The Shire is a descendent from the mediaeval warhorse, the Great Horse. The Shire was developed in England first to be used in war and later to work in farms as a draught horse. Friesians and Flanders horses were taken to England by the Dutch and were bred with local specimens. The result would be a resistant horse able to work in the land and carry heavy weights.

In the end of the 19th century, it was created the Old English Cart Horse Society and the Stud Book was published. Six years later the name of the breed would be changed to Shire. The breeding process was submitted to a thorough scrutiny. The formalization of the breeding was the start up point for the growing Shire’s popularity.

The industrial revolution made the use of the Shire in agriculture and transportation something of the past and the breed rapidly lost terrain, literally, to the tractors and other machinery. In the mid 1900s, it was clearly that the breed was practically struggling for survival. What it was once a horse in every corner of the English countryside became no more than a relic of a few breeders. An incentive breeding program for the Shire set up a “revival” wave for the breed that is now recuperating admirers. 

With a patient and calmness that attracts women and children, the Shire as a solid reputation as a docile horse.
 

The Shire is the tallest and strongest horse in the world. It holds the record for the tallest horse, having an exemplar reached the 220 cm. A wide forehead, with a roman nose, and a lean head give him the docile expression he is known for. Well-built, massive and strong, the chest of the Shire is wide and the legs are heavily bones.

Bay, black, brown and grey are the accepted colors for the Shire. The white markings on the face are common and the white legs are favored by judges. 

Although the Shire is still used in agriculture, it is the shows that drive the breed. In England, the Shire is also used to pull brewers drays on short-haul routes in some cities. In the beginning it was used as a warhorse. 

The Shire is widely used in breeding hunter type horses, by being crossed with Thoroughbreds.