Shire Horse Facing Extinction
Latest WIP
Here’s the latest work in progress. The color is way over saturated but you get the idea. The coloration from the previous post is much closer.
I will post How To Frame Oil Pastels Part3 tomorrow.
The Shire
I was watching the end of BBC America World News (waiting for Kitchen Nightmare’s to begin) and they had a small segment on the Shire horse breed. The Shire has been a symbol of British heritage for centuries. Currently though, they are dieing out faster than they are replacing themselves. It has been projected that they may become extinct (in the UK) within 10 years, unless something is done. The good news is, the global gene pool is strong.
I must say I am surprised in this day and age of cloning, embryonic transfer and frozen sperm, that extinction in a domestic animal was even possible.
It seems, that currently the Shires that are being bred, are primarily for show purposes. Oddly enough, those people who are actually interested in getting a good work horse are buying Percherons. The French have national studs and work hard to promote their breed. It is estimated that they need at least 300 Shire fillies born each year to maintain the status quo. Last year 150 fillies were born and 50 mares were exported, so only an additional 100 mares were added to the population. Unless steps are taken, the Shire may go the same way as the Suffolk, and fade into history.
The photo here, is of a handsome shire stallion, taken at the MN Horse Expo a couple of years back.