CANNON HALL FARM REMEMBERS RUBY AND IRIS AS YORKSHIRE VET TEAM OPENS UP ABOUT SHIRE HORSE HEARTBREAK
CANNON HALL FARM REMEMBERS RUBY AND IRIS AS YORKSHIRE VET TEAM OPENS UP ABOUT SHIRE HORSE HEARTBREAK
Cannon Hall Farm has opened up about an emotional chapter for its Shire horses, with specialist vet Marco joining the farm team to reflect on months marked by serious complications, difficult decisions and the loss of two much-loved horses.
The Yorkshire farm has spent much of 2026 sharing the lives of its rare-breed Shire horses with followers around the world.
But behind the heartwarming videos and photographs has been a far more difficult story.
The farm has recently been dealing with the loss of Ruby and Iris, two Shires who had become particularly familiar to the public.
On September 20, Cannon Hall Farm welcomed Marco, its specialist Shire vet, for a special live podcast event designed to look back at what the farm described as an “incredibly difficult few months” for its Shire horses.
A DIFFICULT FEW MONTHS FOR THE SHIRE HERD
Cannon Hall Farm has been documenting its efforts to breed and raise Shire horses, one of Britain’s rarest heavy-horse breeds.
Earlier this year, the farm introduced audiences to five Shire foals — Soldier, Iris, Athena, Captain and Major.
The farm later revealed that Iris and Soldier had experienced serious complications and required specialist hospital care before returning home.
The updates attracted thousands of viewers who followed the young horses’ progress online.
For the people caring for them, however, the experience was far more personal.
Every improvement brought relief, while every setback carried the possibility of another heartbreaking outcome.
MARCO THE VET RETURNS TO THE STORY
Marco, who specialises in Shire horses, has played an important role in the farm’s veterinary care.
His appearance at the September 20 podcast event gave the team an opportunity to discuss some of the challenges they had faced and the difficult realities involved in caring for such a large and increasingly rare breed.
The event was part of a special Cannon Hall Farm Podcast Live programme.
Visitors could attend a morning recording featuring Shona from The Yorkshire Vet or an afternoon session featuring Marco, the farm’s specialist Shire vet.
The event also gave audiences a behind-the-scenes look at how Rob and Dave’s popular podcast is produced.
REMEMBERING RUBY AND IRIS
The losses of Ruby and Iris have remained at the centre of the farm’s recent Shire story.
Cannon Hall Farm’s current Shire Foal Experience specifically tells visitors that the experience includes hearing the story of the young horses and remembering Ruby and Iris.
The farm says the public has followed the journeys of its Shire foals closely, with thousands of people around the world watching its updates about the effort to increase the numbers of the rare breed.
That connection has made the losses particularly emotional.
People who had watched the foals grow through the farm’s videos were able to follow their progress over time, making the animals feel familiar even to those who had never visited Cannon Hall Farm.
FROM HEARTBREAK TO HOPE
Despite the losses, the farm’s work with the Shire horses continues.
Cannon Hall Farm still offers visitors the opportunity to see the remaining Shires and take part in its dedicated foal experience.
The farm’s official website currently lists upcoming sessions in late September and October, showing that its Shire programme remains active.
The continuing work is about more than simply caring for individual animals.
Cannon Hall Farm has repeatedly highlighted its efforts to support the future of the Shire horse, a breed whose population remains relatively small.
Every successful foal therefore represents another step in that wider effort.
A STORY OF BOTH LOSS AND RESILIENCE
The September event with Marco came at a time when the farm had already shared some of the most difficult moments of its Shire journey with the public.
The story of Ruby and Iris is now part of that history.
But so too are the recoveries, the new arrivals and the continuing efforts of the farmers, vets and wider team who care for the animals every day.
For Cannon Hall Farm, the past few months have shown just how unpredictable life with animals can be.
One moment can bring excitement over a new foal.
The next can bring an emergency, a difficult veterinary decision or an unbearable loss.
And for the thousands of people who have followed the Shire horses online, the story has offered an unusually close look at both sides of life on a working farm.
Ruby and Iris may no longer be part of the farm’s paddocks, but Cannon Hall Farm is continuing to tell their story while working toward a future for the Shire horses that remain.
