THE ENGLISH SHIRE

The Shire Horse is a breed of draught horse originating from England, and descending from the Great Horse by William the Conqueror. These horses were used to carry knights in full armor into battle, charging over walls and fences into battle.

The Shire Horse stands between 16.2 to 18 hh (17.2hh on average, and 21.2hh on record.), with a powerful muscular build, a dense rounded body, a broad back, strong loins, long legs and dense bones. They average a weight of 910 kg to 1120 kg. Shire horses can be black, bay, or grey. The legs should have white markings, or socks. The legs should also have hair down the back of the legs, called feathers,that cover the hooves. The head should be long and lean, with a roman nose and widely-spaced eyes. The often have, and are required to have a docile expression, and are generally brown. The neck should be lean and with an arch.

The Shire was also primarily used for pulling carts for work. Pulling carts full of ale from the brewery to store houses, and are used for ceremonial use also.

The Shire tends to be the tallest and heaviest of horse breeds, a shire named Sampson, foaled in 1846 in England stood 21.2 1/2 hands high, or 7 ft 2 1/2 in high, and weighed over 3,300 pounds.

Dolly is a 4 year old Shire mare currently in training with Arnold Warmels. She is around 18.2, black with a white star, white snip, and 4 white socks, with a full, undocked tail. She is currently in training for dressage and is also beginning in cart.  I have owned her for a little over a year and am always surprised at how graceful she is for such a BIG girl. We found Dolly online in Niota, TN, by chance. We went and took the 3 hour trip to go look at her and immediately fell in love with her and soon enough brought her back with us.

When we first got her it was amusing to show people our "little filly" that was new to the barn and surprise people with how tall she was as a 3 year old. But don't comment on her weight! After some comments about her weight one week she managed to escape from her stall one night and knock over one of the signs that decorate the barn, "Does this saddle make me look fat?", to make a point that she is only big boned.