New Horseracing Integrity Act Introduced in US House of Representatives

The establishment of a single federal authority to oversee horseracing would give the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency jurisdiction over racehorse medication testing under the tenets of new legislation filed in Congress. Congressmen Andy Barr (R-KY) and Paul Tonko (D-NY), the Co-Chairmen of the Congressional Horse Caucus, introduced H.R. 2651, the Horseracing Integrity Act in the United States House of Representatives on May 25, 2017.

Hail Mary: USDA proceeds with last-ditch effort to end soring by imposing bans on Walking horse pads, action devices

It's fourth down at the end of the fourth quarter. The clock is counting down. Do you punt or pass? The game's at stake. It's time to pull off a play they'll never forget. It's time to throw that Hail Mary pass. 

In the waning hours of President Obama’s administration’s days in Washington, his out-bound US Department of Agriculture says they are ready to drop a bombshell in the middle of the horse world.

The bombshell may well devastate a sector of the show horse industry, but there will be cheers, as well. It just depends which side you're on, and if you're willing to take the time to read the fine print.

Federal Court Rules Against Lawsuit: USDA's Tennessee Walking Horse Anti-Soring Regulations Are Not Unlawful

A U.S. District Court in Texas upheld federal regulations to prevent the practice of “soring,” in which trainers abuse horses to force them to perform an unnatural high-stepping gait for competitions. The U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations, which were adopted following a 2010 legal petition filed by The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), require that USDA-certified horse industry organizations impose uniform mandatory minimum penalties for violations of the Horse Protection Act.

News and HSUS videos: Walking horses seized from show trainer's barn in Tennessee, veterinarian Adair explains soring

Walking horse trainer Larry Wheelon heads to court today in Blount County, Tennessee. The well-known trainer and judge will face charges following his arrest on Friday. As shown in this video from the Humane Society of the United States, horses placed with Wheelon for trained were seized by the USDA, with assistance from the county sheriff and humane society officials, in connection with the charges.

Wheelon may be criminally charged for violations of the federal Horse Protection Act; soring is also a violation of state law in Tennessee. Further charges may be levied against Wheelon's employees or associates.

(Please wait for the tv news videos to load.)

The Horse Protection Act has been on the books since 1978 but attempts to enforce it have not been fully effective at wiping out the practice. As these videos point out, soring may be of the "chemical" type, which works on sensitizing the horse's pasterns and/or coronet, or "mechanical", which involves intentionally trimming the foot to thin the sole and lower the wall and then inserting objects or hard-curing epoxy between the padded shoe and the thin sole.

Walking Horses, Soring and HSUS: Convicted Horse Abuser Says Horses "Have To Be Sored"

Footage courtesy of The Humane Society of the United States

Warning: this video contains descriptive details that may upset you. Is he telling the truth? What was edited out? What does his body language suggest? The man being interviewed is former trainer Barney Davis. He uses a lot of lingo; "walk" refers to the unique Walking horse show gait; "band" refers to the hose-clamp style band around the hoof. "DQP" is a "designated qualified person", or non-USDA inspector performing inspections under USDA regulations.

The following text is from press material received from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) today:

The Humane Society of the United States conducted an on-camera interview with Barney Davis, a former Tennessee horse trainer who pleaded guilty to various violations of the Horse Protection Act last November.

Davis served most of his one-year sentence in prison and was also ordered by the court to cooperate in the production of an educational video describing pervasiveness of the abusive practice of horse “soring.”

The practice causes intentional pain to the feet or legs of horses through the application of caustic chemicals to burn their skin, or by inserting foreign objects to the sensitive areas of their hooves. In reaction to the pain, horses lift their front legs high off the ground, producing the exaggerated “Big Lick” gait rewarded in the show ring.

At his sentencing hearing in February, Davis admitted to routinely soring horses during their training, and explained that this illegal activity is so rampant as to be commonplace throughout the Tennessee walking horse industry.

In The HSUS’ exclusive interview, Davis described common horse soring methods and their effects. He flatly stated that trainers must make their horses suffer to be competitive at “Big Lick” events, including the biggest of them all, the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration currently underway in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

And he demonstrated how inspectors can better detect sored horses.

“The only way to win at the Celebration is to sore,” Davis said. “I’ve shown at the Celebration three, maybe four, times. I trained them myself and they were sore. I’m not going to lie.”

“Barney Davis’ testimonial underscores that soring is now a regrettable, and illegal, norm throughout the Tennessee walking horse industry. And industry self-policing is failing the horses miserably,” said Keith Dane, director of equine protection for The HSUS. “The Humane Society of the United States urges the leaders in this industry to abandon their denial and finally institute real, meaningful reforms that will rid the Celebration and other performance horse shows in the industry of this despicable horse abuse.”

Earlier this year, The HSUS paid a $10,000 reward for information that led to the arrest and conviction of Davis, who has competed for the title of World Grand Champion, the industry’s highest prize.

As awareness spreads about the abusive treatment of Tennessee walking horses in the top levels of show competition, The HSUS is continuing its commitment to help bring violators to justice through the offering of this reward to crack down on abuse of these animals.

Anyone with information on this cruel practice should call 855-NO-SORING or email equineprotection@humanesociety.org. The HSUS will protect the identity of all callers.

--end of text provide by The HSUS

The Walking Horse National Celebration is currently going on in Shelbyville, Tennessee. Please don't think that this is a single-breed issue or that it does not involve you or affect your work with horses. How the humane organizations, law enforcement and the government perceive and act on allegations of abuse are important to all of us. Your breed or discipline or livelihood could be affected somewhere down the line even if you have never seen a Walking horse and wouldn't dream of abusing any animal. 

Chances are, what happens in Shelbyville this week won't stay in Shelbyville.

Click this link for full information on ordering Professor Denoix's Equine Distal Limb.

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