Reported by Hayley Mason as published on WBRC.com “They put diesel oil, mustard oil, right in a very sensitive area. They actually cook these chemicals into the leg…” NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) – The Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration is gearing up for another night of showcases, but one horse […]
By Jo Ellen Hayden as published on The Lexington Herald Leader Soring has been going on for about 60 years. It has been immoral all of those years, and illegal for 45 of them. I have owned, cared for and competed on horses much of my life. Soring […]
Posted by Marsha Thompson at WDAM Channel 7 Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital recently turned down charitable donations from the Mississippi Charity Horse Show JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) – Controversy is swirling around an upcoming Tennessee Walking horse show that features ‘Big Lick’ classes. A group called […]
by Christina Wilkie (Become a fan) as published in the Huffington Post “This legislation brings excessive regulatory burdens on the walking horse industry…” Warning: Graphic Abuse Documented WASHINGTON — The cruel practice of “soring” championship gaited horses by wrapping their hooves in corrosive chemicals and then applying chains […]
Legislation to further protect performance horses against practices that artificially increase their gait comes before the House Wednesday for what is expected to be an emotionally charged hearing.
Source: HorseTalk.co.nz “To compromise would not free the Tennessee walking horse from this bondage forever…” Legislation before Congress aimed at toughening measures around soring could end the cruel practice forever, the immediate past-president of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association says. Marty Irby was commenting on […]
Horses hold an iconic place in our nation’s history. Without Paul Revere’s trusty steed, Brown Betty, the colonists in New England might have never known of the British forces’ late night advance toward Lexington. As American settlers moved west to the Pacific, horses pulled covered wagons and plowed fields on new homesteads. Horses accompanied many of our military commanders into battle, and horses still carry our fallen soldiers to their final resting places at Arlington National Cemetery.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the release of its final rule requiring uniform mandatory minimum penalties for violations of the federal Horse Protection Act. USDA-certified horse industry organizations operate alongside the USDA to enforce the Horse Protection Act by conducting inspections at Tennessee Walking Horse competitions. The final rule also clarifies that the agency can decertify a horse industry organization for any failure to comply with the regulations.
The abuse of Tennessee walking horses has been in the news since The HSUS released video footage of one of the industry’s top trainers striking a horse in the face with a wooden handle and pouring injurious chemicals onto the feet of a horse. It was four decades ago that Congress passed the Horse Protection Act to prevent and criminalize “soring” and other abuses of horses. Tennessee state representative Janis Sontany wrote in a column in The Tennessean on Sunday: “Soring has been a well-kept dirty secret in this industry and it’s time for this nonsense to end.”
In the wake of The Humane Society of the United States’ undercover investigation into the shocking abuse of Tennessee Walking Horses, notorious trainer Jackie McConnell pleaded guilty yesterday to a felony conviction for charges related to conspiracy to violate the Horse Protection Act. Two of McConnell’s associates also pleaded guilty to related charges.
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