Shires & Clydesdales

Anyone who has stood opposite these horses will never forget their encounter with the giants of the horse world; from a height of sometimes more than two metres, their big, gentle eyes look down at you, with their long eyelashes and their ears play to the sounds of the voice that speaks to them. The dry, curved head with the wide blaze in line with the nose, carrying a thick mane, often more than a hand long, an adorned neck, which coasts down a short back and a muscular croup with a high tail.

The long, powerful, straight limbs with the wide hooves bestow the horses - who are often more than 180cm tall and weighing 1000 kg plus - with an elegance and harmony, the effect of which is only intensified by the splayed feet or the ankle or even the hair on the fetlock that reaches down to the floor. This smooth, beautiful, high maintenance feathering covers the fetlock like a curtain; its blazing white heightens the inimitable charm that these horses exude. They are the perfect combination of beauty, size, power, stamina, gentleness and reliability.

Shires & Clydesdales - The history

The two breeds have a shared history spanning back over many centuries. They were first distinguished from one another about 150 years ago, meaning that in the past century they have always been classified to a greater or lesser degree.

William the Conqueror brought Great Horses to Britain in 1066. Good stallions of about 150cm shoulder height, more like small Percherons than Shires or Clydesdales, were ridden at a slow, flattening trot against the enemy. The weaker stallions and the mares served as workhorses. With the disappearance of the rider, these animals all became draft horses and workhorses. Speed was no longer important, now it was size and strength that mattered.

In the East of England in the 17th century draught horses (known as the Black Horse with dark colouring, strong and slow) became commonplace - partially as a result of imports from the Netherlands. As Robert Blakewell’s (1725-1795) followers from the Midlands improved the horse’s qualities it became well known as the Blakewell Black. In 1760 the “Packington Blind Horse” appeared - a black horse, who became the foundation stallion for Shire Horses. This is the year in which the documented history of the Shire Horse began.

In Scotland there was a particular emphasis on the conformation of the limbs and hooves as well as on particularly silky feathering, while the colouring of the horse was of no importance. In England they strived for a particularly big, heavy horse with good posture, which would also have solid colouring specifically for representational purposes.

While the Shire Horse was the more popular of the two breeds within Great Britain, the turn of the 20th century saw the Clydesdale start a triumphant procession around the entire world. By 1945, more than 20,000 Clydesdales had been exported mainly to America, but also to Australia and New Zealand.

However the Industrial Revolution and the subsequent increased mechanisation in agriculture and the transport industry, together with the losses incurred in the two World Wars, eventually led to these gentle giants, so renowned for their work ethic and their strength, almost dying out in the Fifties and Sixties.

And, as is the case with our German cold blood breeds, their survival is only thanks to the enthusiasm of individual breeders and the commitment of English breweries, who have re-discovered the Shire as a workhorse and a representative horse for their brewery vehicles.

In Scotland the name “Clydesdale Horse” was first used at an agricultural exhibition in 1826. At that time, “Glancer”, who was also called “Thompson´s Black Horse” was the most influential stallion around. He descended from a Flemish stallion and was described as a horse with a powerful body, short, strong legs with clear bones and silky feathering. He had two white hind legs.

From the 18th century onwards, trade and transport played an important economic role, which would hardly have been possible without these big horses - particularly in the harbours, where the drivers would compete with the size and strength of their horses. The 19th century was marked by the increasing need for workhorses for public transport such as busses and trams.

In 1850/1860 the best English mares were sold to Scotland in their hundreds, forming the new Clydesdale there. Eventually, with the old Blakewell Black in England, colouring was no longer residual. In 1877, the Clydesdale Horse Society was founded in Scotland, followed by the English Shire Horse Society in 1878. With this, the distinction of the two breeds was made official and two different varieties developed from fundamentally similar horses.

Shires & Clydesdales – What's the difference?

The history of these horses shows that the breeds only separated around 150 years ago. Back then, nobody thought about their striking similarity. There are a few criteria that distinguish one breed from the other, but on both sides there are always horses that even an expert couldn’t definitively classify. The most striking difference is the colouring - Clydesdales often have distinct white markings and also significantly more white hair, spread over their bodies. The Clydesdale has clear, dry legs with a longer cannon bone than the Shire Horse.

People talk about “high hocks,” which in principle are also desirable with Shires. With Clydesdales, the feathering is finer than that of the Shire, but not lesser. Furthermore, the Clydesdale has a striking angle in the hock and the narrow positioning of the hind limbs (with parallel cannon bones), desirable in both breeds, is more marked with the Clydesdale. Shire horses have a higher neck, often with a more striking sweep across the top line. With Shire horses, the back is somewhat shorter and the tailset is often somewhat higher than with the Clydesdale.