THE GREAT HORSE
OR
SHIRE HORSE

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Engraved by J. B. Pratt.

ARMOUR CLAD GERMAN KNIGHT OF THE 15ᵗʰ OR 16ᵗʰ CENTURY
after a Painting by Hans Burgkmair.

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THE GREAT HORSE

OR

The WAR HORSE: from the time of the Roman Invasion
till its development into the

SHIRE HORSE

BY

SIR WALTER GILBEY Bart.


SECOND EDITION

LONDON
VINTON & CO., Limited
9, NEW BRIDGE STREET, LUDGATE CIRCUS, E.C.
1899
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PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

Since the publication in 1889 of the first edition of this little book,which I was privileged to dedicate to His Royal Highness the Duke ofCambridge, great progress has been made in the improvement of the ShireHorse. It therefore has seemed desirable to remodel and enlarge, by theinclusion of more minute details, pages which had been compiled fromnotes taken in course of an enquiry into the antecedents of the horsenow known as the Shire-bred. This research led to the conclusion thatthe Shire Horse is the purest survival of the type described by mediævalwriters as the Great Horse; and this type being the native developmentof that ancient British War Horse which evoked the admiration of JuliusCæsar, it seemed appropriate to seek permission to dedicate the book tothe Prince who combined with his high position as Commander-in-Chief ofHer Majesty’s Forces, the keenest{vi} interest in those breeds of horseswhich are most useful to the State.

It would be easy to multiply ad infinitum such evidence as is herequoted, but it is unnecessary to encumber the narrative with repetitionof details which throw no fresh light upon the history of the breed.These pages have been written for the convenience of those who desire topossess in concise form knowledge of the main facts concerning theorigin and development of this truly noble and most useful animal, andto point out the true type of the “Shire Horse.” It is not claimed thatthere is any information contained in this work which those who areinterested in the subject may not, with an equal amount of patientreading obtain for themselves.

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