anyone out there who owns a shire? or large horse 17hh

[Troyseph]

as you all know ive been looking for a horse for my OH for a while now, weve come across a nice shire - pure shire, she is 17.2/3. friendly giant though so very suitable for a novice however,

ive read some frightening stories about shoe costs, feed etc.
can someone enlighten me please? the whole truth and nothing but the truth

thank you....

 

[cptrayes]

I have owned a shire for my novice OH, and now have a shire cross. They are wonderful horses. Regarding shoeing, the two I have had are both great candidates for barefoot, so you could practically remove your shoeing costs. My current one hunts shoeless.

Mine does eat a lot, but then he's hunting fit, but of course a horse that size does eat a lot of forage - easily half a bale of hay a day by itself.

 

[Luci07]

as you all know ive been looking for a horse for my OH for a while now, weve come across a nice shire - pure shire, she is 17.2/3. friendly giant though so very suitable for a novice however,

ive read some frightening stories about shoe costs, feed etc.
can someone enlighten me please? the whole truth and nothing but the truth

thank you....

Why not contact the heavy horse society for info on best place to get tack and rugs etc.

 

[Montyforever]

Rugs/tack may be more expensive, the shire x on my yard doesn't eat lots, hes a good doer
Don't think shoes would cost that much more but can't guarentee.
Only trouble I can see is stables/transport ect as they are generally made for the average horse.
I love bigger horses so long as they have manners they are fine!

 

[BeckyMason97]

I have an 18.1hh ish gelding with huuuge feet! He costs the same to shoe as my others which is £60 and he has the same feed too, just more of it! I'd go for it, the bigger the better I say! Only problem I've found is getting tack and rugs.

 

[DragonSlayer]

We have a 17.2 Shire X who is FAAAAAR from suitable for a novice! However, he is a very gentle lad and very well mannered, here he is with my husband! These two boys are both his. The smaller lad is a Highland X (with an elephant we think as he is touching 16 hh!)

The bay has got smaller feet though, that the gingery-thing, whose feet resemble man-hole covers...

 

[fizzer]

Our big lad is 17.2 , we have the local saddler make his bridles ( £130 last one), two front shoes £50, rugs 7ft 3/6 usually get cheaper in sales, eats roughly 3/4 bale hay a night in winter.

 

[cambrica]

We had a beautiful shire for many years into her old age. Bess was mainly my mum's horse, armchair and safe as houses. It cost no more to shoe her and she ate no more than the 15.2 cobs we have now. We had a bridle made but it wasn't costly. She was a beautiful ride and had many admiring looks.

 

[millitiger]

Vinnie is 18hh.

He wears 7'3ft rugs and wears normal sized bridles/saddles etc. I've actually found the bigger rugs tend to be cheaper as they end up in the sales more often than 'normal' sized rugs.
Boots were a bit of an issue but I found Premier Equine come up quite large.

Shoeing costs no more than my 15.3hh but he doesn't really have enormous feet as he is quite blood and not very heavy. He is currently barefoot and will only have shoes when he needs studs for eventing.

He does eat an awful lot of forage- he has access to hay 24/7 and always seems hungry.
He doesn't eat much hard feed (alfa a and pink powder) so that balances out his hay needs!

A photos of my boy taken today- I don't think he looks huge as I am quite tall

 

[shiresrus123]

tons of the buggers, wouldnt have anything else all barefoot, all great doers though they eat copious amounts of hay, stables were built for them but they do need a lot of room to turn and twist

advantage - heavier feet to lift - disadvantage - hurts like a mutha when they catch you

 

[Auslander]

My old boy (KWPN) was 17.3hh and built like a brick outhouse. He wasn't particularly long, and just about fitted into a 7ft rug, but they had to be roomy enough to accommodate his shoulders/chest. I had his bridles and headcollars made - much easier, and not much more expensive than off the peg.
Saddles were a problem. He had massive shoulders and very high withers. It was easy to find extra wide saddles, or saddles that fitted his withers, but not ones that fitted both areas! I had to sacrifice my personal preferences and go with the very limited choice that worked for him.
He ate HUGE amounts of hay- at least 3/4 of a bale a day, and often more. I weigh-taped/condition scored him regularly,and found that he didn't need much more hard feed than his stable mates to stay in good (lean and fit) condition.
Biggest expense was shoes. Not only did his shoes cost more, but he wore them out much quicker, and he had dreadful feet, so used to rip them off all the time. I tried him unshod, but he was completely crippled without his clogs on. Never did work out why his feet were so crap - as he was fed very carefully, with regular soil and forage anylyses done.
I also struggled to find farriers who were happy to do him on an ongoing basis as he was so big and heavy -and a shocker for leaning. He was quite a nervous horse, and if he got told off for leaning, he panicked.

He was very kind and mostly mannerly, but his nervousness meant that he was not an easy horse to deal with, and his sheer size intimidated people - so it was hard to find people to look after/ride him.

Stables as well - he needed a lot more room, and that included head room, and width in the doors.

 

[Achinghips]

My experience:

They are big, they move big. They carry a lot of weight which means, more than any other horse, IMO, they MUST have perfect ground manners installed. They can do one hell of a lot of damage by their weight if not. They must respect the whip, especially if kept as a herd and if they get dominant within one at feeding time - a tiny human in the field can get in the way of scuffles. I always take a whip in the field at feeding time and they are like lambs then!

One other thing, falling off is a long way to fall off - and they can be blinkin' strong ridden.

Don't expect to go tanking around, they are NOT built for speed, they are just too heavy, alrhough you can usually sit a buck or a spin easy as its a slow motion one, given the size

Grooming is laboursome, as is clipping and you need a stepladder to reach over their backs, and stables don't appear to be built for them. Feathers and mane can be difficult

Shoes and hay cost extra - they may be good doers but on your pocket, you will feel it as they eat a hell of a lot. If you keep barefoot, you will need regular trims more so than if they're shod in order to stop cracks - it's a lot of weight on a small crack which means good trimming is vital.

Tack is more expensive and heavier to carry

They also pooh like a herd of elephants so be prepared for two or three times as much pooh picking!

 

[cobmum]

The bay has got smaller feet though, that the gingery-thing, whose feet resemble man-hole covers...

Love your highland x absolutely stunning horse I would be happy to pick those man hole's anytime!! Prehaps crossed with a draft breed? Whatever he is he is one good looking ginger IMO

Wish HH would make a LOVE IT button!!

 

[BeckyMason97]

Just to add, mine is happy y in a 12x12 stable the same as my other horses, and he eats one full scoop of fast fibre and a scoop of chaff plus some nuts in a ball. Wears 7'3 rugs but can squeeze into a 7'0 and it costs £60 for a trim and four shoes. And blimey, he can move! No stopping on a field and will jump anything, but my VERY novice mum rides him happily. He's very short in the body with a massive head but deep body with short legs! And he LOVES the ponies, best pals with my 13.2!

As I said before, the bigger the better! I love him to bits, I was offered £8000 for him last week by a hunt master, I burst into tears! Couldn't part with him. He's not really any use to me as he's too big to get round a course and I'm not into hunting, but it's so nice to get onto such a lovely easy beast at the end of the day after naughty youngsters! He's just like a giant dog, I can take feet out of stirrups and let go of reins while my dad walks around the school and he just follows, literally EVERYWHERE. But when I first got him he was a nightmare on the ground, few weeks of discipline and he's my big big dog!

(As you can tell, I really love him, sorry for rambling on!)

 

[Supertrooper]

Ours is a shire x, he's 16.3hh in passport but suspect he's bigger than that.

Feed wise he's a good doer and has 1 scoop fast fibre, two handfuls of hifi mollasses free and two wedges of hay twice daily ATM. Obviously has more in winter but we only up the hay.

He takes 7'3" rugs and premier equine ones fit him best. This was until we found the big horse shop who make rugs specifically for heavy horse/heavy horse crosses, brill rugs and helpful people.

He came with saddle and bridle but we did change his bit for a fulmer snaffle and struggled to find one the right size but eventually found one on eBay that was ex military stock.

Farrier wise he's unshod in winter as don't have time to ride and has a full set of shoes from spring to autumn, costs around £80 for a new set. You may struggle to find a farrier willing to do heavy horses but keep persevering.

Temperament wise he is a BIG BIG character!!! He is funny, mad, sensitive, naughty, cheeky, kind and incredibly frustrating but we'd never be without him. Groundwork is the biggest bugbear as when he decides he wants to go in another direction whilst leading you havn't got a hope in hell of holding on!! He's not nasty in anyway but you realise how big and strong he is when he's not playing ball!!

And a picture of the BFG......

 

[Lintel]

*not an owner* But alot of them are fabulous doer's and if you join the barefoot brigade, shoeing costs are nil
So that no hard feed... and no shoes..
Perhaps you shall need a tad more hay, but again such good doers!

Tack and rugs wise- EBAY is just a fabulous place.
A guy used to be around here had a big clydie and I think if he had 3 of the big fella they would have costs him less then his ridiculous hunting *thing*
He barely had any expense (own land) with his big man! No idea what height he was but he was bigger than the *thing* who was 17.1hh
Pain in the backside to get in a trailer though!- And too pick out feet.. and too keep those feather mite and dirt free!
Best of luck.. I'd buy her!

 

[Fantasy_World]

I have a 17.2 clydesdale cross. In my opinion it is a myth that everything for them costs more.
When he was shod I was charged £60 to £65 for a full set and trim ( I am in North Staffordshire) the same as my other horses.
However if it was me I would not shoe unless really needs it, remedial farriery.
My lad was fully shod when got him 6 years ago and he has been without shoes for over 2 1/2 years now I think?
Saddle and bridle all from ebay.
Bridles, x full and mixed and matched.
He is not some slim, tb type heavy horse cross but body, neck and bum are like a Clydesdale. Huge head but not as long as a Clydie. Legs are heavy horse legs and his feet are just a little bit smaller than a shire.
Saddle extra wide, Coleman Croft, English leather cost me around £160 secondhand with postage, from ebay 6 years ago.
You do not always need to have a bridle/saddle especially made for these horses and if anyone tells you otherwise go and tell them to take a jump.
True Shires and Clydesdales you may do, but crosses it depends on the horse themselves.
You can get some really big and wide saddles these days which are not specially made for one horse.
The same as bridles too.
Bits. my boy takes 6 and a half inch, he came in a bit that was too small which rubbed so changed. All my bits were from ebay. However you can get many bits in larger sizes now, try places like the bit bank and shops online for heavy horses.
As for rugs he takes 7ft or 7ft 3. He has a Masta rug stable rug ( same price as smaller sizes), Knightrider rugs fit ok too.
Equestrian Clearance often have rugs in bigger sizes on sale at clearance.
Also the big horse shop a good online store that does rugs for bigger horses and to be honest no more expensive in my opinion than rugs like Weatherbeeta. Have a look at their website OP as they sell more than just rugs.
As for haylage/hay yes they may eat more than your average horse but mine has often had about the same in his net as a 16 hand or so TB poor doer.
Feed is the same, usually good doers unless doing a lot of work so don't worry too much about hard feed. I ony give mine some as a boost or to get supplements in him as he is an old boy at almost 21 now.
I agree with aching hips about the poos though, yes they are big dungs lol.
Stable wise yes at least 12x12, and bigger if possible. If you can get a mare and foal stable all the better.
Matting or a good thick bed as these horses are heavy topped so mine has matting and thick bed to help cushion him.
Think ahead towards joints in old age too, so try and give supplements to keep joints healthy, cod liver oil or linseed to start with. I believe heavier horses are more prone to joint issues.
Mine used to go quite fast and be stronger than he was but he has bone spavin and other issues now so doesn't do as much fast work.
If you are wanting one of these for jumping then I would go for a cross, perhaps with a lighter framed breed such as TB to give them speed and more agility.
I have been told of someone who rode a shire mare in dressage.
If you are just wanting a hacking horse then pure Shire or heavy is fine but for schooling make sure you have a large school and ideally don't do lots of tight circles as not good for a heavy topped and big horse like that to be putting too much pressure on their joints.
Agree about the long way down to fall as well as grooming and clipping. It does make you ache. Likewise putting rugs on and taking off. I flip mine over but it takes effort with the heavier rugs.
Wormers you will need more of, likely more than one tube as most is what 700kg? Average Shire weighs more than that.
Not sure on vet bills and medication, sedative as I have had to give so little that I haven't noticed any real difference between him and my others.
But in conclusion I would about the same to keep than the average horse.

 

[smokey]

I have a clydesdale mare, who I thought was 16.3hh, until I had her properly measured and found shes actually 17.2! She is unshod, and has fantastic feet, although when she was shod I was only £70 for a full set, every 8wks. She wears normal tack, a 17.5 inch wide saddle, and an x-full bridle. 7ft-7ft3ins rugs fit perfectly, Mark Todds are great for depth. She eats not a lot more than an average horse, barely any hard feed in the depths of winter, and 2 large nets of haylage. She has lovely manners, is totally trustworthy, and has the best personality ever! I know this sounds like an advert, but its not, shes not going anywhere, love her far too much!

 

[fallenangel123]

We used to have a shire and once got quoted £180 for a set of shoes!!!! Some farriers charge because they hate doing them. Fortunately found a farrier who did him for £60 in the end.
Rug wise he destroyed everything so he was left unrugged. He knocked down the wooden stable he was in scratching his butt on the wall and pushed it out till the roof fell in! Fortunately my yard so not such a disaster.
Feed wise he ate a lot of forage, not so much hard feed but could certainly pack the hay away!
Tack wise girths and bridles are the problem. I am selling his xxl bridle on eBay currently.
Manners wise he was a pig to handle, totally opinionated, gorgeously handsome, like a rocking horse to ride and for all his faults I adored him utterly!

 

[bumblelion]

Iv got a 17hh id although he's a companion so unshod, much cheaper than my tb to keep! Agree with supertrooper regarding rugs from the big horse shop. They're the only rugs that fit my boy, so pleased I found them! I don't think they're hugely over priced neither.

 

[luckilotti]

I used to be the keeper of a large shire mare and she didnt eat masses compared to others smaller than her.
Rugs, we struggled to get a 7ft 6 deep enough for her, but then i found a Masta extra deep which was perfect )
The biggest problem.... she was an older stubborn mare and there muct have been 6 or 7 farriers (and their teams) who flat out refused to even attempt to trim her as she was so big and they said it wasnt worth the money as the 'big heavy ones' cause bad backs..... that was the biggest problem - she hadnt had them done for years when we took her on, and had to wait months to get them done whilst we found someone who would do them.

 

[JFTDWS]

I didn't know rhino had a love child with a highland pony

What a sexual beast - clearly part dinosaur, but gorgeous.


Friend of mine has a Clydie who is a nightmare to buy rugs, tack etc for. Tack all had to be made to measure so very expensive and very few rugs fit him so difficult as well as expensive. However, I believe things are more readily available for heavy horses than they used to be - there's a heavy horse online tack/rug shop that someone linked to on here lately and I increasingly see things online advertised for larger horses...

 

[rhino]

I didn't know rhino had a love child with a highland pony

Mind you, I would be proud to have a child that beautiful!

 

[charmeroo]

Jeffries bridles are great for big horses as you can buy all the pieces separately and make up a custom-made bridle to fit. My Clydie cross has a jeffries bridle, a stubben xfull headcollar and double bridle. Rugs - the older Fals which you can pick up on ebay fit a treat as they are deep in the neck and body. Shoeing - my farrier says that whilst my boy is hardwork nailing on his shoes - he is a joy to shoe because he will just stand still for an hour or more, pick his feet up on request and doesn't lean on him at all. I pay £5 more than shoes for my TB, who, incidently eats more haylage than my Clydie, and more hard feed too! Yes my Clydie takes longer to clip but as he looks so beautiful when I've finished then it's all worth while!!!

 

[Gorgeous George]

My boy is a 16.3 shire x, so not as big as some of the horses in this thread he has pretty big feet, but costs the same amount to shoe as a smaller horse (£69 a full set). He takes a 6'9-7' rug, but you can often get them in the sales as they're not such a popular size. He is a really good doer, he is only fed a scoop of hi-fi and some lo-cal, but does eat a lot of hay, in the summer he has just under 1/2 bale of hay overnight and in the winter 3/4 bale when he's in. In the summer I often have to muzzle him as he puts on weight so easily.

He is a total sweetie but he has to know his manners as there is a lot of weight there if he decided to throw it around!

 

[Jnhuk]

as you all know ive been looking for a horse for my OH for a while now, weve come across a nice shire - pure shire, she is 17.2/3. friendly giant though so very suitable for a novice however,

ive read some frightening stories about shoe costs, feed etc.
can someone enlighten me please? the whole truth and nothing but the truth

thank you....

I love my 17.1 ID. I got used to his height, that fact that I could not get off the peg stuff from his easily (although that has improved over the last few years). I still have to get bits specially made for his as they are not wide enough and sometimes pieces of tack XF or XXF not big enough. Minor issues to they cost more to feed, get tack, boots and rugs to decently fit and the extra time spent poo picking. Big feet make a big mess of your land. Be prepared for a sore back if you ever need to poultice a hind foot. Getting off to get gates and remounting can be fun!

However, the main issue is their size and weight when it comes to transport which can be expensive problem especially if you are wanting to travel two together. I am fortunate I have a horsebox that has massive payload and can fit up to a 19hh horse.

I also have a 12x12 stable with a moveable partition to create (if needed) a 18 x12ft stable for the big lad.

As much as I enjoy owning a big horse, I would think twice about having such as big horse again.

 

[Jay89]

We had a shire x, who ate a tad more than the others His shoes were more expensive as our farrier had to make them to fit his feet and cost us £100 a set. However things like rugs were no more expensive, we found premier equine rugs fitted really well.

 

[RutlandH2O]

My experience:

They are big, they move big. They carry a lot of weight which means, more than any other horse, IMO, they MUST have perfect ground manners installed. They can do one hell of a lot of damage by their weight if not. They must respect the whip, especially if kept as a herd and if they get dominant within one at feeding time - a tiny human in the field can get in the way of scuffles. I always take a whip in the field at feeding time and they are like lambs then!

One other thing, falling off is a long way to fall off - and they can be blinkin' strong ridden.

Don't expect to go tanking around, they are NOT built for speed, they are just too heavy, alrhough you can usually sit a buck or a spin easy as its a slow motion one, given the size

Grooming is laboursome, as is clipping and you need a stepladder to reach over their backs, and stables don't appear to be built for them. Feathers and mane can be difficult

Shoes and hay cost extra - they may be good doers but on your pocket, you will feel it as they eat a hell of a lot. If you keep barefoot, you will need regular trims more so than if they're shod in order to stop cracks - it's a lot of weight on a small crack which means good trimming is vital.

Tack is more expensive and heavier to carry

They also pooh like a herd of elephants so be prepared for two or three times as much pooh picking!

Very well put, Achinghips. I have 5 pure Shires: an 18h1" broodmare and her rising 3 year old 17h2" gelding son; a 17h2" broodmare and her rising 3 year old 17h3" gelding son, and his 17h retired broodmare great grandmother. My 2 youngsters have been in dire need of manners since they were weaned. Unfortunately, my bad back prevented me from being an effective source of education for them for almost 2 years. Now that I'm fighting fit, I have been asserting my authority, and have taken to using a whip (not on them) in the field at feeding time and whenever I lead them. It has been magic. I now have 2 well-mannered, happy, agreeable, willing-to-please young boys who respect my space at feeding time and no longer rip my arm out of its socket on lead.

I no longer ride, so I can't comment on their abilities under saddle. They are barefoot and are trimmed, religiously, every 5 weeks. My 18h1" brood and my late 18h pure Clyde gelding are/were dosed for worming and other meds, at 1 tonne each. Worming costs are appreciably higher (but then I have 5 versus just one or two).

My horses are overwintered in a massive pole barn. There are 3 sections, each one being 45' x 30', with 10' gates between them. The 3 broods are housed in the equivalent of 90' x 30'. Flimsy, wooden stables won't take the pressure of almost a tonne of horse rubbing its bum against the walls/doors on a regular basis. The horses are not rugged. I purchase 1,000 bales of hay each autumn. I feed hay at the rate of one bale per horse per day. Depending on the quality of the hay, I feed a high fibre, no concentrate diet of ReadiGrass, chaff, and micronised linseed.

Grooming is labour-intensive, and I don't clip. I'm 5'6" and a stepladder would be very handy when reaching over their backs. Their feathered legs require particular attention because of the problems the horses have with mites. Miller's oil (or pig oil) and flowers of sulphur applied to their legs can be very helpful.

I use rope halters with rings almost exclusively. I never leave the girls wearing headcollars when they are out at grass (they're very easy to catch). The geldings wear webbed headcollars when they are turned out, but I use the rope halters when leading them because of the additional control.

The subject of dung is a major one. I have the fields poo picked daily. I used to be the one who mucked out, but because of my back, I have a handyman who does the honours, now. When the horses are in, the barn is mucked out 3 times a day: morning and late afternoon by my help, and at bedtime by me. Five Shires fed ad lib hay (in winter) produce an enormous amount of dung. Leaving the barn or fields not poo picked everyday makes for a massive, back-breaking job when it is done. We put the dung into the bucket of a small loader, which we then drive onto a large grain trailer where the muck is deposited. When the trailer is full, we transport it with our tractor to a local farmer's muck heap.

I hope I haven't put you off acquiring a Shire. They are gorgeous, steady, reasonable, easy, trainable, comfortable...a pleasure to own.

 

[amandaco2]

My dressage horse is 17.2
He is cheap to run..
No shoes, lives out most the time,gets fed hifi and fibre cubes.....

 

[JessPickle]

I have a 17.1hh clydie x he costs exactly the same as our 15.1hh TB x to own! if anything slightly less due to the typical accident prone TB! he takes 6ft9 rugs which are generally cheaper than our little horse's rugs purely because its a less popular size.

He is truly a pleasure to own though, I wouldn't want anything his size that pissed about on the ground! the 15.1hh is a naughty thing, and imagining that at 17.1hh scares me!

This is my lovely boy, he's 20 this year and still happily popping around 2ft6