Shire horses eliminated from show for bad shoeing practices

[ester]

I said it because of this bit
'During the Scottish proceedings in 2002, the Farriers Registration Council declined to ban its members from the practice, since they stated, in a letter to the Scottish Parliament, that its members were already prohibited from performing harmful practices and that couping itself had not been proven to directly cause suffering.

The Council did offer to investigate any case of couping where it could be proven that the farrier's action had caused pain or suffering, but that complaints against couping did not adequately differentiate it from general poor shoeing practice. A joint statement from the Council and the Worshipful Company of Farriers suggested that the most effective remedy would be for show judges to encourage balanced shoeing practices.'

 

[Btomkins]

Before I get attacked I would like to say that I think this practice is abhorent. But can someone please explain how different this is to shoeing using the lateral extension horse shoe which makes horses also place their feet in a different position also?

I get that couping is unfair to the horse because it is done by way of an aesthetic change whereas later horse shoes are done for health reasons but is there really that much of a difference? I expect there are an awful lot of horse owners whose farriers do this, I had lateral extensions for my previous horse for his spavin.

Lateral extensions are useful for horses that brush as it widens the horses gait during movement. It is also used as an aid for the treatment of spavin as it makes the horse place its limbs less midline (which horses do when they are in pain from spavin by way of overcompensating thus causing other issues).


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I’m no expert but I think the lateral shoes are designed to help alleviate certain problems and are designed to make a horse more comfortable, in theory at least. The foot is still trimmed and balanced correctly.

From what I can see the practice of couping deforms the foot with a huge amount of flare and shoes that are not balanced or set centrally on the foot, with the aim being to change the aesthetic appearance with no benefit to the health or comfort of the horse.

 

[hock]

This makes me so how happy!! It’s awful how they shoe some of the walkers in the States but it’s also going on in our back yard! It’s the show societies that need to stop promoting this. It’s also a falicy that it improves the horses ability to plough, absolute rubbish. I don’t get involved but there’s a new school old school within the Shire community, the sooner the old school is bred out the better!

 

[Squeak]

I had absolutely no idea that this went on. Poor horses, that's absolutely terrible. I'm glad they're doing something about it now but it ought to have been done a long time ago although given they're still encouraging the glaringly obese horses and overweight riders in showing it's less surprising that something like this hasn't been stopped already.

 

[angel7]

Whats with the square shoes?

I enjoyed spectating at a few agricultural shows including the Royal highland this year but was bemused by the shoeing on several of the horses. A lot of the heavy horses had square and even triangle shaped shoes on overlarge and deformed feet! To me this made their movement overly exaggerated...

forums.horseandhound.co.uk

I posted about this years ago but there was little interest.
Shocking its still prevalent at every Clydesdale show and nothing is done.

 

[ester]

This makes me so how happy!! It’s awful how they shoe some of the walkers in the States but it’s also going on in our back yard! It’s the show societies that need to stop promoting this. It’s also a falicy that it improves the horses ability to plough, absolute rubbish. I don’t get involved but there’s a new school old school within the Shire community, the sooner the old school is bred out the better!

don't forget the scotch bottoms on drafts there too.

 

[tda]

Its just the tip of a bigger iceberg isn't it. Last year at a breed show, a yearling filly, shod all round won it's class. The society just say....we advise people not to shoe youngsters and so it goes on

 

[Snowfilly]

Its just the tip of a bigger iceberg isn't it. Last year at a breed show, a yearling filly, shod all round won it's class. The society just say....we advise people not to shoe youngsters and so it goes on

Lol, the society judges especially for shires often actively promote shoes. Unshod 2 and 3 year olds are the exception and you’ll normally see them placed down the line. Go to any workshops or training days and you’ll be told to get your horse shod up to show it.

I love heavies. I’ve owned two and ridden and shown others. The heavy horse societies or at least the Shire and Clyde ones are some of the most backwards, stuck in the dark ages, resistant to change breed societies going.

I’d like to see a blanket ‘no shoes before 4’ rule as a starting point.

 

[alibali]

I used to love watching the Clydesdales at the Highland Show until one year watching them wait to go into the ring I noticed how some of them were shod. Now I avoid seeing them. For me it's turned what was a glorious spectacle into something that makes me feel very sad.

 

[abbijay]

I was at Stafford and saw the farrier making inspections but as the Ridden was first and in a different ring and I like to keep my head down at these events I didn't know about this until the following day. It is good that the SHS has (finally) put out a statement and good that it is being noticed by the remains of the horse world as it is awful and for no reason other than vanity, a cardboard rosette and potentially fifty quid in prize money. In the ridden the judge marked me very poorly and I suspect a factor in that was that we are unshod as we don't need shoes to perform well and do 15-20miles a week on the road so why shoe for a rosette?
Interestingly I saw no farriery inspections at Cheshire this week and I was in the shire horse car park all day. That was an affiliated show with an inhand hoys qualifier class too.
When you talk to people in the heavy horse world they think it's not the business of anyone else how they shoe their horses for "best performance".

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

For years I’ve wondered about the close and inward pointing hocks and lower limbs of heavy horses and had no idea about this practice. Thank you for enlightenment OP.