Weakness in the feet has been regarded, and rightly so, as a bad fault in a Shire stallion, therefore good judges have always been particular to put bottoms first when judging. Horses of all kinds have to travel, which they cannot do satisfactorily for any length of time if their feet are ill-formed or diseased, and it should be borne in mind that a good or a bad foot can be inherited. “No foot, no horse,” is an old and true belief. During the past few years farmers have certainly paid more attention to the feet of their young stock because more of them are shown, the remarks of judges and critics having taught them that a good top cannot atone for poor bottoms, seeing that Shires are not like stationary engines, made to do their work standing. They have to spend a good part of their lives on hard roads or paved streets, where contracted or tender feet quickly come to grief, therefore those who want to produce saleable Shires should select parents with the approved type of pedals, and see that those of the offspring do not go wrong through neglect or mismanagement.
There is no doubt that a set of good feet often places an otherwise moderate Shire above one which has other good points but lacks this essential; therefore all breeders of Shires should devote time and attention to the production of sound and saleable bottoms, remembering the oft-quoted line, “The top may come, the bottom never.” In diseases of the feet it is those in front which are the most certain to go wrong, and it is these which judges and buyers notice more particularly.
If fever manifests itself it is generally in the fore feet; while side-bone, ring-bone, and the like are incidental to the front coronets.
Clay land has been spoken of for rearing Shires, but there are various kinds of soil in England, all of which can be utilized as a breeding ground for the Old English type of cart-horses.
In Warwickshire Shires are bred on free-working red land, in Herts a chalky soil prevails, yet champions abound there; while very light sandy farms are capable of producing high-class Shires if the farmer thereof sets his mind on getting them, and makes up for the poorness or unsuitability of the soil by judicious feeding and careful management.
It may be here stated that an arable farm can be made to produce a good deal more horse forage than one composed wholly of pasture-land, therefore more horses can be kept on the former.
Heavy crops of clovers, mixtures, lucerne, etc., can be grown and mown twice in the season, whereas grass can only be cut once. Oats and oat straw are necessary, or at least desirable, for the rearing of horses, so are carrots, golden tankard, mangold, etc; consequently an arable-land farmer may certainly be a Shire horse breeder.
This is getting away from the subject of feet, however, and it may be returned to by saying that stable management counts for a good deal in the growth and maintenance of a sound and healthy hoof.
Good floors kept clean, dry litter, a diet in which roots appear, moving shoes at regular intervals, fitting them to the feet, and not rasping the hoof down to fit a too narrow shoe, may be mentioned as aids in retaining good feet.
As stated, the improvement in this particular has been very noticeable since the writer’s first Shire Horse Show (in 1890), but perfection has not yet been reached, therefore it remains for the breeders of the present and the future to strive after it.