Recently, there seem to have been a lot of calls to order in several parts of Europe. Claims, counterclaims, arguments and counter-arguments with regard to perceived laws.
In Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK, there have been more and more calls for motorists to have respect for horses and for the law to be changed to reflect this - although certainly the UK, and if I'm not mistaken, the Netherlands, already have the necessary laws in place; they are just seldom acted upon.
At the same time - in the same countries - there is a call to ban horses altogether from the roads. The danger is that this could become a reality while often it is cyclists, and even more often the motorists themselves, that are the inherent danger. Naturally there are no calls to ban cyclists (thankfully) although in the Netherlands it is certainly the case that the cyclists claim a godlike status and seem to have an infallible belief in their immortality!

Laws also show great disparity between European countries. The "art" of farriery is a good case in point: in the UK, France and Germany (and maybe other countries too), farriery is regulated. Only farriers - and vets - are allowed to shoe horses. However, in France, the owner of a horse and anyone in the owner's employ, may also shoe - while in the UK, only those with a full diploma or in training therefor may shoe. In the Netherlands and Belgium, there are official courses with diplomas attached - but they are not obligatory and any old Tom, Dick or Harry can shoe a horse ! As far as trimming hooves is concerned, fairly obviously the Netherlands and Belgium, not having regulation for farriers, have no regulation for trimmers either. In Germany, a law obliging trimmers to follow a farriery course was declared inappropriate (learming how to practice that which one is firmly against - shoeing) and trimmers gained the legal status in 2007 of being recognised as not being required to follow any official course (there are no official courses for trimming anywhere in the world). In the UK, the "Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Donkeys and Hybrids" - essentially a legally binding document - states in section 5 subsection 11 that "Feet should be trimmed regularly by a competent person...", competence not being marked by a diploma. In France, the situation is rather abstruse - "parage", the word commonly used for trimming, is legally reserved for vets and farriers. However, the common use of the word should not be confused with the medical term: essentially the removal of dead tissue from living. Nevertheless, the French Union of Farriers is prosecuting people left, right and centre for the use of the word parage. Even more interesting when the law itself does not define parage!!!

And just what is a horse, legally speaking? Most of us consider it to be a companion animal and the majority are "in use" in the leisure industry; and yet European, and local, legislation still defines the horse as being livestock. This puts the horse in a different situation regarding welfare in many countries. In the Netherlands, for instance, there are clear laws regarding the keeping of pets and companion animals - but these laws generally do not apply to the horse because of its status as livestock. The situation is similar in France and Germany while in the UK, there is a specific code of practice, already mentioned, which does go a long way to protecting what is technically a livestock animal in the way companion animals are protected.

It is even further confusing when we see that, following the passage of European conventions, these laws have been brought into line with each other - or not apparently...