Shire horse Gunner retires to the county

Gunner the Shire worked for the brewer and hotelier Daniel Thwaites for many years, living at the firm’s Blackburn headquarters.

However, the horse suffered health complications putting an end to his working life and now he has retired to the Shropshire countryside.

Seven-year-old Gunner is living at Whitchurch where he has formed an unlikely friendship with Steve the Shetland Pony. Together with Thwaites’ other Shire horses, Wainwright(15), Ribble (5) and Drummer (4), Gunner travelled 10,000 miles a year meeting thousands of fans at new pub openings, family fun days and competitions.

Although still technically in his prime at age seven, Gunner’s recurring back condition meant the company’s resident team of horsemen had to make the difficult decision to retire him early.

He will now enjoy a slower pace of life eating grass and roaming the Shropshire farm’s many acres with Steve the Shetland.

Daniel Thwaites executive chairman, Richard Bailey said: “Gunner is a kind-natured horse and one of our largest Shires who won many people over through his appearances at shows and in our pubs and hotels. Of course, we’re very sad to see Gunner retire and move on, but this story has a happy ending. Gunner is joining a family who are connected to David Kay, one of the previous managing directors of Thwaites whose idea it originally was to bring the Shire Horses back.

“Our head horseman, Richard Green and his team provide the best care for our Shire Horses. They remain an iconic part of the Thwaites brand and we hope to have them out and about greeting their fans again as soon as it’s safe to do so.”