I often admire these draft horses, which I’ve learned are Shire Drafts. In mid October they were starting to grow their wooly winter coats. These are working animals and are used for plowing. Aren’t they beautiful?
Shires have held world records as the largest overall and tallest horses; they have great capacity for pulling weight. Originally imported from Great Britain, shire draft horses are increasingly rare and their numbers are now considered at critical levels by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Click here for more information from Wikipedia.
As I photographed these horses the owner and a farm hand bicycled out to make sure I wasn’t feeding them. Many people feel compelled to feed animals — I’ve seen people give anything on hand to any critter they encounter, from cigarettes to the day’s lunch. Though many animals are opportunistic feeders, what they take isn’t always a good choice. Unless there are handlers who approve what you’re doing, please don’t feed the animals. You may do more harm than good.
They are magnificent!
They are such a wonderful animal, both of my grandfathers had draft horses and they are amazing to watch them work in unison. A young one is put with an older horse to work and learn from the oldster. I hope more people will breed these wonderful horses so they don’t become exstinct.
So beautiful! It is always tempting to feed horses but some actually have allergies to carrots, so not a good thing.
Great photo! I love how they have their heads together.