The Great Horse in the First Century 7 From the Seventh Century to the Conquest 11 From the Conquest to the Reign of King John 13 The Great Horse in the Thirteenth Century 16 From the Time of Edward III. to Edward IV. 18 The Laws of Henry VII. 20 The Laws of Henry VIII. 23 Queen Elizabeth’s Time 27 James I. 36 Charles I. 39 From the Commonwealth to William III.’s Time 42 Queen Anne’s Reign 48 The Shire Horse in the Nineteenth Century 58 How to Preserve its Character 61 The Foreign Market 62 The Shire Horse Society 65 ILLUSTRATIONS. FACING PAGE German Knight of the Fifteenth or Sixteenth Century (Frontispiece) British Coins of the First Century 7 Great Horse; after Albert Dürer 22 Equestrian Figure in Tilting Armour, Sixteenth Century 26 Sir Walter Hungerford, Knight of Heytesbury 30 The Duke of Arenburg; after Vandyke 38 Seals of Charles I. 41 The Protector on a Great Horse 42 Great Horse; after Paul Potter 46 Norfolk Cart Horse, Dodman (1780) 53 A Leicestershire Shire Horse; after Garrard (1720 to 1795) 54 Shire Horse, Elephant 56 A Shire Gelding of Messrs. Whitbread’s (1792) 57 Piebald Shire Horses, Pirate and Outlaw (1810) 58 Piebald Plough Teams (1844-1855) 58 Honest Tom (1865) 60 Blythwood Conqueror (1893) 64 A HISTORY TRACING THE SHIRE HORSE TO THE OLD ENGLISH GREAT HORSE (THE WAR HORSE). INTRODUCTION.