I looked back a few pages, didn't see anything of the sort. If its already posted somewhere, my apologies



Threatened



Never thought I would hear of this Massive Beautiful Beast being in this situation. 3,500 with only 300 mares isn't very good. specially considering it takes at the least a year to reproduce.

Absolutely beautiful horses. What a shame to think that this breed of horse could become extinct, but they are at least looking for ways to have this animal survive.....Nice find.....

That is so sad, I realised they were in decline but not that there were so few left! Really makes me want to go and re-visit the Cotebrook Shire Centre near ours again! It would be such a shame if we lost this breed

i hope the breed doesnt end up going extinct, does anyone on here own any horses?

i own one horse and i've been active in the horse world for almost 20 years. It's not uncommon for a horse breed to go extinct due to cross-breeding and other factors. I do not know a terrible amount about the Shire because I focus primarily on Arabians and I currently own a Quarter Horse. I have had a limited amount of experience with them and it is a wonderful breed. I'm sure they are working hard in all attempts to preserve it.

I would like to own a horse but that's a nice pic!!

Hi and welcome to UM...You are so fortunate to own a Quarter horse...Their disposition is wonderful an they're muscular physique makes them look majestic...One of my favorites.....

I think the breed in general hopefully wont go extinct anytime soon. As to this particular blood line, then I feel it could go extinct if they don't work something out. bloodlines seem to cause the problems of endangerment. for example the Appaloosa horse, it was the horse of the Nez Perce Indians of North America who lived in the Pacific northwest. When the white man or Englishmen arrived they started cross breeding the appy with their own . The Appy too was almost exterminated by the U S troops seizing the tribal lands. The breed was saved, but lost much of its original bloodlines. This is what I hope don't happen to the Shire, it is an exceptional horse. One of which I am very favorable to. I'm sure they can find a few brood mares that have much of this particular bloodline in that isn't "papered" to their expectations to breed to then breed that foal back to "the bloodline" and so forth to where they back on the rise. I'm not sure that is logical but it is a possibility I believe.


I have a 1/4 horse at this time. Ive been involved with the equine world for a long while. Ive been involved with Spotted Saddle Horses more than anything. (not sure why) Im a trainer and also a instructor. Horses are a way of life for myself. guess that's why this article stood out me. Ive never had a Shire, couldn't afford to feed a 2,200-2700 lb animal requires alotta Food! but they sure a beautiful.

Hope something would be done, nice and gorgeous horses.

for the people who own horses how much a year does it cost to look after one horse, including vets and farrier bills?

it varies, location has a lot to do with cost.

for myself.
$150.00 for grain

$300.00 (give or take ) hay.. Grains and Hay expense has really increased this past year tripled in cost.


vet bills and farrier bills can be very costly specially those emergency visits.
$50.00 a trim and reset. $60.00 if needing replacement shoes. depending upon usage and the farrier usually need new shoes after the 3rd setting. 1st new shoes, second resetting of those acquired 1st time new shoes third time. etc. a good farrier should guarantee his work for 6 weeks. and most ppl in my part of the woods don't use shoes during the winter months.

$400.00 to $500.00 yearly roughly . some still have hoof work done during the winter months . some do not.

vet bills can be costly. unless your vet is your friend. lol most work if one is knowledgeable can be done without a vet. vaccines and worm meds usually coast round 250.00 yearly. hard to price the rest. its definitely unbelievable.

now for the lovely grand total
$1200.00-$1500.00 yearly for the basics.

Hello and welcome to UM. nice to see another horse person round these boards. Hope you enjoy your stay.

Thank you. Rio is actually a Paint but he comes from full Quarter Horse stock. He just happens to be spotted. I understand your point on the Appaloosas. They were consistently bred to the Quarter horses and lost quite a bit of their original appeal. I have only worked with a few pure Appys in my day and I do enjoy the breed. I personally specialize in training Arabians. I was given Rio as a gift while I was helping his owner train his Arabians. I trained and taught for a long time but I got the Law School bug and ended up going into Law. Horses are now my hobby. To answer the question about how must it costs. I lucked out living in a small town so I pay on average 200 a month and then I pay about 400 or 500 a year in vet and farrier costs. I pay less because I can do much of the work on my own and Rio is only about 900 pounds so he doesn't eat as much. Glad to see other horse people on here. I'm sure I'll enjoy my stay.

Thanks for the reply, my family many moons ago use to have shire horses to pull their coal wagons, but the last shire horse they owned died in the 60's, i was thinking of buying a horse or two, (in a few years time) i might volunteer at a racing stable to get the experience needed,

that's how i got my start. my parents don't like horses so i convinced them to let me volunteer at stables. i learned i could get riding time that way. next thing i knew i was training people's horses and my family gave in and bought me one. if you have a true desire to get involved, there is always a way to work out the money situation. several places will let you work off the food and board and even training. you just have to be willing to network and find a good place.

Is that all?! Wow, I wish it was that price here! I always wanted a horse when I was a kid/teenager but we could never afford it (living in Germany) and the few times I have considered it lately I gave up after the first 5 minutes looking into the costs here (living in the UK).
I was however lucky enough to own an arab/polo pony cross, Shadow, for a while when my family moved abroad. He was brilliant but sort of spoilt me for life. My parents bought him for me in the understanding that we would have to sell him when we moved back (from Africa to Europe) in several years but being a kid I figured I could work something out to bring him back with me. Needless to say that didn't work out... I did continue riding when we got back but finally gave up in my late teens because I just wasn't happy with the over-competitive nature of most German riding stables, plus the horse I had been taken care of got sold which naturally did not exactly make me any happier.
I do miss horses horribly though and really want to start riding again but have lacked time, I'd also really like a horse of my own again but just can't afford it I'm afraid, so at the moment I make do with petting any horse that comes my way, visiting Shire horse centres and grasping at any opportunity to talk about horses there is, lol.

Stevewinn, I'm guessing , you're located in the UK? You might find this helpful:
Advice on the cost of owning a horse by the British Horse Society
They also have a lot of other helpful stuff on their site for people starting out in horse ownership:
http://www.bhs.org.uk/content/leaflets.asp...fare&area=4

They are beautiful.

I've always wanted to have horses. Some day.

Quarter horse?

First result from google images:

Oh, i miss horses so much!

My family is pretty "equestrian" have had horses in our family for years! So ive grown up around them! Unfortunately they have all died now, two of them were my mums and she had had them for 30 odd years! I was lucky enough to have my own, she had a beautiful temperment, but after a year of having her she had to be put down due to problems with her feet. The bone was pretty much coming through the sole of her hoof.

I gave up riding for a while, and tried to get back into it during the start of uni but had a horrible time! The instructor picked on me most of the lesson, and i didnt go back after losing so much confidence. The horse world can be ever so snobby and competitive, but despite all my passion for horses still lives on!

To keep horses is such a demand on your time and money, but can be very rewarding. Definitely look into trying to get some work at a nearby yard to get some experience to see if its really for you. If it is - you can always place an advertisement to share a horse, people are always looking for sharers, and it means less work too!

Awesome!!!

very nice horse Cetacea. enjoyed your story about Shadow, thanks for shareing.

Hi, I know this is going to be a really stupid question, but what is the difference between a shire horse and a clydesdale?

Different bloodlines and slightly different conformations ( build) The shire is slightly heavier and larger in muscle.



The cost of keeping a horse would vary depending on what you plan to do with the horse. The biggest factors cost wise would be whether you're keeping horses on your own land or paying for livery keep..and if so, cost can vary a lot depending on whether the horse requires to be stabled or not. Many livery yards provide deals that include the cost of bedding/hay or feed into the weekly/monthly rent.

All in all, the average yearly running cost based on livery type charges, includ basic equip, insurance, vet and farrier, is under what it costs to run a car for 1 year... tax, insurance, MOT, petrol...(mind you that's before petrol/gas prices got stupid) So it wouldn't be totally accurate to compare. It might be more accurate to say that 2 horses = 1 car nowadays If you have your own land and do not require to stable the horse, then this will considerably reduce running costs.

hello, not a stupid question at all. The Clydesdale actually has Shire bloodlines . The Shire and Flanders Horse make up the the Clysedale breed. the breed originated in Scotland. In the 18th century, they imported Flemish stallions and the object was to increasee the size of the small native draft horse. The shire blood was used to such an extent that is could be claimed that the Shire and the Clydesdale were two branches of a single breed. Sometime around the early part of the 19th century breeders had produced an entirely distinctive breed of draft horse. The Shire is made up of the Friesian horse and the Flanders horse. The size for the Clydesdale and the Shire come from the Flanders horse.

hopefully they are freezing eggs and sperm.... maybe science will also find a way to produce more females. they are beautiful animals .

My five year old granddaughter has always loved horses, as most kids do, and has started taking riding lessons...One of the first things they had to learn was how to put the saddle on the horse....The lesson is only an hour long, so 20 minutes is used for doing this.. After their lesson, they remove the saddle, another 20 minutes walk the horse to water, and then groom them..She is learning responsibility, along with doing what she loves..The lesson actually goes into an hour and a half, but the smiles on these kids faces are enchanting...Needless to say, her birthday is coming up and guess what she wants..

Imagine the problems with trying to find a fitting saddle though!

Thats a great way to learn, goalienan. hands on is the most important. sounds like shes in a great program. alot of places around my part dont teach hands on with their students at first. I figure the reason is moneymost lessons hear are only 30 mins, the horse/pony is always ready for the young rider. I dont like this method. I feel if a child can not lead a horse safely and wisely, groom, and tack up that horse then they have no business on the horse. I feel its essential to learn these things before one gets on. Idk, sry for rambling.


Now is a great time to buy, specially if you live in the states. The horse maket is down. horses are cheap. you can find some really great horses out there that are just a horse, no specail bloodlines, no papers, nothing special about it. for hardly nothing.

lol. very true could ya imagine the response from the tack shops when you inquire about Special Custom fitting saddles. lol. It would cut the cost of farrier bills.

i've bought all my saddles off ebay. i'm a bit of a low class horsewoman. i don't get into the expensive things. i just buy cheap and functional. i don't think my horse suffers at all and i like it much better because i don't freak out if something happens to my things. i board at a small stables with very few bells and whistles. i don't make a whole lot of money working for the government but with horses you can make it work if you try hard enough. plus, living in a small farming community helps a great deal. i grew up loving horses and being amazed by them. one of the coolest experiences was when i got to see the budweiser clydesdales. i'd never seen horses so large. they are amazing animals. smaller than the shire but i think they have more of an elegance to them. i hope everyone on here that wants a horse gets to experience ownership someday. rio is my bestfriend and i can't imagine what it would be like without him.

Gosh, I had not idea, we just saw one in the countryside the other day and I commented that you don't seem to see them very often anymore.