THE SHIRE HORSE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1361, 12 February 1912, Page 10

THE SHIRE HORSE.

TVI'K AND SIZII. Discussing type and size iu Shires, Mr. J. A. I'ro-I, writing in the "Live Stock Journal," says:— "Willi a breed of horses for which there is a v.orid-wide demand, it might l.e supposed (hat a variety of types would be desirable or that the class'of animal which liiuls favour in one country would be uiMiiluhlc for another; but (lie Shire is needed only for heavy draught purposes, or to add weight and sub-lance to the native draught horse stock ol oilier countries. It is long since horse-, of this class were used for carrying armour-clad knights to battle, conscijuenily it i- not necessary to encourage the breeding of anything but a massive-limbed animal, square in build, very deip in the rib, ami short on the leg. points which give the Shire its superiority over alt other draught breeds, and which must bo maintained for draught purposes; therefore, any leanings towards a Hash and leggy type should be discouraged by those who judge animals of (his popular breed at the shows in (he country. There is a tendency on the part oi a few pve'ciitday judges to place a big, overgrown candidate iu front of a smaller but i.iore correct type of Shire, although the latter has the weightiest set of limbs, so that the question may be asked whether the. craze for sr/,e can be pursued with safety? Mere size, or height, is not always indicative of true Shire character, especially if it is obtained at (ho expense of feet and legs.

It. is certainly more difficult to find a horse standing 17! hands as pror.crlionato as one or two three inch.es lower, and when it conies to actual shaft work the tall animal is the first to show si.Ms of wear. Of course, the opinion prevails that "a good big horse is better than a good little one," which is true within reasonable limits; but among Shires the biggest stallions have not proved themselves the most successful sires, neither have mares a? hieh as houses bred the mo=t valuable stock.

Of late years a considerable addition to the length of show animals has been noticeable, but whether this is an, unmixed blessing is a debatable point. In any ease, it is a departure from the tvpe of the Old English black horse of Bak'ewrll's day. His idea of a cart horse was that be -should be "thick and short-bodied, with very short Ice;?," while he favoured a short neck nlso, as he maintained that "his cars ought In stand perpendicularly over his fore feet." In Sir Walter Gilkey's book on "The Great Horse" several illustrations of Shires are given, from which it wav be seen that the originals were of the type favoured by the great live stock improver above mentioned, and he (Bakcweil) is .said to have turned four acres a day with one man and a Kotherham plough with a pair of his improved blacks, which was four times ' the amount his neighbours got done with the same strength, this being pretty conclusive evidence that the short-legged Shire with a well-coupled back is the typo to encourage for work and wear.

The nearest approach to this typo which the writer has seen during the past show season was in Hie two-year-old stallion class at the London and Royal Shows, which was "conspicuous lor weight and massiveness." The first two colts were wide, deep, and weighty in their bodies, with short legs of ample proportions, while; the first-prize yearling stallion 'at these meetings did not give one the impression of being unduly long in his back, notwithstanding his size, so that with sires of the wide and weighty order coming along it should be possible to male lengthy mares successfully.

At other shows some specimens have found favour that have been drcidedly leggy, with such length of body as to make them look shallow at the flank and short in the rib, which is not quite the type to propagal-e, as they cannot stand the strain when backing a l°ad li':e those of the strong-loined and muscular type. Therefore it may be asked whether the back and loin should not be taken more into consideration when judging, as wall as the "feet, joints, and feather," notwithstanding thai it is said "the top can change, the bottoms never." If (he top changes, or appears to change, it is through being loaded tip with fat which hides a lot of defects, and that of a slack loin in particular. A short-ribbed and shallow colt grows into a horse with the same defects, but they are less obvious in a fat- than a lean animal.

By paying more attention to the top il is not suggested tliat the bottoms should be neglected, or that palpable, defects in feet, joints, or limbs should be passed over. As regards the feet of Shire horses, they got better each year, this being to a great extant due to tho fact that the feet of colts are not till the animal is worked as they were in bygone days. At the present time all the best young stock are shown during colthood; consequently the feet must he kept iu shone, for that purpose, but some part of the improvement is, of course, due to the use of sound-footed parents and the fact that Rood judges work on the "no foot, no horse" idea. There is. however, a noticeable defect in the forelegs of many Shires, oven high-class show horses (and it appeals to be on the incree.sei; this is, that the cannon bone recedes below the knee instead of being straight from the knee to the front of the fetlock joint. This gives many an otherwise good animal a common appearance when taking a broad'-ide view of the forelegs; moreover, this type of fordo;; is not the best possible for a swinging stride and good knee action. One also notices hind legs which leave something to bo desired in angle when standing, and leverage when in motion: so that the placing for prizes is always a matter of balancing the strong and weak points of the candidates.