A Horse Path A Horse Path
Heavy Horses
Cleveland Bay
Hailing from Yorkshire, this is one of our oldest surviving breeds, it is claimed to have persisted from medieval or even Roman times. It stands between 15.3 17 hands high. It was used to carry wool from farm to mill, as well as for riding and draught purposes. It is rated Critical on the Rare Breeds Survival list.
Suffolk Punch
This horse almost died out in the 1960's, but by 1989 there were 75 mares and 40 foals being registered a year. Close breeding maintains a chestnut colouring with little hair around the fetlocks and a height of 16 17hh, the taller stallions weighing up to a ton.
In the 15th century there were horses fitting this description, and all current Suffolks have a common ancestor in Crisp's Horse of Ufford, a stallion born in 1768.
Shire Horses
Standing over 19 hands and weighing over 19 cwts working Shires can get through two pairs of shoes in three weeks pulling up to twice their own weight. They trace their ancestry back through the great warhorses of medieval times but the breed was refined during the 18th and 19th centuries for heavy farming work. Draft work of all kinds took 1.5 million to their deaths in the 1914-18 war.
Whilst all kinds of vehicles have replaced them they are still used for brewery work and increasingly for careful work in forestry.Thwaites in Lancashire and many breweries have teams of working and show animals.100 years of Shire horses at Wadworth and Company Ltd are currently represented by Harry, Buscot, Royal and Waggoner. You can see them at the stables Northgate Brewery, Devizes, Wiltshire, open Monday Friday 1.30 3.00. Head Horseman Barry Petherick. At the top of this page, on the right you can see Buster (left) and General (right), the Shire horses from Youngs Brewery, arriving at The Mitre in Shaftesbury, Dorset, in April 2003. Find out more about Shire Horses on the web. More information on Heavy Horses can be found on-line.
