Is this Britain's tallest horse ?

The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), an African even-toed ungulate mammal is the tallest living terrestrial animal in the world.  Modern police departments offer their officers a wide array of ways to cruise around town. Besides the various motorised vehicles of different horse power – the police are also astride horses.  The horse units over the World are attractive, ceremonial protection for the Head of States, used in patrols, crowd control and more. Mounted police are star attraction. Chennai has the famous ‘Mounted battalion’ on good looking horses – and it is a treat to watch the small group canter by.  The added height and visibility that the horses give their riders allow officers to observe a wider area, and they are swift too.  In the UK, mounted police are most often seen at football matches, similarly at Chepauk stadium in Chennai.

Though mechanisation has replaced most farm animals – understand that in New Forest still they use horses to shift timber.  In India and many Asian countries, elephants used to haul timber.   Weighing one ton and capable of shifting timber the same weight as a double-decker bus in just one day, the Shire horses are being used to their full capacity in order to tackle overgrown woodland. They have been employed to work in areas that are deemed too dense and boggy for modern, heavy machinery.

Reading about the tallest of the horses – Daily Mail writes of a towering shire horse that is more than 8ft tall with appetite to match eating two stone of carrots every day.  Named Lincoln, it munches 24 apples, 11lbs of spinach and five cabbages daily - feeding him would cost an estimated £28.50 per day from a supermarket. The huge horse, Lincoln, had been rescued from slaughter by farmer Ruth Blair and James Mackie, from Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire and nursed back to health. He now stands at an incredible 6ft 10in from shoulder blades to hooves or 20 and a half hands high. The mammoth black Shire horse towers over other horses and Lincoln, who lives a life of luxury at Tannoch Stables in Cumbernauld, will continue to grow for the next two years.

The Shire horse is a breed of draught horse that  comes in many colours, including black, bay and grey. They are a tall breed, with mares standing 16 hands (64 inches, 163 cm) and over and stallions standing 17 hands (68 inches, 173 cm) and over. The breed has an enormous capacity for weight pulling, and Shires have held the world records for both largest overall horse and tallest horse at various times. Throughout its history, the breed has been popular for pulling brewery wagons delivering ale to customers. This practice continues today, with the breed also being used for forestry, leisure and promotional pursuits.

In 1878, the British organization now known as the Shire Horse Society was created, with the American Shire Horse Association beginning in 1885. The breed was exported from Britain to the United States in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but popularity fell as mechanisation increased.

The breed is said to be so calm and placid, that they would be no good in wars. However, it is because of war that the Shire horse came into being. Native British horses were quite small and light,  and when knights started wearing heavy suits of armour the horses were unable to carry them.  Hence heavier breeds from other continents were introduced to Britain – though warfare changed later, the horses continued.  Since horses were faster, they replaced oxen in some farms.  In UK reportedly Shire horses were used by brewers and later for promotional purposes and local deliveries.  They were heavily used in transportation of coal as well.   The Industrial Revolution saw the construction of a nationwide system of canals which enabled heavy loads to be transported long distances. The Shire was the ideal horse to use, towing the barges along the canals. They were also used to haul large wagons, drays, omnibuses and trams. The Railways, Tractors and other mean machines hastened the decline of big horses for works. 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

10^th Oct 2014