Descendant from the English Great Horse of the Middle Ages, the Shire horse is among the largest of the draft breeds .
Origins
Appearing in Britain around the end of the 16th century when strong animals were needed to pull heavy wagons and coaches long distances over rough terrain. The Shire derived from blood of forest horses, and Friesian and Flanders horse imports.
The English Great horse is still considered the Shire horse’s principle ancestor, although its bloodlines were slowly reduced in the stock as the influx of Dutch Friesian blood grew stronger.
Modern Shire horses are renowned for their strength, a pair of Shire horses have pulled 16.5 tons of weight on granite paving tiles.
Features
Average height Over 17 hands
Extremely large animals
Incredible pulling strength
One of the biggest horses in the world
Physique
Long neck for a draft horse, with wide shoulders
Legs are clean and muscular, hocks set for maximum leverage
Heavy feathering on back of legs
Big, round hooves
The Shagya Arabian comes from Hungary and was established during the Turkish occupation of Hungary that lasted until the end of the 17th century. (more…)
Also called the Holsteiner Coldblood, & Schleswiger Kaldblut, the Schleswiger Heavy Draft comes from northern Germany. In their heyday they were widely used as a working horse, but sadly today they are on the list of endangered domestic animal breeds. (more…)
The Saxony Warmblood is a robust warmblood breed with a much heavier body type than the warmblood sporting horses of today. They are bred in the areas of Saxony & Thuringia, and although they are a heavy in type they are not to be confused with the Saxon-Turinga Coldblood. (more…)
The Saxon Turinga Coldblood comes from Turinga & Saxony and is descend from Rhenish Westfalian Draught Horses. This is an incredibly rare animal & conservation efforts are underway. (more…)
The Sardinian pony comes from the island of Sardinia in Italy where there have been horses for century so their origins are essentially unknown. (more…)
The Sanhe Horse comes from eastern Inner Mongolia at a grassland basin formed by three rivers (Sanhe means ‘three rivers’) in China. They are thought to be among the finest of the breeds developed in China partially because the area is well suited to raising equine. (more…)
The Samolaco horse comes from Valtellina in Italy and they are thought to come from Spanish animals abandoned during the 17th century.
Origins
This area of Italy was largely agricultural and based on paintings of the era it is plausible to think that Andalusian blood was the foundation for the breed. These animals were used sparingly and there was never a high demand for them because native cattle was well suited for the tasks, so the focus was on cattle breeding. (more…)
Also called the Metis Trotter, the Russian Trotter comes from careful crosses between Orlov Trotters & American Standardbred that were then re-crossed with the offspring. (more…)
