USDA Invites Tennessee Walking Horse Owners, Trainers to Horseshoeing Clinic Aimed to Improve Horse Protection Act Compliance

This public announcement is provided by the US Department of Agriculture.

On February 3, 2018, USDA Animal Care and the S.H.O.W. horse industry organization will hold a shoeing clinic for trainers, exhibitors and owners who participate in events regulated under the Horse Protection Act to help these individuals better understand and follow the federal regulations.

Born-Again Walking Horse Celebration Begins This Week Under New Inspection, Attitude

by Fran Jurga | 23 August 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Trainer Chad Williams trains The Lineman for the upcoming Walking Horse Celebration in Shelbyville, Tennessee. (Photo from The Tennessean newspaper)

Here we go. Every year about this time I wonder if should go to Tennessee. I have never been to the Walking Horse Celebration. In fact, I have never been to a walking horse show. As a result, I don't mouth off about soring and training techniques because other than a few horses I have seen while traveling in the South, I've still not seen these wonderful horses compete in an exclusive walking horse show.

Around here, walking horses are one of the most popular trail horses and far removed from the show culture in the south that gets the breed so much bad press...and yet maintains such a stalwart following. I imagine the atmosphere at a walking horse show is sort of like the lobster boat races in Maine or the oxen pulls in Vermont. If you're from there, you get it.

Except for the presence of inspectors. And the state police. Just a few years ago, the Celebration was stopped and public safety was an issue. That's how mad people were when USDA inspectors actually inspected the horses for soring evidence. The trainers said that the inspectors didn't use valid criteria and wanted their own inspectors back.

When USDA inspectors pulled up at a show, the trainers loaded up and pulled out, even when it was--as often was the case--a charity show to benefit a hospital or community organization's fundraising efforts.

In the past year, there has been massive restructuring and reorganization that might make this year's Celebration peaceful and profitable and a showcase for sound, safe horses. Let's hope.

The Tennessean newspaper published a lengthy article today that gives the background leading up to this year's new-rules show. It doesn't pull any punches or sugar-coat the issue.

Among the facts: abuse allegations by federal inspectors have sky-rocketed this year, even leading to the first lifetime bans. But pair that with this fact: 150,000 tickets have already been sold for this year's Celebration. How many people buy tickets to attend other breed horse shows, do you think? Or a dressage show? Even the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event attracts only about 20,000 people on its final day.

Walking horses remain the most publicized enigma of the American horse industry. The show horses and their culture are a lightning rod: Some shun them, some embrace them. Some say the trainers and owners are misunderstood, some say they are criminals.

And they've been saying that for more than 30 years now, since the Horse Protection Act was passed to prevent soring and abusive shoeing. And I'm still writing these articles. Still wondering how and why this continues to be a raw, open wound in horse showing's hide.

Read that article, but don't believe everything you hear. Like so many things these days, there's no easy solution to an old wound like this.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

Kentucky-Based FPD Expands Role in Horseshoe Distribution with Exclusive Import of Kerckhaert Shoes and Raceplates

by Fran Jurga | 29 November 2008 | www.hoofcare.blogspot.com

WinStar Farms' Colonel John wore Kerckhaert raceplates when he won the Travers Stakes at Saratoga in August. (Photo of Colonel John's hoof before the Kentucky Derby by Dan Burke)

Beginning in 2009, Farrier Product Distribution (FPD) of Shelbyville, Kentucky will assume exclusive import and distribution rights of the popular Kerckhaert horseshoes and raceplates in North America.

Steel and aluminum shoes made by the Kerckhaert Horseshoe Company, based in The Netherlands, have been sold by FPD for many years but will now be distributed exclusively from FPD’s Kentucky warehouse. The shoes are sold in farrier supply stores throughout North America.

A letter signed by Rudy, Michiel and Martin Kerckhaert was sent to store owners last week, notifying them of the change to a single importer for the shoes.

Kerckhaert has manufactured horseshoes since 1906, but the shoes have only been widely sold in North America since the mid-1980s. Kerckhaert steel shoes back then were turned, rather than drop-forged like most American keg shoes, and were (to the best of my knowledge) the first clipped shoes sold here. Kerckhaert now makes both turned and drop-forged shoes, according to Dan Burke, president of FPD.

In recent years, Kerckhaert expanded its aluminum racing shoes with the addition of Fast Break XT, Synergy XT and other designs developed to enhance breakover and/or minimize stress on the upper limb.

Kerckhaert can claim that three of the biggest races of 2008 were won by horses wearing their shoes on three different surfaces: Ravens Pass wore Kerckhaert race plates when he won the Breeders Cup Classic at Santa Anita in October 2008 on the new Pro Ride synthetic surface there. On grass, the great French filly Zarkava wore Kerckhaert plates when she won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on turf in Paris in October, and WinStar Farms' Colonel John wore Kerckhaert plates when winning the Travers Stakes on dirt at Saratoga in August.

FPD President Dan Burke will represent his company at the 2008 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention in San Diego, California December 6-11. Visit FPD in Booth 1635.


© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask.

Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).

To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.

Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

Still More Trouble Afoot at Grand Finale of Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration: Finalists Fail Soring Inspection

One can only imagine the reaction of the crowd at the Walking Horse Celebration on Saturday night (September 2, 2006) when it was announced that there would be no grand champion class after ten days of showing.

The world's largest show for Tennessee Walking Horses had already been shut down for more than 28 hours the week before following a confrontation between USDA inspectors and trainers. The show had resumed, but the inspectors had the last call, so to speak, when inspectors rejected the majority of finalists for the grand championship on the grounds that they could not pass federally-mandated regulations defining how to identify a horse that has been made "sore" with chemicals or treatment to the pastern and/or pressure shoeing.

The three horses that did pass inspection were not shown. Whether this was voluntary or they were bribed is possibly a bigger concern right now than the condition of the horses themselves.

According to the Walking Horse Report newspaper, several trainers of horses that had been declared sore then went into a schooling arena and had a mock show for assembled fans.

One trainer said he took his horse directly back to the barn because he feared for his safety. Show ring officials had to be escorted by law enforcement, according to the WHR.

Reports from The Tennessean and Walking Horse Report were used to compile this summary. The New York Times even reported on this embarrassing event in the horse show world.