Unsegmented source body · Part 2

In the second edition, however, we find the recommendation to the countryman to provide himself with stock of English raising qualified by a remark which confirms the author’s reference to the general weakness of the war horses of the time, and indicates that the “misfits” of the Great Horse breed, as we might suppose, were relegated to the waggon and the plough. The passage “But now to content ... better than here in Englande,” continues:--

“whereas he maie easilie find a number of strong jades more meet for that purpose than for the saddle, and all for lack of good order of breeding which if it might be once observed in this realme I believe there would be so good and so faire horses bred here as in anie place in Christendome.”

The need of more legislation on the subject, or better administration of the existing laws, is here very plainly indicated.

When discussing the advantages of gelding horses for use on the road, Blundeville incidentally bears out what we already know, viz., that the animals used by heavily armoured cavalry were entires. “Our light horsemen here in England,” he says, “do in like manner serve upon geldings in the warres ... partly for servants to ride on and to carie their males [mail] and cloke bagges.”

The invention of gunpowder and its application to hand firearms produced the inevitable effect upon heavy armour in the last quarter of the sixteenth century. Sir John Smythe writing in 1589, the year after the famous Spanish Armada fiasco, says contemptuously of the cavalry of Spain: “Their horsemen also serving on horseback with launces or any other weapon they think very well armed with some kind of headpiece, a collar, and a deformed light bellied beast.” The introduction of coaches at this time, and the encouragement of racing at a somewhat later period also tended to encourage the breeding of lighter horses in England.

JAMES I.

We now take leave of our Elizabethan instructors and come to records relating to a generation later. In the Herbert MS., published as vol. xx. of the Montgomeryshire collection, we find on page 148 an estimate of the cost of horsing an expedition which was being fitted out to enforce the claims of the Prince Palatine, son-in-law to James I., to the Crown of Bohemia. This estimate was laid before the Privy Council on January 13th, 1620. Ten thousand men were to be despatched from England; it was calculated that the baggage of this army would weigh 1,150 tons, to transport which as many carts each carrying one ton, would be needed, and for each waggon eight cart horses. It was further estimated that for the conveyance of the officers, the sick and the wounded, 380 waggons would be wanted, and that three horses must be provided for each of these vehicles. The scheme laid before the Privy Council proposed that part, at least, of the 10,412 cart horses thus required should be taken up where they could be hired by the day “in the Low Countries or where they may best be hadde.

They with the carters to drive and keep them.” The hire was estimated at 2s. per diem, while the cost of the horses, if bought outright, “with harness and furniture,” would, it was anticipated, be £9 apiece. The framers of this estimate appended thereto a note or recommendation which reflects the comparative merits of English and foreign cart horses at the time. “We think it necessary that, besides, 200 strong cart horses _such as cannot be hired_ should be bought or continually kept for the use of the ordnance and munition.” The cost of these Strong or Great Horses was put down at £15 per head--the modern equivalent of that seemingly modest sum being perhaps £100--and the lieutenants and deputy-lieutenants of counties throughout England were to be required to certify what proportion of horses fit for this service “each sheire canne affourd upon all occasions on enterprise.”

Among the leaders of this expedition was the Duke of Arenberg, whose portrait, painted by Vandyke, is in the collection of the Earl of Leicester, at Holkham Hall, and from which the accompanying engraving is taken. In Smith’s _Catalogue of Painters_, vol. iii., p. 148, this is described as one of the great artist’s most successful equestrian portraits. Vandyke is believed to have visited this country in 1620 and to have executed commissions for James I. who conferred upon him a pension and a safe conduct which enabled him to travel without hindrance through all continental countries whose sovereigns were friendly to England. The picture affords interesting proof of the close resemblance of the English war horse in the first quarter of the seventeenth century to that portrayed by Albert Dürer more than one hundred years earlier. The colour is different; but in all material points it is practically identical with the white Great Horse of the German painter. The similarity of character is not confined to the horse on which the Duke is mounted; in the background a body of cavalry is represented, and an engraving on large scale of this portion of

[Illustration: THE DUKE OF ARENBURG; after the Picture by Vandyke.]

the picture shows the stamp of animal to be the same.

CHARLES I.

Coming now to the reign of Charles I. (1625-1649) we find that the popularity of racing and its results on the breed of strong horses were disturbing the minds of thoughtful men. Sir Edward Harwood presented to the King a memorial which represented that there was a great deficiency of good and stout horses for the defence of the Kingdom, insomuch that it was a question whether it could have furnished 2,000 that would have been equal to 2,000 French. The cause being, the memorialist stated, the strong proclivity of the nation for racing and hunting, which required horses to be lighter and weaker for the sake of swiftness. Sir Edward proposed as remedy that nobles and gentlemen should keep stronger horses and train them and their riders in military exercises instead of making races for Bells. This sound advice might have produced results but it was offered at the time when troubles were gathering about the throne and the King had no leisure to attend to it. Charles was fond of the _manège_ and was a good horseman; his care for the art of riding the Great Horse was shown by a proclamation issued in the third year of his reign. In this he commanded that, as he had found by experience, such horses as are employed in the service are “more apt and fit to be managed by such as shall ride them, being accustomed to the Bitt, than the Snaffle ... no person shall in riding use any snaffles but Bitts only.” This was qualified by exception in favour of “times of Disport,” which doubtless referred to racing, hunting, and hawking.

It is quite in accord with King Charles’ love of the _manège_ and military horsemanship that the Great Horse should figure on the Great Seals of the unfortunate King. By permission of Mr. Allan Wyon we reproduce from his beautiful work, _The Great Seals of England_, engravings of Charles’ Counter Seal and Second Counter Seal with the descriptions therein given. The engraver has rendered the breed of his horses unmistakeable; and nothing need be added to Mr. Wyon’s descriptions:--

COUNTERSEAL.

PERIOD OF USE 1625 TO 1627.

“The King on horseback, galloping to the left, holding in the right hand a sword which passes behind the King’s head, the left hand holding the

[Illustration: COUNTER SEAL AND SECOND COUNTER SEAL OF CHARLES I.]

reins. The helmet is ensigned with the Royal Crown. Three very long and three short feathers fly backwards from the King’s helmet. The horse’s neck is protected at the back by plates, and on its head is a plume of feathers. The horse wears a stiff caparison as in the seal of James I., but more limited in dimensions. On the caparison covering the hind quarter are the Royal arms encircled with an inscribed Garter, and ensigned with a Crown. In the lower border of the caparison thistles and roses are placed alternately at a small distance apart, above a short fringe. The reins are very wide and much ornamented; the part which is seen in front is escalloped, having four pendants, each pendant being made to represent a rose with a tassel hanging from it. The tail is in three distinct waves. In base is a greyhound collared and current to the left. The field is diapered with interlacing ovals, in which appear roses and thistles alternately. The legend begins with a rose, which is repeated between the words and is also placed after the last word. Between the first and last rose is a fleur-de-lis.” Legend:--

CAROLUS . DEI . GRATIA . MAGNÆ . BRITANNIÆ . FRANCIÆ ET HIBERNIÆ . REX FIDEI . DEFENSOR, &c.

SECOND COUNTERSEAL.

PERIOD OF USE 1627 TO 1640.

“The King on horseback, galloping to the left, in complete armour, the helmet open showing the features very characteristically rendered, holding in the right hand a sword which passes above the helmet, and the point of which touches the outer border; the left hand holds the reins; on the left is a small shield covering the elbow and the lower part of the body. Two very large feathers sweep backwards from the helmet and two smaller ones rise to the outer border above. The right hand, the sword, and part of the helmet, break across the inner border and divide the commencement from the end of the legend. The horse is entirely devoid of armour. The saddle cloth is very small, and square. In base is a greyhound collared and current to the left, and underneath the horse is a view of London from the South, showing the river Thames and London Bridge. Shipping on the river below London Bridge is seen between the hind legs of the horse. The hills to the North of London are represented as of mountainous height. The hind hoof breaks into the legend.”

CAROLUS . DEI . GRATIA . ANGLIÆ . SCOTIÆ . FRANCIÆ . ET . HIBERNIÆ . REX . FIDEI . DEFENSOR.

“The style of the King, which in the First Seal of his reign was ‘Rex Magna Brittanniæ’ is now ‘Rex Angliæ Scotiæ,’ &c.”

From the year 1200 downwards very many seals have borne the device of a horse, and invariably one of the Great Horse type.

FROM THE COMMONWEALTH TO WILLIAM III.’s TIME.

During the Commonwealth (1649-1659) three seals were in use, each of which shows on the reverse side a Great Horse of well defined character. To prove the use of the breed at this period we may, however, take evidence from Vandyke, whose equestrian portrait of Oliver Cromwell, in the heroic attitude orthodox for so many generations, is here reproduced. The charger upon which the Protector, partially clad in armour, is

[Illustration: THE PROTECTOR ON A GREAT HORSE; after the Picture by Vandyke.]

represented, has all the Great Horse character. Stress must be laid on the fact that from about this period the term Black Horse is used as synonymous with Great Horse. The following brief note from Cromwell to Auditor Squire, which we take from Carlyle’s _Letters and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell_, has value in this connection, as also in showing the cost of troop horses at the time:

“_Stilton, Jan. 31, 1643._

“DEAR SIR,--

“Buy those horses, but do not give more than 18 or 20 pieces each for them, that is enough for Dragooners. I will give you 60 pieces for that Black you won [in battle] at Horncastle, for my son has a mind to him.

“Your friend, “OLIVER CROMWELL.”

It is altogether improbable that the “dragooners” referred to were animals boasting the power and substance of the charger on which Vandyke has painted the Protector. Cromwell’s “Ironsides” were not clad in plate armour but in leathern jerkins, and for men so accoutred a much lighter stamp of horse would suffice.

In another letter written six months after, appears the following phrase:--“I will give you all that you ask for that black you won last fight.” Use of this term still survives in a negative form among the breeders of Cleveland Bays; whose favourite boast of their strain is that it contains “neither blood nor black.”

The actual value of the “piece” mentioned is not quite certain. Mr. Warwick Wroth of the British Museum (Department of Coins) to whom I referred the point writes: “I think that ‘piece’ must mean ‘broad piece,’ _i.e._, the gold sovereign (20s.) of the time called ‘Unite,’ ‘Broad’ or ‘Carolus’ (or if of James I. the ‘Laurel,’ ‘Jacobus,’ &c.). The only other coin that could be meant would be the silver crown piece (5s.) of Charles I., or possibly the ‘piece of eight,’ _i.e._, the Spanish dollar current in England about 1643, for rather more than 4s.” My informant kindly sends me a quotation from _Rogers’ History of Agriculture and Prices_, which confirms his cautious opinion that the “piece” was the gold piece, _i.e._, the sovereign. The quotation referred to possesses an interest germane to the subject under consideration apart from this special point; it runs:--

“There is very little change in the price of horses ... during the first thirty years of my period [1582-1702]. Then the price begins to rise for the next thirty years and, though the dear decade 1643-1652 does not represent the highest average of the whole, the exaltation over the thirty years that precede it is very marked. For the period 1673-1682 horses are decidedly dear. Thus in 1673 a horse is bought by All Souls College at £30 5s., and two others at Cambridge at £20 each. In 1674 Winchester gives £15 8s. 6d. for a saddle horse.”

Cromwell’s letter was written at the beginning of the “dear decade;” and as the prices quoted for individual purchases thirty years later appear “decidedly dear” in a general review of the period, it is highly probable that £18 or £20 was the amount Cromwell thought “quite enough for dragooners.” His offer of three times as much, £60, for “that Black you won” shows the superiority of the Great Horse.

Despite the prowess of Cromwell’s lighter cavalry, the day of the true Great Horse was not yet at an end. In the year 1658 the Duke of Newcastle published his classic volume--_The Manner of Feeding, Dressing and Training of Horses for the Great Saddle and Fitting them for the Service of the Field in the Time of War_. This very curious and instructive volume, which was originally published in French at Antwerp contains numerous elaborate copper-plate engravings, most of which represent horses of the one massive type with large limbs, heavy crest, silky haired fetlocks and flowing mane and tail. The Duke writes of the Northern Horses, using the term to distinguish the North German, Flanders and similar breeds from the lighter Oriental and Spanish horses:--“I have seen some, beautiful in their kind, genteel in all sorts of paces, and which have excelled all others in leaping. Moreover they have a peculiar excellence in the motion of their forelegs which is the principal grace in the action of a horse.” Thomas Blundeville in his book gives instructions for improving the action of a horse; he was to be taken into a ploughed field or soft ground and encouraged with voice and spur to trot; by which exercise he would learn to lift his feet.

The engraving of a dappled grey horse here given is from one of the latest works of Paul Potter; the original picture bears date 1652, and was therefore painted only six years before the Duke of Newcastle’s book appeared. Potter, who died at Amsterdam in 1654, made his great reputation by the infinite pains he bestowed on the study of cattle and sheep, and the success with which he gave the result of his observations on canvas; and it is only reasonable to suppose that he exercised equal

[Illustration: A GREAT HORSE OF ABOUT 1652; after the Picture by Paul Potter.]

care in painting horses. The strain of North German and Flanders blood was at this period so strongly represented in our English Great Horses of the best stamp that we need not enquire whether this horse was of German, Flemish or English origin; the character of all being practically the same. The abundance of the plaited mane will be remarked in this picture.

The reflection that the Duke of Newcastle’s careful work came somewhat late to fulfil its direct purpose crosses the mind of the student. During the latter half of the seventeenth century armour fell into disuse, and the interests of Great Horse breeding appear to have been neglected. Charles II. was a racing monarch, and James II. during his brief reign seems to have done nothing. William III. established a riding academy and brought over a French riding master, one Major Foubert, to direct it. The Great Horse, no longer required for military service, was no longer a saddle horse, and took its place as a beast of draught. From this time forward, therefore, we shall give it the name which associates it with agriculture and commerce, and speak of the SHIRE HORSE.

QUEEN ANNE’S REIGN.

In the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1713), the roads throughout England were still of the worst description, and the ponderous carriages of the nobility demanded great strength and weight in the animals which drew them; and thus we now find the Shire Horse in demand as a carriage horse. The Queen’s state coach was drawn by long-tailed Shire mares; and the stage coaches which since 1670 had opened regular communication between London and the most important towns in the kingdom were we need not doubt, drawn by horses of a heavy, massive type; for until the end of the century, when McAdam introduced the system of road making known by his name, no team of lighter horses would have been equal to the work. The value and importance of the Shire horse therefore in no wise decreased when the abolition of armour enabled our ancestors to employ a lighter stamp of cavalry trooper.

The _London Evening Post_, of September 24th to 27th, 1737, contains notice of a race which shows that endeavours were made to encourage the breeding of active cart horses. It runs as follows:--

“To be run for on Finchley Common, in the county of Middlesex, on Tuesday the 4th of October next, a Set of Lating Bells and Whip, for five Horses, by Carthorses that constantly go in a Team, and to be rid by the Carter that did constantly drive the Team; to ride bareback’d, with the Bit-Halter and his own Cart-Whip; to run two miles at a Heat, the best of three Heats, and to pay three shillings entrance, and no less than five to start, and enter the day of running between the Hours of Eight and Two, at the place above-mentioned; the first Horse to have the Bells, and the second the Whip.”

Here is the advertisement of another race of somewhat similar character which, in spite of the element of jocularity in the conditions, would help to stimulate the interest taken by carters in their charges. This is taken from the _London Evening Post_, of September 4th to 6th, 1739:--

“On the Wash, near Newbury, in Berkshire, on Friday, the 22nd of September, 1739, will be run for, a set of Cart Harness with Bells, for five Horses (given by the Most Honourable the Marquess of Carnarvon), by any Horse, Mare, or Gelding that shall be 15 hands high at the least, and has been train’d to the Cart only, and in that way continued to be used. None but Carters to ride, and to ride with Bell Halters, long Cart Whips, in Straw Boots and Carter’s Frocks, and without saddles; and all Riders to change their Horses, &c. (mares or geldings), before starting at the Starting-Post, and no Man to ride his own Horse (mare or gelding), &c., the Horse (mare or gelding) &c., that comes in last to win the Prize. And if any Dispute shall arise about the Change of Horses, starting, running, &c., the same to be determined by the said Marquis, his deputy, or deputies, and 2s. 6d. will be given by the said Marquiss to each Rider.”

Marshall in his _Rural Economy of Norfolk_, published 1795, describes the road races in which “the lead was the goal contended for:” in his time this dangerous amusement, as he justly considered it, had been “a good deal laid aside though not entirely left off.” The gist of Marshall’s account has been given in a former little work.[B]

From _Heavy Horses_ (No. 3 of Messrs. Vinton’s Live Stock Handbooks Series), we take the following interesting passage which shows the value set upon good Shires, by their owners in the middle of the eighteenth century:

“Only within the last year or so there went over to the great majority ... an old stud groom, whose grandfather in his day was at the head of a famous stud owned by people of the name of Gallemore, who for generations had a celebrated Shire stud within two miles of Calwich Abbey. At the time when Prince Charlie marched on Derby in the famous ’45 this old retainer was forced to take refuge from the invaders and place the stallions of this stud in a place of safety. This he successfully did.”

The fear lest these animals should be appropriated by the invader reminds us of the similar state of affairs three hundred years previously, when the Wars of the Roses created a demand for horses which private owners took extreme measures to avoid satisfying at their own expense (pages 19-20).

This excerpt also furnishes us with a link between past and present; for volume i. of the Shire Horse Stud Book contains mention of several of the original Derbyshire stallions named Gallemore, which were no doubt called after their owners. The stud referred to was stabled at Croxden Abbey--“and from its courtyard the horses went forth into hiding. Though it cannot be stated as an absolute fact, all the evidence points to the famous Packington Blind Horse having been begotten at this same place” (_Ibid._, p. 16).

The direct descendants of the Packington Blind Horse (believed to have been in his full vigour from 1755 to 1770) are traced down to the year 1832.

It is certain that this breed, for which WAR HORSE, GREAT HORSE, OLD ENGLISH BLACK HORSE or SHIRE HORSE are terms used at different periods has been distributed for centuries through the district between the Humber and the Cam, occupying the rich fen lands of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, and extending westward through the counties of Huntingdon, Northampton, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Norwich and Stafford, on to the Severn. It has also been extensively bred in the low-lying pasture lands of England, in the counties both north and south of those named, everywhere retaining its typical character subject to slight variations produced by differences of climate, soil and food.

When Arthur Young, in the latter part of the last century, was describing his tours through the counties of England and Scotland, he mentions only two varieties of Cart Horse as deserving attention, namely, the Large Black Old English Horse, “the produce principally of the Shire counties in the heart of England and the Sorrel-coloured Suffolk Punch for which the sandy tract of country near Woodbridge is famous.”

The writer’s use of the word “Shire” will be remarked; we cannot doubt but that a breed of horses whose home was in these counties would have been known in other localities as “Shire Horses,” like the “Norfolk Trotter” and “Suffolk Punch,” and at a later date the “Clydesdale;” the only difference being that the Shire was

[Illustration: NORFOLK CART HORSE, DODMAN. Foaled 1780. After the Picture by Woodward.]

distributed over a larger breeding area, which therefore furnished him with a less strictly local name. Arthur Young, it will also be observed, describes the breed as the “Large Black Old English Horse,” a name which, as we have seen, had been in current use since at least the time of Oliver Cromwell. The Eastern counties breed was known and described as the Black Lincolnshire Horse. Black and grey, as Mr. Reynolds points out, were held to indicate purity of breeding.

We have now reached a period when painters of animal pictures were sometimes commissioned to execute portraits of fine examples of horses, cattle and sheep. The engraving which faces this page is from a picture by Mr. Woodward of a Norfolk Cart Horse called DODMAN (East Anglian for “Snail”), of whose pedigree unfortunately no particulars exist, but which was foaled in the year 1780. This horse was the property of an ancestor of Anthony Hamond, Esq., and the portrait is preserved at his family seat in the parish of Westacre near Brandon. The long hair-lock hanging from the knee arrests the eye; this appendage, like a moustache on the upper lip and a hair lock projecting from the back of the hock, is regarded as the distinguishing mark of a strain or variety of the Shire. DODMAN seems to have been used as a stallion in the district whence was obtained, nearly a century later, HONEST TOM (1105), whose portrait faces page 60.

Our next engraving is from a picture by George Morland, which was probably painted at about the same date as that of DODMAN. That artist, between 1790 and 1795, went into hiding in Leicestershire to escape from his creditors; he took up his abode in the neighbourhood of Mr. Bakewell’s famous Dishley Farm; and the horse portrayed resembles in no small degree pictures of some of Mr. Bakewell’s stud, which at that period had attained its highest repute. It is therefore exceedingly likely that this represents a typical Leicestershire Cart Horse of the time. It belongs to a type differing in some respects from DODMAN, being longer in the body, finer about the head and lacking the hair-lock in front of the knee, while the mane, tail, and feathering on the legs are less profuse. These two portraits afford opportunity of comparing two varieties of the Shire, the Fenland and the Leicestershire.

The _Sporting Magazine_ of 1796 contains an article headed “Operations on British

[Illustration: A LEICESTER SHIRE HORSE (1790-1795); after the Picture by George Morland.]

Horses,” in which the following passage occurs:--

“We have a large and strong breed in the more fertile and luxuriant parts of the island; and there is no country can bring a parallel to the strength and size of our horses destined for the draught, as there are instances of single horses that are able to draw the weight of three tons.”

The roads in England had been vastly improved since Holinshed described the drawing powers of a team of horses in the latter half of the sixteenth century; but we cannot doubt that the horse itself had also improved, more especially during the eighteenth century when the Great Horse was gradually becoming the servant of the farmer rather than that of the soldier. The Statutes to which reference has been made unquestionably did much to promote the building up of the Great Horse breed and establish it as national; the counties and districts enumerated in 32 of Henry VIII. quoted on p. 24 show very clearly how wide was the area over which the breed was distributed three and a half centuries ago; and it would be superfluous to lay stress upon the increase of the area over which the Shire horse has been bred since that remote day.

It would seem that the action which our forefathers sought to develop in the Great Horse was still characteristic, in some degree at least, of the Shire at the end of the last century; this engraving, published at the time, shows a horse named ELEPHANT, whose portrait was painted in 1792 by an artist whose name is unknown. An inscription on the frame tells us that this horse was “supposed to be one of the most boney horses ever seen;” at four years old he “is said to have stood 16’2” and to have girthed 8 feet, while he measured round the knee-joint 16½ inches. He was plainly a horse of great muscular development and big bone, while his attitude suggests the activity and spirit that distinguished the War Horse from which he was descended.

From one of Garrard’s pictures now hanging in the Council Room of the Shire Horse Society, we take our engraving of this gelding which was in use at Whitehead’s Brewery in 1792, and was therefore a contemporary of the horse painted by George Morland, and of ELEPHANT. This picture served as an illustration in Garrard’s series of engravings of British Farm Stock. It is the likeness of an excellent horse--“type perfect, flat bone, with good hocks, pasterns and feet.” Apparently this is a fen-bred horse; a chestnut with the white face and

[Illustration: SHIRE HORSE, ELEPHANT (about 1792).]

[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF A SHIRE GELDING IN USE AT MESSRS. WHITBREAD’S BREWERY IN 1792; after the Picture by Geo. Garrard, A. R. A.]

markings which we have, of late years, learned to associate with the stock of the Rutlandshire Champions. High prices were paid for Shires in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Mr. Hambleton of Callon Moor sold to Mr. Summerland in 1778 a brown stallion for 350 guineas; and in 1791 a two-year-old stallion named Marston was sold by Mr. Handley for 500 guineas; these would be good prices for pedigree stock at the present day.

It is worth adding to the portraits of Shire Horses foaled during the last decades of the eighteenth century one more showing a pair whose colour betrays them as belonging to a variety closely allied to that last noticed. The picture facing page 58 shows two horses named PIRATE and OUTLAW, and was painted in 1810 by an artist named J. C. Zeitter; the owner of the work was Mr. Andrew McCullum, and it was engraved by J. Egan.

These particulars we obtain from an inscription on the frame of the work, which is our only source of information. Having an eye to the accessories in the background, we infer that Pirate and Outlaw were, like Garrard’s horse, the property of a brewer; both before and after this period views of well-known breweries were favourite subjects with some of our best animal painters, who found excellent reason for their preference in the magnificent teams of dray horses of which private firms were so proud. The ownership of, and work performed by, these horses, are however of no special importance; the interest of the picture, apart from the substance and strength of the animals, lies in the colour. This curious parti-colour is by no means uncommon in the Shires reared in the Fen country; in the middle of the present century Mr. Colvin, of Pishobury, Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, had a breed of Shire piebalds on his Home Farm. Mr. Charles Marsters, of Saddlebow, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, possessed a celebrated stallion, “England’s Wonder,” foaled in 1871; this horse was the sire of good animals, but many of them horses of odd colours. To this day there is a tendency to breed animals with white legs, white markings and odd colours.

THE SHIRE HORSE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.

It may be of interest to see how the east country Shire appeared in the eyes of a very competent judge of horseflesh about the time

[Illustration: PIRATE AND OUTLAW (1810).]

[Illustration: PLOUGH TEAMS OF SHIRE HORSES. Bred by B. B. Colvin, Esq., of Pishiobury Park, Harlow, Essex, about 1844-1855.

(Drawn by P. Palfrey, from a Photograph.)]

of Waterloo. Thus the traveller George Borrow, in his sketch of Tombland Fair, Norwich, where from time immemorial a show of stallions has been held at Easter:--

“There was shouting and whooping; weighing and braying; there was galloping and trotting; fellows with high-lows and white stockings--and with many a string dangling from the knees of their tight-breeches--were running desperately; holding horses by the halter, and in some cases dragging them along. There were long-tailed steeds and dock-tailed steeds of every degree and breed. There were droves of wild ponies, and long rows of sober Cart Horses. There were donkeys and even mules; the last a rare thing to be seen in damp misty England; for the mule pines in mud and rain, and never thrives so well as when there is a hot sun above and a burning sand below. There were--oh, the gallant creatures! I hear their neigh upon the winds; there were--goodliest sight of all--certain enormous quadrupeds, only seen to perfection in our native isle; led about by dapper grooms; their manes ribbanded and their tails curiously clubbed and balled. Ha! ha! How distinctly do they say, Ha! ha!”

When Borrow wrote this he had seen specimens of pretty nearly all the draught horses in Europe: including all the grandfathers of all the Percherons and Normandy carriage-horses.

The old paintings and engravings, examples of which we have introduced as far as possible in chronological order, possess practical value to breeders as showing the stamp and character of the Shire Horse at various periods of the history of the breed. We have traced its progress down to a date when the Stud Books relieve us of the necessity of further pursuit, and can only hope that success has attended this endeavour to show that our modern Shire Horse is descended from the animal which has filled so important a part at all times in the history of our country. It is also certain that during this century the Shire Horse has played no mean part in building up size and massiveness in all the other Draught breeds in the Kingdom. That he has undergone great changes is certain; but the characteristics of the breed, size, strength, substance, courage and docility, have been perpetuated and developed by careful selection till we have now in our Shire horse the ideal beast of draught.

BLYTHWOOD CONQUEROR, whose portrait faces page 64, stands as an excellent representative of the modern Shire stallion. This horse is by Hitchin Conqueror (4458) out of Blythwood Bountiful (11607), and was bred at Wood House Farm, Stansted, by Sir James Blyth. He was foaled in 1893, and is a bay, with white blaze and white feet.

[Illustration: HONEST TOM 1105.

17½ Hands. Foaled 1865. By Thumper 2123, out of Beauty. Bred by Mr. W. Welcher, Watton, Norfolk.]

HOW TO PRESERVE ITS CHARACTER.

To maintain the standard of excellence which has been attained at the cost of so much care, it is essential that only the best types should be used for breeding: such horses as are truly framed, are free from imperfections, and above all are free from hereditary unsoundness. The numerous statutes mentioned in the foregoing pages assisted our ancestors in building up the breed which has long been established as permanent. The longer a type has been _fixed_ the greater the certainty that the law “like produces like” will be justified; and to secure the best results it is of the first importance that we should study the pedigrees of the animals from which we propose to breed.

The sight of the magnificent teams which may be seen in the streets of our great cities, and under particularly favourable circumstances on Whit Mondays at the Cart Horse Parade in Regent’s Park, proves what careful and _continued_ attention to the science of breeding can produce in the way of attaining desired results in size and form. For many years past there has been a regular and extensive demand for massive horses of great muscular strength; bad roads made such animals indispensable up to a hundred years ago; and the heavy loads which our level streets and highways permit render the same qualities not less necessary now. To drag heavily laden waggons and drays, to shunt railway carriages and trucks, we need horses of the Shire stamp and character at their highest development; for it must be borne in mind that a compact, truly framed draught horse will move a given weight with far greater despatch and less chance of injury to himself than one whose shoulders are defective, whose loins are weak, legs ill formed, pasterns too long and feet defective.

THE FOREIGN MARKET.

It is noteworthy as proof of our dependence on this class of horse that, even when commerce and agriculture have been passing through a period of depression, at times when customers at any price even for the best classes of other live stock have been difficult to find, heavy draught horses suitable for town work have always remained in brisk demand at remunerative prices. Within the last few decades, too, new and important markets have been opened in all parts of the world. The United States of America took many of our best Shire horses every year until the introduction of prohibitive import tariffs; these naturally administered a severe check to the trade; but there is good reason to believe that the present year (1898) has witnessed a revival. Our best European customers now are the Germans; and of more remote buyers, the breeders of the Argentine Republic. It must be stated, in connection with what has been said on a previous page concerning the importance of studying pedigrees, that foreign buyers, though ready to pay large sums for our best, will possess themselves of the best only. Their object is to perpetuate the Shire breed pure, and also to improve the bone, size and substance of native breeds; and with this purpose in view they are invariably most exacting on the points of pedigree and soundness. They know that good pedigree and soundness are essential, and require that their purchases shall not only be registered in the Stud Book, but shall be able to show the clearest record of descent; such record shows that the qualities of the individual horse are hereditary, and may be relied on as transmissible to its progeny.

Important testimony to the value of the Shire Horse will be found in a report issued some few years ago by the Canadian Government. It includes portion of a letter from Mr. R. S. Reynolds, M. R. C. V. S., Veterinary Inspector to the Corporation of Liverpool, and a well-known judge of and writer on Draught Horses. Mr. Reynolds, after writing fully on draught horses generally, concludes his remarks as follows:--“My judgment is entirely in favour of the Shire, as the one best calculated to procreate a breed--suited for the purposes of heavy draught--from smaller and lighter mares.” He assigns as his reason the fact that the size and bone of the average Shire are superior to those of any other description of horse; and further because there is presumptive evidence that the increased frame and bone of the other draught breeds are due to the infusion of Shire horse blood. Mr. Reynolds also strongly asserts his belief that, the original type of every other draught breed being of much lighter build than the existing race, there will be marked tendency in the progeny of such breeds to revert to the original form. Not only when these interbreed will this tendency appear, but when crossed with mares of other blood deficient in bone, degeneration will be still more rapid.

[Illustration: BLYTHWOOD CONQUEROR.]

Many old paintings and mezzotint engravings exist to show us the type of Great or Shire Horse as it was bred at various epochs of our history, more or less remote. Some of these have been deposited at the offices of the Shire Horse Society; and these likenesses, often the work of the first painters and engravers of their day, suffice to show that in massiveness and general character the heavy horses of England were much like those of to-day. We have now many horses whose pedigrees are traced in the first volume of the Shire Horse Stud Book for at least a century and a half; back to a date which was within a lifetime of the last days of armoured knights carried by Great Horses. It is this long line of descent which guarantees the continued transmission of valuable qualities.

The paintings and engravings, as also the written accounts of the breeds of draught horses in the United Kingdom up to the middle of this century, depict them as of medium size, and it is only by the blending of the “Shire” with the blood of such stock, that they rival the latter in massiveness.

THE SHIRE HORSE SOCIETY.

It is impossible to close this slight review of the history of the breed without reference to the very important services which have been rendered by the Shire Horse Society. This Society originated in the work of a few men who desired to make an organised endeavour to improve and promote the breeding of the English cart horse by distributing sound and healthy sires throughout the country. Public attention was first drawn to the matter in the year 1877, when Mr. Frederic Street read his paper on “The Shire Horse” at the Farmers’ Club.

The Society was founded in 1878 as the “English Cart Horse Society,” it became in 1884 the “Shire Horse Society”: and under the latter name has continued to confer on tenant farmers the benefits which accrued from the date of its establishment. The work of the Society and the eagerness with which breeders have availed themselves of its labours may be seen from the nineteen volumes of its Stud Book. The first volume is a monument of painstaking research; it contains the pedigrees of upwards of 2,380 stallions, many of which were foaled in the last century. These invaluable records were supplied by members from almost every county in England; and their compilation was a task to which Mr. R. S. Reynolds devoted years. The second volume was published the year after the first, and the Stud Book has since been published annually. The nineteenth volume issued at the beginning of the present year shows the total number of animals registered to be 42,304, viz., 17,101 stallions and 25,203 mares.

The entries during the current year are, I am informed, not far behind the large total of 1897; this is the more gratifying in view of the fact that more stringent conditions of registration have been imposed. It is not desired to overload these pages with statistics; but the following few figures quoted from the Report of the Council in March last will serve to show the progress made in the last fourteen years.

1884 1898 Number of Members 903 2237 Entries in Stud Book for year 1423 3581 Value of Prizes given £524 £1200

The last eleven volumes of the Stud Book have contained in each year tabulated lists of prizes won; thus displaying fully a very important appendage to a pedigree. The illustrations, some from paintings, others from photographs of stallions and mares which have taken the Championship at the Society’s Annual Show, which are to be found in each volume, possess not only an instructive value for the breeders of the day, but as time goes on will form a series of the utmost interest and importance as the pictorial record of the progress of the breed. The essays on breeding and management which are to be found in these volumes, coming from experts who are not only masters of their respective subjects, but who possess the gift of lucidly conveying their knowledge, enhance the value of the Stud Books in no small degree.

The Show held each spring serves a double purpose in promoting the interests of the breed and keeping breeders in personal touch with one another to the advantage of all. It may be worth giving here, in condensed form, the number of entries received for the Shows of the last ten years since the first edition of this little book was published.

1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 Stallions 276 480 332 337 294 Mares 171 166 165 224 213 Geldings -- -- -- -- -- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- 447 646 497 561 507 ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 Stallions 268 241 263 319 300 Mares 207 226 223 217 210 Geldings -- 22 17 17 16 ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- 475 489 503 553 526 ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Many causes operate to produce fluctuation in the numbers of entries; but the general average is well maintained, and the quality of exhibits, as the auctioneers’ returns prove, continues steadily to advance.

The Society has numbered among its Presidents His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who takes a keen personal interest in the breed above all others associated with agriculture, and has owned a stud for many years; the Earl of Ellesmere; Earl Spencer, K. G.; the Hon. Edward Coke; the Earl of Powis; the Duke of Westminster, K. G.; Mr. William Wells of Holme Wood, Peterborough; Lord Egerton of Tatton; Mr. Anthony Hammond of Westacre, Norfolk; Lord Wantage; Mr. Chandos-Pole-Gell; Lord Hothfield; Mr. R. W. Sutton Nelthorpe; Lord Belper; Mr. A. C. Duncombe; Lord Tredegar; and Mr. A. B. Freeman Mitford.

For myself I may say in all sincerity that the year 1883, when I had the honour of holding office as President of the Society, and the year 1897 when again I was paid the compliment of being asked to fill the Presidential chair will always remain in memory as among the pleasantest in a tolerably active life.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] The falconer’s term for the male Lanner--a small hawk.

[B] _Harness Horses._ By Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart. Published by Vinton & Co., London.