Shire Horses

Shire Horses Are you a lover of Shire Horses and other heavy horse breeds, browse Stable Express for video`s of Shire Horses in action, information on Shire Horse breeding stallions and shire horses listed for sale in our equine classifieds section Raising the profile of gentle giant shire horses - Below you can watch the Shire Horse national show help at the Stafford county show ground. The American Shire Horse is dedicated to the worldwide promotion of the Shire draft horse with a specific focus on North American Shire Horses. Some of the features that will be included on American Shire Horse are an open source bulletin board, web hosting opportunities, advertising, current events and issues presented in regular updates, show schedules and results, and editorial contributions by Shire horse owners, breeders, and advocates such as yourself. Shire Horses horses for sale, Stable Express Horse classifieds. >> Horse Search Allrounders Showjumping Ponies Event Horses Dressage Horses Broodmares Young Horses Coloured Horses Hunter & Teamchase Horse Driving Endurance Horses Happy Hackers Polo Ponies Race Horses Show Horses Arab Horses Andalusian Horses Cob Horses Heavy Horses Thoroughbred Horses Warmblood Horses Kohler Farms-A Shire Horse Breeder Breeding/training/selling quality Shires for the preservation of the Shire breed! Dayla Kohler & Denae Kohler are Lifetime Members of the American Shire Horse Association & members of The Livestock Conservancy! Email : daylakaykohler@gmail.com >> Gypsy Vanner Horses >> Heavy Draft Horses For Sale >> Vladimir Heavy Draft >> Clydesdale Horses Sell Your Horse On Stable Express Illusion Farm`s Rustic Raina 2 year old shire filly owned by Kim Smith of Burlington, Ontario. She was Champion Mare and Best of Breed at Michigan Great Lakes International Draft Show.

Take a look at some of these fantastic Shire Horses from around the world.
Mufasa x - @Silverd Rache Farm | Shire Horses Stallion

Shire draft horse. A British treasure, the Shire holds the records for both largest and tallest horse and for most weight pulled. Like almost all draft breeds, and more critical than many, the Shire population is dangerously low.








Robinsons` Shire Horses
Part Bred Shire Horse Foal




Daphne de Visser at home with her Shire Horse Jos

Daphne de Visser with her Shire Horse Sam at APASSIONATA

@ShireHorseDeckhengst

This is a lovely Shire weanling filly owned by Sorrell Ferguson and bred by Shire Horse Society Australia Committee Member, Kate Williams.


Racing is not the first thing you think about when you think about shire horses, but it is pretty impressive the speed these gentle giants can get up to, below you can watch this great shire horse race from Lingfield Race track. Shire horses are a hugely popular horse breed, see shire horses in action racing as well as browse shire horse show results and find shire stallions at stud.



From the end of World War II, the Shire breed experienced a serious decline within agriculture and industry (with the combustion engine and contactor) horses were no longer needed as to carry out work, no longer needing their quiet strength. During the 1950-1960`s the Shire horse was even threatened with extinction.

The survival of the shire horse was helped by English brewers who continued to deliver their beers on horse carts.

In addition, the combined efforts of farmers, brewers, Royal Crown and the public allowed this race to find a second wind. The "Grand Concours" annual draft horse in London and the "Shire Horse Show" Peterborough in England each year attract more and more spectators come to admire hundreds of competitors.

Conformation, elegance and good temperament Shire make a wonderful workhorse, but also make great ceremonial horses.

History of the breed

War horse draft horse The first mention of the ancestors of the Shire seems to have been made 2000 years ago in the "Gallic Wars" by none other than Julius Caesar, who was referring to the great black horses present in the north of England, and then the Romans named it "Equus Magnus".

In the Middle Ages, the primary function of the "Great Horse" was the first military, then where are appellation of "war horse".

Its powerful conformation naturally meant to bring the knights and their huge armor on the battlefield when chivalry was then the elite corps of the army. The English have learned to their cost in the disastrous Battle of Hastings in 1066 (after which William the Conqueror took the English crown), they decided to improve the size, power, the valor and skill of their valiant steeds crossing them with Flemish and Dutch horses.

Throughout the Renaissance and into the late sixteenth century, the race of the "Great Horse" was then protected from any intersection that could be unfavorable to him, and the size of his subjects was well preserved. Towards the end of the sixteenth century, the advent of artillery upset the military career of the shire horse, as cavelry units started using light more blood horses, as a result the shire horse became a workhorses in both the fields on the little carriage roads at the time, where they served to pull carts and stagecoaches.

The first half of the seventeenth century was the turning point in the evolution of the ancestors of the Shire when the Dutch began to clear and drain the "Fens", swampy area of ​​eastern England. They imported them for this purpose these would become known as Flanders horses, heavy slow-moving subjects, broad hooves, reared on wetlands similar to those of the Fens, and as black as the horse of Borders (Frisian).

These horses then remained in this region and it is now accepted that they represented since the main strain of foundation of the Shire breed. It also ceased at that time to talk about the "Great Horse" which then became the "Old English Black".