“Guidance” Not Good Enough for Equine Welfare

Last November, Animal Concern submitted a written submission to the petitions committee on the Scots Gov petition to make it illegal to shave the tails of heavy horses. The petition was debated (watch at 2:11:30 of debate) on the 26th November, with it being noted by MSP Jackson Carlaw that the revised Equine Code of Practice was meant to be published last August and has yet to make an appearance. As such, the petition will be kept open while waiting for an update on the publication.

Minister Fairlie has since responded that while the issues Animal Concern raised will be addressed in the new Equine Guidance, "the Scottish Government has no plans at this time to legislate to prohibit the removal of the hair on an equine's tail."

While we are pleased that the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission (SAWC) has informed us that the Equine Guidance, once finally published, will state that “best practice is not to shave the tail unless there is a veterinary/welfare reason to do so”, we do not accept Minister Fairlie’s response that guidance will be good enough, and will continue to push for legislation.

Not impressed with Fairlie’s response, we've sent a letter to King Charles, who, as  patron of the Clydesdale and Shire Horse Society, the RSPCA, British Horse Society and Rare Breeds Survival Trust, is all too familiar with what goes on. 

(Photo from Clydesdale Horse Society social media.)

Though from a long line of horse enthusiasts, we question if His Majesty’s patronage to equine welfare is as dubious as his professed concern to the natural environment while galloping around chasing foxes…

Disgrace at the Horse of the Year Show

Our stance on this matter is not without merit. Having learned that Alexander (Sandy) Anderson - owner of Grandstand Media which runs the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) - owns several heavy horses which are stabled in Scotland, and has imported Clydesdales from the US with docked tails, a practice banned in the UK in 1949. These horses were on parade at the recent 2025 HOYS, giving a clear disregard for the horses’ needs to have their intimate and sensitive anatomy protected by their tails, as nature intended.

(Photo: The Horse of the Year Show social media)

The HOYS is the most illustrious horse event in the UK, the pinnacle of the showing season for many equine enthusiasts. Which is why in 2024 we wrote to Grandstand Media/HOYS organisers asking them to follow the lead of the Great Yorkshire Show and ban Heavy Horse entries with tails shaved bare, to which they replied;

“As the pinnacle event within the UK equestrian calendar, we will continue to champion the horse, as well as working on our wider responsibility to support the modernisation of practices within the sport.”

When nothing was done to address this issue, we wrote them again.

This time, no response. Instead, the 2025 HOYS saw Clydesdales with severely docked tails paraded around, showing a deliberate disregard for concerns raised about equine welfare. But given Anderson’s position on tailless Clydesdales, now we know why.

The Driving Force Behind Shaved Tails

Alexander (Sandy) Campbell Anderson is a businessman tied to several companies and owns Thistledown Cowford Farms Limited, a wealthy farming establishment tied to Grandstand Media.

Thistledown Cowford Farms shares the same address as Grandstand Media Ltd, & HOYS HQ.

Grandstand Media now manages the Showing Register, giving even more influence over equine show entries.

Mr Anderson has the same power to ban the entry of horses without tails into the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) that the Great Yorkshire Show (GYS) organiser Amanda Stoddart-West had when she implemented a rule that all horses must have their tails at the GYS, yet ignores the concerns raised.

Both the Clydesdale and Shire Horse Society have stubbornly refused to acknowledge the reasons why horses should not be deprived of their natural tails, ignoring the countless statements from equine experts that unless medically necessary, a horse should not have its tail shaved off.

Many heavy horse owners aspire to win ribbons at big shows such as the Royal Highland Show and HOYS. With the hindquarters and legs a crucial part of conformation that is judged, it has become a disturbing "tradition” to shave off the tail hair from the dock for no other purpose than unobstructed viewing of the legs and back end.

The likes of the Anderson and Black families are in positions to influence how heavy horses are presented at shows. They could promote plaiting tails as the humane way to present a horse.

A shaved tail takes up to 3 yrs to grow back whereas a plaited tail can be undone after, letting the horse have function of its full tail.

But instead they promote shaving off most of the tail.

In This Farming Life - Series 5: Episode 4, it is clear that the Black family prioritise their wish to display the hind ends of their Clydesdales over the very basic right of the horses to have their natural tails.

Ronnie Black shaves the tail of a one yr old filly in preparation for the Highland Show, later stating that he’d “butchered” it and they don’t “normally” shave the tails of horses under 3 yrs. (From This Farming Life, Episode 4, Season 5)

For anyone with an ounce of sense, there is no denying that it is in the best interest of the horse to ensure their tails are left to provide the function nature intended. Those who are trapped in these archaic concepts of “tradition” need to move beyond the desire to bare their horse’s bottoms, and adopt the humane practice of leaving the tails intact.