For the production of geldings, fashionable blood is not essential, but it sometimes happens that a foal of outstanding merit is bred by quite a small farmer, and if such an one is by a well-known sire of prize-winning stock, a real good price may be obtained, if the dam is only registered, so there is much to be said in favour of using the highest type of Shire stallion, even by owners of one or two mares. Fortunately farmers are able to secure special terms for their mares from most stud owners, and there are many local societies which hire a real good horse and charge a smaller sum to their own members than to outsiders. Among such societies may be mentioned Peterborough, Welshpool, and Winslow, in all of which districts many high-class Shires have been bred. Then there are generous landlords who hire a real good horse for the benefit of their tenants--although not Shire breeders themselves--so that it is quite possible for the majority of tenant farmers to obtain nominations to one of the best of Shire stallions if he is bent on improvement and believes in being enterprising enough to obtain it. The indifference which leads horse breeders to use a mongrel which comes into the yard, rather than send further afield to a better animal is inexcusable in a member of the Shire Horse Society, neither is such an one likely to improve his financial position by means of his heavy horses, which large numbers of farmers have done during the depressed times. An extra five pounds for a service fee may be, and often is, fifty when the foal is sold. CHAPTER IV BREEDING FROM FILLIES For many years it has been a debatable point whether two-year-old fillies should be bred from or not. The pros and cons have been discussed, and in the end Shire breeders have used their own discretion on the point. Superior animals have, however, been bred from youthful parents on both sides, a notable instance being the late Lord Wantage’s Lady Victoria; her sire was Prince William, the London and Royal Champion, and her dam Glow, by the London Champion Spark. She was the first foal of a two-year-old colt, with a two-year-old filly for her dam, yet she made a great prize-winning mare, having won first and cup in London in 1889 and championship of the Oxfordshire Show in 1890. It may also be mentioned that Buscot Harold, the London Champion stallion of 1898, was begotten when his sire, Markeaton Royal Harold, was but a two-year-old colt, although his dam, Aurea, was older. At two years old he was preferred to his sire for the Elsenham Challenge Cup. This proves that Shire breeders have been making good use of fillies for many years, therefore the produce of a three-year-old filly need not be rejected, neither should the nursing of a foal at that age necessarily result in a stunted or plain mare. It is, however, necessary to grow fillies along with the aid of supplementary food and to “do” both them and their foals well while they are suckling.