I believe you can do either, I've seen both. I showed a TWH at an International Championship in an english halter and we got 2nd, everyone else had halters as well.
It used to be, in AQHA, we always used black, regardless of leg color. Now it’s leaning more towards white legs, clear polish, black legs or colored legs, black polish. Personally, like the clear on all.
I would clean her hooves thoroughly then take a very, very fine sand paper, sand any irregularities off, then put carnuba wax on. It can be buffed to a high shine and it comes right off with a little degreaser afterwards.
Are you showing her in walking horse shows? I would see what everyone else is doing for what is expected, and I would also clip. In the Saddlebred world, the answer would be both, as her feet look striped, and you are expected to sand them a bit and then if the feet are striped, paint the dark parts black and then clear on the white parts. (So glad I have a bay mare with no chrome!) ETA cute horse btw!
Yes i show at walking horse shows, and I've looked into it more and almost everyone does black. And yes i know, i actually clipped her legs yesterday.
I used to show a TWH at halter. They typically show in a bridle but you can do the halter and lead if you dress western. Gaited horses do the chain over or under the nose at halter, but never across the gums. Black hoof polish is prohibited on TWHs. Local shows won't dq you but for breed it's a no-no. Even opaque is not allowed- clear only. Technically the mane should have the two braids for a halter class (if showing in the bridle). If you aren't going to do the braids (which are easy), go with a Western setup. Bridle path should be the ear's length against the neck, legs should be clipped, and ears should be clipped (we always clipped little diamonds at the top). For posterity... here's me about 11 years ago showing a walker at county fair (and breaking the hoof polish rule because we ran out of clear and my friend had QHs and it was local. Don't mind my tucked in jods-it was SO wet ). L 0fb5f4cf74d619e21a82964693b115d3 by ChestersMomma posted Nov 30, 2009 at 1:19 AM
Thanks for the info! I do show western, but at that show the dress code was casual so i just wore a polo. But at most shows i wear a bright blue sparkly shirt. But i have shown a twh in a halter like this one and we placed 2nd at an international WHOA show, i've actually never shown halter or showmanship in a bridle before, maybe it depends on the show? But i've noticed that it depends on the rules at that show, sometimes hoof black is not allowed and sometimes it is, i think i remember someone saying it depended on if we were showing WHOA, or SHOW, don't know the difference though, but i think at our 4h shows and WHOA shows it is allowed. I get so confused with all these regulations
go with clear. If one of your breed standards is prohibited to use black, then just get into the habit of using clear. I would also ditch the halter, unless you can get it to fit properly its doing nothing for your horse (look wise). Either go with a bridle, or another halter, even if its just a plain leather one. IMO a better fit plain jane halter will always compliment the horse and handler team better than a fancy bad fitting halter will.
