Shire horses bred for farm and forestry work
sir – As someone who uses his horses for light draught work, I was interested to read the report (July 28) on Shire horses.
I believe the Shire horse evolved as a breed due to the efforts of a certain Robert Bakewell (1725-95), an esteemed agronomist, as opposed to William the Conqueror, and that it was bred for agricultural purposes, rather than for carrying knights in armour, as suggested by Capt Thomas Mountain in your report.
No doubt there were horses that came over with the Normans (as well as the Romans) that were strong enough to carry knights and their armour, but they weren’t Shires.
While it’s nice to think the Shire has a future as a riding horse, it is somewhat worrying that the Rare Breeds Survival Trust attaches such importance to this aspect of breed survival. I for one am all for these magnificent horses, along with the Clydesdale and Suffolk Punch, having a job to do.
It would be great to see the Rare Breeds Survival Trust speaking to Michael Gove to increase the opportunities for working horses to be used in agriculture and silviculture and be bred as a working type as well as a riding type.
Haydn Lavin
Llandrindod Wells, Radnorshire
sir – I was sad to read of declining heavy horse numbers. I hunted a Suffolk Punch, Monty, with the Heythrop. He was possibly the most unfashionable horse seen out with the hunt, but probably one of the most genuine.
Graham White
Kingham, Oxfordshire