Well this year he is starting his 16th year as a police horse for the Houston Mounted Police. Still happy, healthy & of course barefoot – as all the working horses at the HMPD are.
Officer Greg Sokoloski (now retired) was Shadow’s partner, and the man largely responsible for instigating the pioneering change from shod, unhealthy horses who were often off work because they couldn’t cope, to a barn full of barefoot police horses, healthy, chilled and ready for work every day.
This is what Greg said when he popped by the HMPD barn the other day to see his old pal Shadow:
“Shadow starting his 16th year as a police horse. Still happy and healthy and barefoot. All he has known is what he is doing in the pic. I make sure when I visit he is happy and comfortable and he is
, people come to see him everyday so retiring him to a pasture full of horses may not be the right thing right now. When he says he is finished then we will make that decision, but right now he is still going strong thanks to the wonderful changes we started with him and the wonderful people and officers that take care of him and continue with the practices we started almost 20 years ago. What a pleasure it is to walk into a barn full of working police horses and see happy and healthy horses!!”
The story of how the HMPD went from spending thousands of dollars on propping up unhealthy, unsound horses to changing their equine management, training & hoofcare, is one not to be missed.
Read all about it in Issues 8 & 13.
This story you will be recounting to friends, family & professionals forever!
Truly inspiring.
Keep barefooting Shadow ❤️
The BHM Team ❤️