Ohhhhh this is a sore (pun intended) subject with me.
In order to keep riding, I have owned Walking Horses since 1990. I am strictly a trail rider. I retired to the literal “Heart of Walking Horse Country” in 2003 and got my eyes opened wide to shoeing practices that should have been banned before they ever got started.
OP, I am sorry but your friends insistence on their TWH’s needing long toes to perform is the biggest bunch of B.S. to come down the interstate
They either can’t ride or they are so interested in winning they will do anything to enhance the natural gait of the horse.
If they are trail riders, they simply need to have their horses’ hooves trimmed to what the hooves ask for. Use either a standard slick shoe with borium head nails for slippage, or put rim shoes on them for grip.
I have been blessed to own four Walking Horses in my lifetime. Three of them have been laid to rest, the last one is now 28. None of them ever wore keg shoes like some TWH trail riders thought their horses should wear. My horses were/are ALL trimmed according to what their hooves ask for.
I put St. Croix rim shoes with borium head nails on my horses that needed shoes. The 28 yr old is the TWH with champagne-smooth running walk people pay big bucks for. He’s been with me 26 years, has a diagnosed less-than-Grade 1 club hoof and has ridden in all kinds of terrain BAREFOOT. He never lost a beat, never came up lame.
Not one of my Walking Horses ever had issues holding their intermediate gait unless there was something structurally wrong and they needed a chiropractor.
I would have hoped this ”long toe” garbage would have fallen by the wayside by now but evidently it hasn’t. The rider needs to know how ride and the trainer needs to know how to “set” a horse in its gait with the correct work, which in turn, increases the muscle memory needed to gait. And a high caliber chiropractor should be brought in, if the horse still can’t hold its gait.
That said, some of the show people are too Interested in how high the front legs lift to appeal to the a judges eye and will do what’s needed (flat shod or big lick) to encourage that “lift” in the hopes of a win. Resorting to long toes is the least of what goes on and the flat shod show people can be every bit as guilty of using soring methods as the Lickers.
@Rockysquirrel here is a fantastic article from the newspaper in ”The heart of Walking Horse Country”. Please take a few moments ts to read it and watch these old time videos
Please note this paragraph where it starts out that achieving the smooth natural gait took MONTHS TO ACHIEVE, until someone came up with a shortcut that ruined the horses and their reputation.
Begin Quote:
”the late 1950s this smooth natural gait that took general horsemanship and months to achieve was replaced with the quick training method of "soring". The addition of pads and wedges came along as well and the combination of "soring" and the "package" with a boot or "action device" forever changed the breed. Today we are paying the price for a shortcut that created an "industry", when we could be boasting about the most popular breed of horse in the world.”
END QUOTE
I apologize for the surliness as it is most assuredly NOT aimed at you but rather the people who still haven’t learned their lesson(s) regarding shoeing Walking Horses. They can come up with any excuse they want to but the truth is the fault lies with the farriers first and the rider/trainer second.
I hope this is helpful to you