Rare Breeds Survival Trust
Rare Breeds Survival Trust
The Rare Breeds Survival Trust is a conservation charity, whose purpose is to secure the continued existence and viability of the United Kingdom’s native farm animal genetic resources...
and the US-based American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting genetic diversity among rare breeds of livestock...
.
Characteristics
Stallion
A Stallion is a male horse.Stallion may also refer to:* Stallion , an American pop rock group* Stallion , a figure in the Gobot toyline* Stallion , a character in the console role-playing game series...
s may be black
Black (horse)
Black is a hair coat color of horses in which the entire hair coat is black. Black is a relatively uncommon coat color, and novices frequently mistake dark chestnuts or bays for black. However, some breeds of horses, such as the Friesian horse, Murgese and Ariegeois are almost exclusively black...
, bay or grey
Gray (horse)
Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike many depigmentation genes, gray does not affect skin or eye color Their adult hair coat is white, dappled, or white intermingled...
. They may not be roan
Roan (horse)
Roan is a horse coat color pattern characterized by an even mixture of colored and white hairs on the body, while the head and "points"—lower legs, mane and tail—are more solid-colored. The roan pattern is dominantly-inherited, and is found in many horse breeds...
or have large amounts of white markings
Horse markings
Markings on horses usually are distinctive white areas on an otherwise dark base coat color. Most horses have some markings, and they help to identify the horse as a unique individual. Markings are present at birth and do not change over the course of the horse's life...
. Mare
Mare
Female horses are called mares.Mare is the Latin word for "sea".The word may also refer to:-People:* Ahmed Marzooq, also known as Mare, a footballer and Secretary General of Maldives Olympic Committee* Mare Winningham, American actress and singer...
s and gelding
Gelding
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...
s may be black, bay, grey or roan. In the UK stallions may not be chestnut
Chestnut (coat)
Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...
, but the colour is allowed by the US registry. Stallions must stand at least high when mature, and they average around . Geldings stand at least high and mares at least . The head of a Shire is long and lean, with large eyes, set on a neck that is slightly arched and long in proportion to the body. The shoulder is deep and wide, the chest wide, the back
Back (horse)
The back describes the area of horse anatomy where the saddle goes, and in popular usage extends to include the loin or lumbar region behind the thoracic vertebrae that also is crucial to a horse's weight-carrying ability. These two sections of the vertebral column beginning at the withers, the...
muscular and short and the hindquarters long and wide. There is not to be too much feathering
Feathering (horse)
Feathering, or feather, is a term used to describe the long hair on the lower legs and fetlocks of some breeds of horse and pony. On some horses, especially draft breeds, the hair can almost cover the hooves...
on the legs, and the hair is fine, straight and silky. Smaller Shires, under , are generally preferred for working horses, while taller horses, especially those over , are used for show and promotional purposes. The breed is known for its easy-going temperament. Shires have been identified to be at risk for chronic progressive lymphedema
Chronic Progressive Lymphedema
Chronic progressive lymphedema, or CPL, is a disease identified in Shire, Clydesdale and Belgian horses that resembles Scratches. It is characterized by lymphedema and symptoms include progressive swelling, thickening skin and lesions on the lower leg. The disease is most likely caused by a...
, a chronic progressive disease that includes symptoms of progressive swelling, hyperkeratosis
Hyperkeratosis
Hyperkeratosis is thickening of the stratum corneum, often associated with a qualitative abnormality of the keratin, and also usually accompanied by an increase also in the granular layer...
and fibrosis
Fibrosis
Fibrosis is the formation of excess fibrous connective tissue in an organ or tissue in a reparative or reactive process. This is as opposed to formation of fibrous tissue as a normal constituent of an organ or tissue...
of distal limbs. The disease is similar to chronic lymphedema in humans.
The Shire has an enormous capacity for weight pulling. In 1924, 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
Dynamometer
A dynamometer or "dyno" for short, is a device for measuring force, moment of force , or power. For example, the power produced by an engine, motor or other rotating prime mover can be calculated by simultaneously measuring torque and rotational speed .A dynamometer can also be used to determine...
. Working in slippery footing, the same pair of horses pulled 16.5 tons at a later exhibition.
The largest horse in recorded history was probably a Shire named Mammoth, who was born in 1848. He stood high, and his peak weight was estimated at 1500 kilograms (3,306.9 lb). At over , a Shire gelding
Gelding
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...
named Goliath was the Guinness Book of World Records record holder for the world's tallest horse until his death in 2001.
Breed history
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as early as 1145.
The English Great Horse was valued during the reign of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, when stallions measuring less than 'fifteen handfuls' could not be kept, but the increasing role of gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
brought an end to the use of heavy horses in battle. Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
's cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
favoured lighter, faster mounts and the big horses began to be used for draught work instead. During the 16th century, Dutch engineers brought Friesian horse
Friesian horse
The Friesian is a horse breed originating in Friesland, Netherlands. Although the breed's conformation resembles that of a light draft horse, Friesians are graceful and nimble for their size. During the Middle Ages, it is believed that the ancestors of Friesian horses were in great demand as war...
s with them when they came to England to drain the fen
Fen
A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...
s, and it is probable that these horses had a significant influence on what became the Shire breed.
From this medieval horse came an animal called the Old English Black
Old English Black
Old English Black is an extinct horse breed.During the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066, the conquerors took some of the Great Horses from Europe across the English Channel and crossed them on native mares. Eventually, a distinct type evolved that was known as the Old English Black...
Horse in the 17th century. The Black Horse was improved by the followers of Robert Bakewell
Robert Bakewell (farmer)
Robert Bakewell was a British agriculturalist, now recognized as one of the most important figures in the British Agricultural Revolution. In addition to work in agronomy, Bakewell is particularly notable as the first to implement systematic selective breeding of livestock...
, of Dishley Grange in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, resulting in a horse sometimes known as the "Bakewell Black". Bakewell imported six Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
or Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
mares, notable since breeders tended to concentrate on improving the male line. Two different types of black horse developed: the Fen or Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
type and the Leicester
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
or Midlands type. The Fen type tended to be larger, with more bone and extra hair, while the Midlands type tended to have more endurance while being of a finer appearance. The term "Shire horse" was first used in the mid-17th 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 descendents being recorded from 1770 to 1832. This horse is usually recognized as the foundation stallion
Foundation bloodstock
Foundation bloodstock or foundation stock are horses that are the progenitor, or foundation, of a new horse breed or a given bloodline within a breed. The term is also used in a similar manner when discussing purebred dogs...
for the Shire breed, and he stood at stud from 1755 to 1770. During the 19th century, Shires were used extensively as cart horses to move goods from the docks through the cities and countryside. The rough roads created a need for large horses with extensive musculature.
In 1878, the English Cart Horse Society was formed, and in 1884 changed its name to the Shire Horse Society. The Society published a stud book, with the first edition in 1878 containing 2,381 stallions and records dating back to 1770. Between 1901 and 1914, 5,000 Shires were registered each year with the British registry. The first Shires were imported to the United States in 1853, with large numbers of horses being imported in the 1880s. The American Shire Horse Association was established in 1885 to register and promote the breed. The Shire soon became popular in the United States, and almost 4,000 Shires were imported between 1900 and 1918. Approximately 6,700 Shires were registered with the US registry between 1909 and 1911. Around the time of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, increasing mechanization and strict regulations on the purchase of livestock feed reduced the need for and ability to keep draft horses. Thousands of Shires were slaughtered and several large breeding studs closed. The breed fell to its lowest point in the 1950s and 1960s, and in 1955 fewer than 100 horses were shown at the annual British Spring Show.
In the 1970s the breed began to be revived through increased public interest. Breed societies have been established in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, France and Germany, and in 1996 the first World Shire Horse Congress was held in Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
. The first use within the breed of artificial insemination
Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
through frozen semen was with several Australian mares in 1997. Between the 1920s and 1930s and today, the Shire has changed in conformation
Equine conformation
Equine conformation evaluates the degree of correctness of a horse's bone structure, musculature, and its body proportions in relation to each other. Undesirable conformation can limit the ability to perform a specific task. Although there are several universal "faults," a horse's conformation is...
. The Clydesdale was used for crossbreeding in the 1950s and 1960s, 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, there were over a million Shires. In the 1950s and 1960s this number declined to a few thousand. In the United States, the Shire population dropped significantly in the early parts of the 20th century, and continued to decline in the 1940s and 1950s. Between 1950 and 1959, only 25 horses were registered with the US registry. However, numbers began to increase, and 121 horses were registered in the US by 1985.
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting genetic diversity among rare breeds of livestock...
considers the population of the Shire to be at "critical" levels, meaning that the estimated global population of the breed is less than 2,000 and there are less than 200 registrations annually in the US. The UK Rare Breeds Survival Trust
Rare Breeds Survival Trust
The Rare Breeds Survival Trust is a conservation charity, whose purpose is to secure the continued existence and viability of the United Kingdom’s native farm animal genetic resources...
considers the breed to be "at risk", meaning that population numbers are estimated to be under 1,500. The Equus Survival Trust
Equus Survival Trust
The Equus Survival Trust is a United States nonprofit organisation dedicated to helping conservation efforts for over 25 endangered horse breeds. It is dedicated to protecting the genetic diversity and traditional traits of historical horse, pony and donkey breeds that are currently nearly extinct...
considers the breed to be "vulnerable", meaning that there are between 500 and 1500 active adult breeding mares in existence today.
Uses
The Shire horse was originally the staple breed used to draw carts to deliver aleCask ale
Cask ale or cask-conditioned beer is the term for unfiltered and unpasteurised beer which is conditioned and served from a cask without additional nitrogen or carbon dioxide pressure...
from the brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
to the public houses. A few breweries still maintain this tradition in the UK. These include the Wadworth Brewery in Devizes Wiltshire, the Hook Norton Brewery
Hook Norton Brewery
Hook Norton Brewery is a regional brewery in Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, England, founded in 1849. The brewing plant is a traditional Victorian "tower" brewery in which all the stages of the brewing process flow logically from floor to floor; mashing at the top, boiling in the middle, fermentation...
, the Samuel Smith Brewery
Samuel Smith Brewery
Samuel Smith's Old Brewery, popularly known as Samuel Smith's or Sam Smith's, is an independent brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England. It is Yorkshire's oldest brewery, founded in 1758.-History:...
in Tadcaster
Tadcaster
Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. Lying on the Great North Road approximately east of Leeds and west of York. It is the last town on the River Wharfe before it joins the River Ouse about downstream...
, and Thwaites Brewery
Thwaites Brewery
Thwaites Brewery is a regional brewery founded in 1807 by Daniel Thwaites in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. The firm still operates from its original town centre site. A variety of cask ales, draught beers, lagers and ciders are produced in Blackburn or imported from Europe by Thwaites. In 1999,...
, which made Shire-drawn deliveries from the early 1800s to the 1920s, then resumed service in 1960, with deliveries continuing to be horse-drawn to the present day. Several breweries have recently withdrawn their Shire horse teams, including the Tetley brewery in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
.
Today, the breed is also used for forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
work and leisure riding.
External links
- http://www.shire-horse.org.uk/ The Shire Horse Society
- http://www.shirehorse.org/ American Shire Horse Association
- http://www.canadianshirehorse.com/ Canadian Shire Horse Association
- http://www.shirehorsefrance.com/ Franch Shire Horse Association