Thank you, Bats.
I’ll try to put this in the most diplomatic way possible. The Shire fraternity, at least in the UK, views their horses more as livestock than the way, say, warmbloods are viewed and appreciated. A great many Shire breeders are farmers who are bound by old fashioned and folkloric husbandry. Many don’t scan their mares for twins thinking that a twin pregnancy will sort itself out without intervention. Many feed bran as a nutritious food and recommend feeding it to growing young stock. A vast number of Shires, that are not being shown, are walking around with extremely long, untrimmed, cracked and broken hooves that simple farriery would resolve. Asking these breeders/owners to DNA test for color is tantamount to twisting their arms for another outlay of money. Recently, Shire members (including council members) have been done for cruelty, leaving many horses in dire circumstances. The Shire Horse Society does not have a rescue body in place for such situations.
Many Shire breeders are also Clydesdale breeders. Until around 8 or more years ago, Shire/Clyde mares were permitted to compete in championship shows. When enough people complained the rule was changed and only pure Shires can compete for the championship now.
Roan Shire mares are registrable. Many are recorded as bay. It is very probable that the aforementioned stallion’s dam is actually genetically roan. Since roan is needed to beget roan…
Shires have to be DNA tested to ascertain their parentage. In the past there was quite a bit of jiggery pokery regarding not just parentage, but the actual parental breed involved. DNA testing for color (where the word sabino is basically unknown here) would remove any doubts with respect to phenotypical color, especially in a breed which disqualifies stallions for being roan.
