‘We loved him more than you can imagine’: farewell to police horse with the biggest feet, the longest wees – and a heart of gold
Merseyside Police has paid tribute to a horse with the biggest feet – and the longest wees – in the country, and who has left “the biggest hoofprints on our hearts” after his death aged 27.
PH Major served in Liverpool for 20 years, then enjoyed three “fabulous years” of retirement with mounted branch groom Claire and her veteran horse Ed. The pair were best friends until the decision had to be made to let them go.
Stable and mounted training manager Lindsay Gaven told H&H the mounted branch bought 17.2hh part-bred Shire Major as a four-year-old.
“He was the most kind, affectionate horse who loved to conserve energy between his shifts and sleep and snore really loudly,” she said, adding that Major’s hooves, at 23cm wide, were the biggest of any police horse in the UK.
“Major had a reputation for showing his excitement when any hoof touched grass; he would leap into the air and squeal, hoping his rider could stay with him and share his delight. If they didn’t manage to stay with him, he would just look down at the floor and wait for them to get to their feet and climb back on.
“This meant Major could not contain his excitement reliably enough to lead the winner in of the Grand National at Aintree. On any other surface he was a true reliable gentleman but ridden on grass, he was just way too excitable.
Ms Gaven said that when the police horses were ridden on the beach at Formby, no one wanted to be behind him as his huge feet would scoop up huge amounts of seawater and soak anyone within range.
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“Major also bucked so hard with excitement one day in a musical ride, he managed to break the girth straps off both sides of the saddle,” she said. “He came to a halt with a face of glee as a musical ride was just way too exciting when you got to run around in patterns with all your favourite colleagues.
“He would always select the busiest road in Liverpool city centre to decide to have a wee. These wees usually lasted two full cycles of red/amber/green traffic light changes, much to the disgust of his equine colleagues who had to tolerate the splashback.”
But Major was also a “true leader”, policing football matches, heading numerous parades and helping train and support both equine and human colleagues.
“He held his position, helping guide the bus through the crowds at the Liverpool FC homecoming parade [after their Champions League victory] in 2005,” Ms Gaven said. “He paced the bus with his rider, who could not see ahead because of the sheer number of people lining the route. He would often be the sergeant’s horse at the football matches; he knew where to stand, and he would park up and await the fans and their Polo mints, who of course in his mind were all there to see him.”
Major was given a long service award from Merseyside Police in 2022, for his 20 years’ continuous service. He retired to live with Claire not long afterwards.
“He had very little respect for fencing of any sort and also needed his feet picking out in a specific order otherwise this confused him and he wouldn’t lift any,” Ms Gaven said. “So in Major’s best interests, we wanted to rehome him with someone who didn’t mind the old boy’s attitude to life and could understand him.
“He lived three fabulous years with more love than you can imagine, full CCTV monitoring for his fence breakage and escape attempts, he grazed in his patrol pair with his best friend Ed and every day would climb upon his muckheap to survey his kingdom.
“Every day, he was Mr Reliable, a brave strong horse with a heart of gold who leaves the biggest hoofprints on our heart.”
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police paid tribute to Major’s character and service, thanking Claire for giving him “the best retirement”.
“We loved him more than you can imagine,” the spokesperson said.
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.