Cannon Hall Farm now has 209 horsepower after taking on a 204hp Toyota Hilux Invincible X to help them care for their five Shire horses. Owners Rob and Dave Nicholson will use the Hilux pickup to help look after their growing Shire horse collection as part of their conservation efforts for these distinctive heavy horses.
The Nicholson family has owned the 200-acre Cannon Hall Farm
for 65 years, and Rob and Dave’s father was brought up in an era of Shire horses and farmed with them. Opened to the public in 1989, it now receives 335,000 visitors annually to its farm attractions, shop and restaurants. It is also the star of Channel 5’s Summer on the Farm Live.
“It seemed right to invest time and money in Shire horses,” explains Rob. “They helped us win world wars, so it’s unthinkable to think they could fade away, so we thought we’d do our bit to preserve and safeguard them for future generations. We bought our first Shire horse eight years ago. There are only 850 breeding mares in the country, so it’s important to keep the bloodline going. We currently have five and are about to buy our sixth, and we are now a recognised Shire horse centre.”
The farm’s growing Shire horse population meant that the Nicholsons needed a reliable and robust vehicle with good off-road, load-carrying and towing capabilities to help them day to day. “We’ve always liked these vehicles and aspired to own one,” Says Rob. “The Hilux has more power than other trucks we’ve had before, and the gears seem just right for towing.”
Rob and Dave ordered their vehicle from Burrows Toyota in Barnsley and, while waiting for delivery, were loaned a top-of-the-range Toyota Hilux Invincible X.
“We used it for a couple of hospital runs recently,” Rob said. “We collected Orchid, our 14-year-old Shire and her foal, Rosie, from Rainbow Equine Hospital, 100 miles away. Rosie nearly died soon after birth – she had something called ‘dummy foal syndrome’ where she thought she was still in the womb and was refusing to suckle.”
More recently, the team had to rush their eight-year-old Shetland, Pony M, to the same hospital. She was heavily pregnant and was suffering from catastrophic energy failure as she had stopped feeding. The vet was going to have her put down but felt that the hospital would have a chance of saving her, so the horse trailer was hooked up to the Hilux to take her there.
About the Shire horse
The Shire horse became popular in the late 19th century, performing farm jobs such as ploughing. Its popularity increased during the Industrial Revolution when the horse was used to tow barges, pull drays for breweries, and carry or pull heavy loads over long distances. However, technological advances, including the advent of railways and tractors, reduced demand and their numbers declined, dropping from over a million to a few thousand by the 1960s. Numbers began to increase in the 1970s, but the breed is still considered ‘at risk’ by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Today Shire horses are used for forestry and leisure activities, including riding and carriage driving.
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