USDA's new Horse Protection Act rules withdrawn from federal enactment.

A Tennessee Walking horse wearing stacked pads and bands. This horse was shod for demonstration purposes at a vet-farrier education event. The pads and shoe bands would have been banned under the unpublished rule announced last week. (Fran Jurga photo)

The Hoof Blog is issuing an unexpected post script to a widely circulated story published here on January 13, announcing that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) was publishing its Executive Action rule changes to the Horse Protection Act with the Federal Register.

The article described the action as an 11th-hour "Hail Mary Pass" to stop Tennessee Walking horse soring abuse before the Obama administration's USDA appointees left office, to be replaced by Trump appointees.

And it almost worked.

Horseshoes in Congress: Whitfield-Cohen Letter Clarifies "Weighted Shoe" Under Proposed PAST Act; House Hearing on Soring Legislation Wednesday

What and when: November 13, 2013 10 a.m. — United States Congress, House Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade hearing on the PAST Act to End Soring

Will the PAST Act finally bring an end to Walking horse stacks, pressure shoeing and pastern soring? A Congressional hearing on Wednesday will hear both sides of the argument. (Photo courtesy of Sarah Barnett and HSUS Facebook page) 

The United States Congress will be talking horseshoes tomorrow at 10 a.m. Chances are, there won't be a farrier in the House (of Representatives) but this is a hearing whose time has come.

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.

Tennessee walking horse shoeing videos: Ending soring begins with education

The end of August has arrived and that means just one thing: it's time for the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

It's one of the largest and possibly most successful horse shows in the United States. As many as 170,000 people from 40 states have attended the 11-day show in recent years. As many as 2,660 horses may compete in the show's171 classes; more than $650,000 in prizes will be awarded.

And if there is a "hot spot" in the horse world for the next two weeks, this show is it. The reason? In spite of more than 30 years on the books, a federal law designed to stamp out the cruel practice of "soring" Tennessee walking horses has failed.

These videos from trainer Winky Groover are posted for educational purposes. Most people have never seen a Tennessee walking horse perform in the show ring, much less on the cross-ties being shod. But everyone does have an opinion.

You should know the process of shoeing a Walking horse and what the different items used are called: packing materials, double-nail pad, hose clamp, chains, etc.

The actual shoeing you see in the video below is not "soring", which would use chemical irritants, short-trimming, and/or sharp objects between the hoof dressing pad and sole of the foot to manipulate the horse's action. Everything you see here is completely "legal" and accepted practice.

The shoeing video simply shows how a stack of pads is attached to the foot and how the foot is prepared for it. In the first video, Winky gives a very general description of the difference between a flat stack and a wedge stack and how trainers adjust or increase the weight and shape of the stack to manipulate lift or reach.

In June of this year the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) called for the stacked pads, pastern chains and hose clamps you see in these videos to be banned since they form the basis of the system and can be manipulated to the detriment of the horse. (see link below)

 

Today we learned that the "DQP" (non-USDA) inspectors at the Celebration plan to swab all the horses' pasterns to detect chemicals. This the latest in a confusing series of events in the past few months, including a lawsuit against the USDA, a de-certification of the Celebration's inspection organization, and the impression that the elimination of soring could simply be postponed indefinitely while lawsuits and countersuits sort themselves out.

But the show must go on, and the Celebration says it is going to swab pasterns and that this is a great move forward.

When used at the 2011 Celebration, swabbing revealed that 50 of 52 samples were positive for foreign substances. Most positives were for numbing agents.

According to a press release from the Celebration, swabbing results will be made public during the event for the first time. Violations will be punished severely, the Celebration says, by suspending trainers’ licenses, disqualifying horses, removing ribbons, trophies and prize money.

Will there be more news from Shelbyville about Walking horses and soring between now and Labor Day? Probably. But at least by watching those two videos you'll know the basics of the horseshoeing part of the equation. The human and legal parts of the equation are much more complicated.

Thanks to the Tennessean newspaper for making these videos available.

Hoofcare Publishing and Fran Jurga do not endorse or recommend the practice of soring. Tennessee walking horses are wonderful animals and deserve the best possible care as well as a speedy solution to this controversy. Techniques shown in these videos are for increased understanding only and are not meant for instruction or to pass judgment. 

To learn more:

HSUS anti-soring billboard rises near Celebration showgrounds 

AVMA and AAEP call for ban on stacked pads, chains, and clamps

Background article on controversy surround the Celebration's inspections: "Change eyed in walking horse industry" (Times Free Press)

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Walking Horse Celebration: Humane Society (HSUS) Anti-Soring Proposal Calls for Biggest Show to Ban Pad Stacks, Use Independent Veterinarians, Farriers as Inspectors

A proposal from The Humane Society of the United States was made public today; it calls for 20 percent of the horses at the Walking Horse Celebration to have their shoes pulled for inspection by independent  veterinarians and farriers recommended by the AAEP and AFA, respectively. (USDA file photo)

The following proposal has been put forward by The Humane Society of the United States ("HSUS") for soring detection at the upcoming Walking Horse National Celebration in Tennessee. The key points of the proposal are published as an excerpt from the original document from HSUS:

With just weeks left before the 2012 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration in Shelbyville, Tennessee, The Humane Society of the United States is calling on industry organizers to implement five key changes that would help protect horses and restore the credibility of the walking horse industry.

The HSUS called for the following five reforms:

1. FOR THE HORSE: Eliminate horses from competition, and from any property owned, leased or used by Celebration, Inc. if there is evidence of the application of one of several common soring techniques, including the use of all stacks, action devices or bands; the use of shoes weighing more than two pounds; the use of tail braces which require the tail to be cut; and the riding of two year olds under saddle.

2. FOR THE INTEGRITY OF THE PROCESS: Exclude any show officials from participation (including judges, DQPs, veterinarians, farriers) who have personally been cited for an HPA violation within the past five years.

3. FOR THE HONOR OF THE SPORT: Rescind the title, prizes and other awards of any entry that has been found to be in violation of the HPA (including the use of prohibited foreign substances) following his/her performance.

The HSUS proposal calls for no horse to be allowed to compete in the Celebration if it is shod with a "stack" or band, both of which are shown in this photo of a recently shod Walking horse. The AAEP and AVMA recently identified both as playing a role in soring. This horse was shod under veterinary supervision and had no other equipment or treatment than the banded stacks. (Photo © Hoofcare Publishing)

4. FOR THE CONFIDENCE OF THE PUBLIC: In addition to the inspection procedures required by USDA regulations, randomly pull the shoes of at least 20 percent of all entries throughout the show, and of the top two placing horses in every championship class, examine the horses’ hooves for evidence of intentional soring.

This examination should be overseen by a licensed veterinarian recommended by American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) and a farrier recommended by the American Farriers Association (AFA), neither of whom have any ties to the Tennessee walking horse industry nor any history of HPA violations.

In any case in which soring of the hoof is suspected, disqualify the horse, rider and trainer until such time as a final determination is made as to whether the HPA has been violated.

5. FOR TRANSPARENCY of CHANGE: Prohibit the use of all stall drapes, or other materials designed to prevent visual inspection of property owned, leased or used by Celebration, Inc. on which horses or other personal property are held or kept during the event.

The HSUS sent the list of key needed reforms in a letter to the Celebration’s board of directors nearly one month ago, and the Board has not yet responded.

(end of quoted text)

Before publishing these points, Hoofcare Publishing queried Tom Trosin, current president of the American Farrier's Association, to inquire about the role of the AFA in recommending farriers for this project and if the AFA endorsed this plan. Trosin said he was not aware of the plan and did not believe that the AFA had been contacted about it.

The HSUS proposal, if enacted, would require any Walking horse competing at the Celebration to be shod in a way that meets the HSUS recommendation. While the recommendation clearly states what it does not allow, it does not state what it would allow or how it recommends a Walking horse be shod for a show performance.

It also does not clarify who is to pull the shoes and replace them for the inspection by the independent vet and farrier, or who would pay for those services. Having shoes pulled and replaced during a show, or waiting for that service, would possibly prevent a horse from being able to compete in multiple classes, and would run into considerable expense.

The questions this proposal raises suggest that drastic changes might be a Pandora's Box that could backfire on the immediate well-being of the horses. If the horses are not stacked and banded, don't have other action devices, and are wearing lightweight shoes, would they be able to perform the way the audience would expect? Might the sudden removal of the pads--in the name of welfare--be construed as a deliberate act to make a horse unsound?

Reform is needed in the Walking horse show scene and change is possible. We have witnessed the uproar that shoeing regulations can cause with only minor adaptations in the past, including mere ounces of weight and fractional inches of pad height in breeds like the Arabian.

If change is to be realized, a gradual reduction in stack height and firm definitions of shoeing parameters might be a gentler road for insuring the safety and well-being of the horse during the transition, unless the HSUS goal is to simply exclude horses that perform in padded shoes from being entered in the Celebration. Logic suggests that padded horses would probably just show somewhere else that week.

This video from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is a reminder about what soring is and the history of the American Horse Protection Act and its enforcement.

Congratulations to HSUS and all organizations who are concerned about the welfare of the Walking horse at horse shows and actively seeking to reform the way that Walking horses have been abused.
Read the full letter from HSUS to the Celebration.

To learn more, click on these links:

Tennessee Walking Horse Pastern Action Devices and Hoof Pads Ban Endorsed by AVMA, AAEP; Vets' Joint Memo States Devices Are Part of Soring Practices

ABC News / HSUS Tennessee Walking Horse Expose Brings Soring Case to National Attention

AVMA, AAEP Soring Policies Place Veterinarians on the Side and at the Side of USDA Inspectors at Tennessee Walking Horse Events

Walking Horse Celebration Shuts Down Over Soring Inspector Issues (2006)

The subject of soring has been covered extensively on the Hoof Blog since 2005. Type "soring" into the blog search box at top right for a full menu of articles and to read the evolution of this issue.

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