The new Equine Welfare Guidance soon to be published will include that “best practice is not to shave the tail unless there is a veterinary/welfare reason to do so”, but will guidance be enough to stop those determined to bare the horses hind ends?

The Horse of the Year Show did nothing to stop the ongoing practice of depriving heavy horses of their tails at this year’s show, making their claim that “we will continue to champion the horse, as well as working on our wider responsibility to support the modernisation of practices within the sport.” meaningless.