Breed Standard and Points of the Horse

A scale of points for the breed has been carefully drawn up and this has been amended when necessary, to meet modern requirements.

For instance, years ago, a great characteristic of the Shire was the wealth of hair, or feathers, on the legs. Today the demand is for a cleaner legged horse, with straight fine, silky hair.

The standard of points laid down by the Council is as follows:

Stallions

Colour	Black, brown, bay or grey. No good stallion should be splashed with large white patches over the body. He must not be roan or chestnut.
Height	Minimum 173 cms (17 hands) at maturity.
Head	Long and lean, neither too large or too small, with long neck in proportion to the body. Large jaw bone should be avoided.
Eyes	Large, well set and docile in expression. Wall eyes not acceptable.
Nose	Slightly Roman, nostrils thin and wide; lips together.
Ears	Long, lean, sharp and sensitive.
Throat	Clean cut and lean.
Shoulder	Deep and oblique, wide enough to support a collar.
Neck	Long, slightly arched, well set on to give the horse a commanding appearance.
Girth	183 cms to 244 cms (6 ft to 8 ft) at maturity.
Back	Short, strong and muscular. Should not be dipped or roached.
Loins	Standing well up, denoting good constitution (must not be flat).
Fore-End	Wide across the chest, with legs well under the body and well enveloped in muscle.
Hind-Quarters	Long and sweeping, wide and full of muscle, well let down towards the thighs.
Ribs	Round, deep and well sprung, not flat.
Forelegs	Should be as straight as possible down to pastern.
Hindlegs	Hocks should be not too far back and in line with the hind-quarters with ample width broadside and narrow in front. Swollen and "sickle" hocks should be avoided. Hocks must be broad, deep and flat and set at the correct angle for leverage.
Bone Measurement	28 cms (11 inches) of flat bone, measured just below the knee, is ample, although occasionally 32 cms (12½ inches) is seen.
Feet	Deep, solid and wide, with thick open walls.
Hair	Fine, straight and silky.

A good Shire stallion should possess a masculine head and a good crest with sloping, not upright, shoulders running well into the back, which should be short and well coupled with the loins. The tail should be well set up and not what is known as "gooserumped".

Both head and tail should be carried erect. The ribs should be well sprung, not flat sided, with good middle which generally denotes good constitution. A stallion should have good feet and joints; the feet should be wide and big around the top of the coronets with sufficient length in the pasterns.

When in motion, he should go with force using both knees and hocks, which latter should be kept close together, he should go straight and true before and behind.

A good Stallion should have strong character.

Mares

The points for stallions also apply to mares, with the following variations.

Colour	Black, brown, bay, grey, roan.
Height	Minimum 163 cms (16 hands) at maturity.
Head	Long and lean, neither too large nor too small, long neck in proportion to the body, but of feminine appearance.
Eyes	Large, well set and docile in expression. Wall eyes are acceptable except for animals in the Grade A and B registers.
Neck	Long and slightly arched, and not of masculine appearance.
Girth	152 cms to 214 cms (5 ft to 7 ft) at maturity.
Back	Strong and in some instances longer than a male.
Legs	Short with short cannons.
Bone Measurement	23 cms to 28 cms (9-11 inches) of flat bone, measured just below the knee.

A mare should be long and deep with free action, with sufficient depth to carry a foal, and of a feminine appearance.

Geldings

The points for stallions also apply to geldings, with the following variations.

Colour	As for Mares.
Height	Minimum 168 cms (16.2 hands) at maturity.
Girth	183 cms to 229 cms (6ft to 7ft 6ins) at maturity.
Bone Measurement	25 cms to 28 cms (10-11 inches) of flat bone, measured just below the knee.

A gelding should have presence with active movement. He should be able to do a full day’s work.