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Click here for a printable version of this page.
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Meet Jacob - a shire horse. Isn't he beautiful?
Shire horses are the largest of all horse breeds.
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Horses are measured in hands - a practice which dates back to a time when there were no tape measures or rulers.
A hand is about four inches.
You measure a horse from the ground up to his withers - or shoulders. Jacob measures an amazing 18 hands!
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At the other end of the scale is a toy horse.
This particular one is the smallest in Britain!
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The toy horse's forehead is made up of tiny, fine bones.
The shire horse's forehead has the same bone structure, but the bones are much larger and stronger.
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The toy horse's chest is half the size of that of the shire horse.
The shire horse's is very muscly - which it needs to be in order to pull carts and such like.
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And look at the difference in size of the hooves between the two horses.
The toy horse's hooves are even smaller than Stephen's hands!
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So, one little, one large - but they're both Brilliant Creatures.
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