From The Publisher – Lip Chains are Gone… Are Spurs Next?
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Lip Chains are Gone… Are Spurs Next?
The recent decision by AQHA to ban lip chain use in the halter pen has created a firestorm of protest from those within the halter horse community. Many breeders, owners and exhibitors concerns are expressed in the article The Great Lip Chain Debate on page 194 of this issue. The people interviewed in this article have decades of experience and their complaints about this ruling are not only thoughtful, but justified.
I spoke to many top judges, trainers and exhibitors about lip chain usage after the change to AQHA Rule SHW355.4 was announced on April 24, 2015. As you can imagine, nearly everyone I spoke to disagreed with AQHA’s decision. Though their reasons for opposition to the rule change varied, there was one common thread to every conversation; everyone felt there was little consultation with AQHA regarding lip chain usage and, even though they are supposedly valued members, their opinion didn’t matter to AQHA. They also felt the rule change was made by people who don’t understand halter horses very well. Finally, one high profile individual said it was his opinion that AQHA finds it easy to take on the halter horse segment of the industry because they don’t have a powerful, independent affiliate organization like the NCHA, NRHA, etc. to lobby against these unpopular rule changes. He brought up the HYPP rule change in 2004 and noted that similar rulings were not passed for genetic diseases that affect cutting horses as well as other performance and ranch horses. There was concern from everyone with whom I spoke that AQHA didn’t give them more time to phase out the lip chain, since that was the goal. They said it was not fair to announce this rule change at the end of April with an effective date of January 1, 2016. This timeline, in their opinion, does not give them time to prepare.
Frankly, all of the above concerns are right on the money. AQHA has always seemingly steamrolled the halter horse exhibitors and breeders with rule changes while treating other events – reining, cutting, pleasure – with kid gloves. Maybe this is because they have stronger representative organizations with broader constituencies; who knows? However, the facts are the facts. Rule changes seem to come much more swiftly and with more severity when it comes to halter.
Many exhibitors and trainers are concerned about the safety of their horses and themselves once this new rule takes effect. Denny Hassett has a valid point in The Great Lip Chain Debate article when he says, “the horses are different than they were 50 years ago. They’re healthier and stronger, but they’re not crazy.” He’s right. Selective breeding has resulted in a much different halter horse than we saw even 30 years ago. Back then, we would longe our halter horses before we showed them, then saddle them up and proceed to show in western pleasure, hunter under saddle, reining, barrels, or any other class the horse could master. The fact is we rode our halter horses. That has changed – just like it has for nearly every other discipline. Today’s show-quality Quarter Horse has been bred for a specific discipline. There are a few all-around horses who are competitive in many disciplines, but that is not the norm. Today’s halter horse is more heavily muscled, stronger and fed better than its predecessor. Its roots are more race-related than pleasure-related; and there’s the rub. AQHA celebrates its racing industry – another group with strong representation – with the All-American Derby. Somehow, they have determined that lip chains at AQHA-sanctioned races are in the best interest of the industry while using them in halter classes is not. Jim Snow said it best in The Great Lip Chain Debate article, “When watching the All-American Futurity and the Kentucky Derby, they don’t seem to think it’s a problem [to use lip chains]. Why is it a problem for the Halter industry?” It’s a valid question from a good horseman. They use a lip chain from time to time on Triple Crown winner American Pharoah who is, by all accounts, a good-minded Thoroughbred race horse. He has had more media coverage in 6 weeks than most Quarter Horses have had in a lifetime. If it’s okay to use a lip chain on this celebrated equine athlete in order to protect him and those around him, why not halter horses, too?
Here is one question we all must ponder: Now that lip chains are gone, will spurs be next? And what comes after that? Only those within the animal rights community know for sure.
