Courtesy USDA
The ASPCA, along with the Humane Society of the United States, American Horse Protection Association, Friends of Sound Horses and former U.S. Sen. Joseph Tydings, is asking the APHIS to strengthen its enforcement of the laws concerning the inhumane practice of horse “soring.” Soring is an illegal training method that deliberately applies pain-causing chemicals, cuts or foreign objects to horses’ limbs or hoof pads to achieve the “big lick,” exaggerated show-ring gait of some horses in the multimillion-dollar Tennessee Walking Horse industry. The HPA was specifically enacted in 1970 to prohibit this inhumane practice, and yet it continues to pervade the gaited horse industry.
The ASPCA’s petition seeks to permanently disqualify from competition HPA violators and any horses found to be the victim of soring. It also requests that mandatory enforcement protocols be implemented and any non-compliant horse inspection groups be decertified by the USDA
“The ASPCA is dedicated to improving the lives of horses across the country and we will continue to speak out against the illegal practice of horse soring,” says Sherry Rout, legislative liaison for the ASPCA. “Soring is a particularly cruel form of abuse as the horses are forced to endure years of chronic pain throughout their show careers while the USDA does little to enforce existing laws.”
For more information about the ASPCA’s efforts to protect horses, please visit www.aspca.org.
I wish someone with the ASPCA, HPA, USDA or whatever agency would get involved with other breeds. It’s not all TENNESSEE WALKING HORSES. Check it out – Paso Finos are ridden barefoot over rocks and concrete to make them have their distinctive gait; Saddlebreds have fire crackers and extinguishers shot at them to make them have the wide-eyed look, along with the fact that they are also worked in chains to make them have their gait; Quarter Horses are tied in stalls with concrete blocks tied to their halters to make them hold their heads down.
My point is that Walking Horses have had and continue to have abuse, but the other breeds have abuses, also.
Protect all horses.
If it cause pain, it should be illegal.
I agree…its not just walkers. It is found in almost all disciplines. Hopefully they can eliminate all of the abuse and continue working in other areas to reduce abuse.
I agree with eliminating abuse in our horse friends! But let’s get them all! Look into the Quarter Horse world with deadening of tail nerves & the Arabians with putting cinnamon or pepper under their tails-one to get a ‘quiet’ tail & the other for a high set tail! Why can’t we enjoy our horses just the way God made them??
IT DOESNT TAKE A GENIOUS TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO STOP THE SORING OF HORSES, OF ANY BREED. STOP AWARDING THE ONES WITH THE MORE THAN NATURAL STEP!!! DUH PEOPLE! IF YOU LOOK AT THE WORLD CHAMPIONS OF THE TWH’S OF THE 50’S YOU WILL SEE THAT THEY ARE AT THEIR NATURAL STEPPING GAIT. GO BACK TO THAT. IF A HORSE HAS A “BIG LICK” HIGH STEP, DONT GIVE THEM A TROPHY! PLACE THEM DEAD LAST! GIVE IT TO THE ONE WITH THE LOW NATURAL WALKING GAIT. AND WHATS UP WITH THE PADS? DO THE HORSES’ OWNERS WALK AROUND IN 4″ PLATFORMS 24/7 AND ARE FORCED TO GO AT FASTER SPEEDS CARRYING 20% OR MORE OF THEIR BODY WEIGHT? I DONT THINK SO! PADS ARE STUPID.
THIS GOES FOR ALL BREEDS IN THE SHOWING WORLD. WHAT EVER BREED THEY ARE, ANY HORSE WITH A “GAIT” WHICH IS ALL OF THEM!! ARE FORCED TO DO UN-NATURAL THINGS. SUCH AS THE QH, AND PAINTS, AND APPS, THAT ARE IN THE WESTERN PLEASURE “PEANUT PUSHERS” CLASSES! DONT GIVE AWARDS TO THOSE HORSES WITH THEIR NOSES IN THE DIRT, OR WHO LOOK LIKE THEY ARE ABOUT TO TRIP, DROPPING THEIR SHOULDERS, OR ARE MOVING SO SLOW THEY ARE ABOUT TO GO BACKWARDS! ITS NOT ANY OF THESE HORSE’S FAULT FOR BEING THIS WAY, ITS THE OWNERS/TRAINERS AND JUDGES.
I THINK THE SOLUTION TO ALL SHOWING PROBLEMS LIES WITH THE JUDGING RULES. PEOPLE WILL DO WHAT EVER IT TAKES TO THEIR HORSES JUST TO WIN, BY ANY MEANS NECCESSARY. CRUEL OR NOT. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WILL GO ON FOREVER UNLESS, JUDGING RULES ARE CHANGED. CHANGE ALL THE JUDGING RULES, CHANGE THE TREATMENT OF THESE POOR HORSES. LAWS/RULES ARENT GOING TO STOP IT. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN BREAKING LAWS/RULES SINCE THEY WERE FIRST MADE. EVERYONE STRESSES NOW GO GREEN! GO NATURAL! WELL SHOULDNT THIS APPLY TO OUR ANIMAL FRIENDS AS WELL? SHOULDNT THEY BE NATURAL?
They can’t get any harder on these horses or the whole gaited horse industry will be shut down. If they give a lifetime suspension for a horse that might be sound but is just a little wound up that night, then that will shut down every gaited horse show in the united states because people won”t want to take any horse through inspection, regardless of whether they are sored or not.
I am very thankful that the ASPCA, along with the HSUS and other good advocate groups have joined in the fight to strengthen the laws on horse soring. I hope the USDA will now impose harsh and strict punishment to anyone breaking this law. It’s a shameful thing that the owners of these beautiful animals put money and prestige ahead of their horse’s welfare. They should be banned from owning horses or any animal for that matter.