Isle of Wight - Brickfields Horse Country

8 June 2003

A visit to Brickfields Horse Country, between Haven Street and Binstead, near Ryde.

One of the Centre's Shires trying out a new cart!

The mares and foals of Mini World enjoying the sunshine

Winston being groomed ready for pulling the wagon rides

Scale models of the tallest and shortest horses yet known. The tallest was a shire gelding "Sampson" 21-2½ hands high and weighing over 30cwt, bred in Bedfordshire in 1846. The shortest was a Falabella stallion "Little Pumpkin" standing 14 inches high, bred in 1973 in South Carolina, USA.

A one week old Shire foal, born 2 June 2003

Coming over to investigate!

Montgomery (Monty) being harnessed to the Ginny ring

The Ginny ring was widely used on farms to power the threshing machines and so on. The girl holding the pole back is only necessary because the mechanism is no longer attached to anything, so there would be no resistance stopping the pole hitting the horse when he stops.

Winston dressed up in all his finery!

Winston harnessed to the Brickfields wagon - he can pull this fully loaded with tourists!

Bud and Weiser, the famous twin shire horses, were born in Surrey on 1 August 1989. They came to Brickfields in July 1990 on condition that they remain together forever. Twins are very unusual in the horse world, with Bud and Weiser being the only living twin shire horses in the world.

Boris, the Lithuanian Draft Horse

Prince and Monty, a pair of Shire horses