Queenie was asked to lead the funeral procession of a local chap who had spent a lifetime working with shire horses; Richard Appleby used to run carriage rides with shire horses on Weymouth beach many years ago but due to failing health had to retire from horses altogether.
Queenie led the procession at Lottisham, and, as was Richard’s wish she was walked in-hand and not ridden. Richard preferred the older style shire, short and stocky, a horse built for working, pulling ploughs and carts, not the taller, slimmer shire we tend to be leaning towards nowadays. In his words Queenie would have been classed as ‘a true stamp of a shire’.
We were truly honoured to have been asked to escort Richard to his final resting place and, while a funeral is undoubtedly a sad occasion, we hope that having a shire horse can make that final journey truly special and definitely one to remember.