IT IS an accolade guaranteed to get you on the highest of horses and bring a smile to even the longest face.

But a giant Shire horse who was saved from the knacker’s yard by his Scots owner has grown to become the biggest in the world.

Seven-year-old Lincoln has been recorded at just under 6ft 11ins, a measurement that sees him equal his rival, a Belgian draft called Big Jake.

Lincoln was saved by owner Ruth Blair and fruit and vegetable tycoon James Mackie, when Mrs Blair paid £450 in cash for him three years ago.

He now measures 6ft 10¾ins from the withers to the ground, without shoes, and is just under 21 hands.

In 2014 he measured just over 6ft 10ins but still had time to grow.

Now Lincoln’s growth spurt puts him at the top of the height charts for any horse in the UK and Europe and on an equal footing with Big Jake, who is kept on a farm in Michigan, America.

Each day, Lincoln eats his way through 26lb of carrots, 24 apples, 11lb of spinach and four or five cabbages, plus occasional snacks, at Mr Mackie’s farm.

Mrs Blair, 53, of Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, said: “I am very glad we have put his life on the path it is now. He could easily have gone from place to place with people who thought they could have cared for him but would have been overwhelmed.

“James has a fruit and veg company and he is more than happy to be feeding him up, but it takes a lot of feeding. He can easily eat 20 Pink Lady apples in one sitting.

“Lincoln looks fantastic now and it is a pleasure to see him so happy and content.

“A vet friend, Will Marshall, had initially brought him to me and knew he needed help. Lincoln’s success story is really down to Will.”

Last week, Lincoln was given a brush-up with a power hose at Mr Mackie’s farm in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, before having a health MoT that saw his teeth examined, his eyes checked, and X-rays of his legs and neck.

When first homed at Mr Mackie’s farm he was suffering the effects of ill-treatment and weighed less than 600kgs (94 st 7lbs) but his latest trip to the vet has registered him at a whopping 901kgs (141st 12lbs).

Lincoln, whose official name is Ruskington Leicester, was seen at the Weipers Centre Equine Hospital in Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, and delivered in the biggest horse transporter in Scotland, owned by Eric Gillie.

Mrs Blair added: “It’s so fortunate the best place for him is the Weipers Centre and it’s close to where he lives on James’s farm.

“There’s nowhere better for him and it is glorious good fortune that it is so nearby. They have top-notch specialists and equipment and Lincoln deserves that.

“I don’t expect him to grow any further, but we will be monitoring his progress and everything that can be done for him will be.

“Owning a horse that is challenging for the title of the world’s biggest is not a position I ever expected to be in but it’s a privilege and Lincoln is something to be treasured.”

A spokeswoman for the Weipers Centre said: “We were delighted to have him here and it is great to see him in such good health.”

Jake is in the Guinness Book of World records as the world’s tallest horse. He stands at an official 6ft 10¾ins.

The Shire also holds the record for the world’s biggest horse, Sampson, from Bedfordshire, who was 7.2 ft at his withers.

It is one of number of horse breeds that are used as draft horses and include the Belgian, Clydesdale, Percheron and Suffolk as well as the Shire. They are all used as “carriers “ due to their strength, patience and docile temperament, which made them valuable to pre-industrial farmers.