• The Shire is considered to be the supreme draught horse

• The horse derives from the Midland shires of Lincoln, Leicester, Stafford and Derby in England, where the horse originated

• The breed descends from England's Great Horse of the Middle Ages, which was since known as the English, Old English or Black

• The Shire is noted for its great strength and is probably the heaviest of the draught breeds - it's weight when fully grown can be 1,016-1,219 kg (2,240-2,688 lb)

• The Shire stands at between 16.2 and 17.2 hands high

• The head is broad and they eyes are relatively large and expressive, the nose is rather convex ("Roman")

• The shoulders are large and deep and the body has substantial barrel. The girth of a full grown Shire may be 1.8-2.4 meters

•The legs are long with considerably feathered about the feet with silky, fine hair

• It is usually found in bay, brown, black and grey