 The Shire horse was originally the staple breed used to draw carts to deliver ale from the brewery to the public houses . A few breweries still maintain this tradition in the UK . These include the Wadworth Brewery in Devizes , Wiltshire , the Hook Norton Brewery , the Samuel Smith Brewery in Tadcaster , and Thwaites Brewery , which made Shire @-@ drawn deliveries from the early 1800s to the 1920s , then resumed service in 1960 , with deliveries continuing to be horse @-@ drawn to the present day . Several breweries have recently withdrawn their Shire horse teams , including the Tetley brewery in Leeds . 
