Showing posts with label walking horse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label walking horse. Show all posts
Monday, May 14, 2018
Farm Bill amendment revives drive for Horse Protection Act revisions; Walking horse pad stacks, action devices would be outlawed by 2020
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
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.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
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.)
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Jackie McConnell Sentence: Probation and Fine for Tennessee Walking Horse Soring Abuse Captured on Undercover Video
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| Jackie McConnell was not allowed on the grounds of the 2012 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration earlier this month. This horse, Walk Time Charlie from North Carolina, was the judge's pick for World Champion. If some lawmakers have their way, he may be the last world champion to be shod this way. (Randall R. Saxton photo) |
By now, everyone knows who Jackie McConnell is.
McConnell was videotaped beating a Tennessee Walking horse on an undercover video. The video portrayed McConnell as a vicious horse trainer who demonstrated many of the heinous crimes against horses that had been at the center of rumors about the treatment of Walking horses for decades.
The American public saw it for themselves when the video was shown by ABC News last spring.
A federal court in Tennessee found McConnell guilty of violating the Horse Protection Act and the trainer appeared in court today for sentencing.
While the judge could have sentenced the former trainer to five years in prison, he instead sentenced McConnell to three years' probation and a fine of $75,000. According to the Chattanoogan newspaper, the court gave McConnell nine months to raise the money to pay the fine and his horse trailer, seized during the investigation, will not be returned.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that McConnell cried as he read a statement saying that he takes responsibility for what he did. His two associates--including horseshoer Joe Abernathy--received probation terms of one year each.
Abernathy claimed that he was not involved in soring horses but was transporting horses for McConnell. He told the Chattanoogan, "I do feel remorse and this will make me a better person in the end."
The three pleaded guilty in May to conspiring to violate the Horse Protection Act. According to the Walking Horse Report, McConnell pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Horse Protection Act. All other charges in the original 52-count indictment were dropped under the plea agreement.
Keith Dane, director of equine protection for The Humane Society of the United States, issued the following statement after the sentencing:
“Like many others in the Tennessee walking horse industry, Jackie McConnell has a long history of abusing horses for the sake of a blue ribbon and the profits that go along with it. He and his associates were caught on tape using painful chemicals on horses’ legs, and whipping, kicking and shocking them in the face—all to force them to perform the unnatural 'Big Lick' gait in competitions.
"The Humane Society of the United States is grateful that the U.S. Attorney took on this important case and sent a message that soring will not be tolerated. It was our hope that McConnell would do prison time for these terrible crimes, but there are gaps in the federal law that need to be strengthened.”
According to HSUS, McConnell and two others are also scheduled to appear in court later this month to face 31 counts of violating Tennessee’s state animal cruelty statute.
Public outrage over the McConnell video has led to renewed activism by lawmakers to strengthen the federal Horse Protection Act; the state of Tennessee has also expanded its animal welfare laws to include soring as a criminal act.
On the federal level, H.R. 6388, the Horse Protection Act Amendments of 2012, co-sponsored by Reps. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., and Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and Jim Moran, D-Va., has been introduced to Congress with the aim of ending the failed system of industry self-policing, ban the use of certain devices associated with soring, strengthen penalties, and hold accountable all those involved in this cruel practice.
Thanks for great reporting to the Humane Society of the United States, The Walking Horse Report, The Tennessean, The Chattanoogan, and the Chattanooga Times Free Press from Tennessee today.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Horse Protection Act Amendment Proposed: Bans Action Devices on Tennessee Walking Horses
Tennessee Walking Horse show regulation changes proposed
in Congressional amendment to the Horse Protection Act
The following document was received from Representative Whitfield's office this afternoon and is reprinted in its entirety without editing.
For the purposes of this document, the amendment has been reviewed. The text defines action devices as: "any boot, collar, chain, roller, or other device that encircles or is placed upon the lower extremity of the leg of a horse in such a manner that it can—(A) rotate around the leg or slide up and down the leg, so as to cause friction; or (B) strike the hoof, coronet band, fetlock joint, or pastern of the horse."
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield (KY-01), and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09), today introduced H.R. 6388, the Horse Protection Act Amendments of 2012. The Amendment will make changes to the Horse Protection Act of 1970, to provide additional protection to prohibit the soring of horses, an abusive practice used by some horse trainers in the Tennessee Walking Horse industry.
“Far too often, those involved in showing the Tennessee Walking Horse have turned a blind eye to abusive trainers, or when they do take action, the penalties are so minor, it does nothing to prevent these barbaric acts,” Whitfield said. “This amendment does not cost the federal government any additional money and is essential in helping to put an end to the practice of soring Tennessee Walking Horses by abusive trainers.”
Rep. Cohen said, “In Tennessee, soring horses is illegal and unacceptable. Those responsible for abusing these horses should be punished severely and banned from the sport. How we treat animals is a direct reflection of our character, both as individuals and a nation. There is no ribbon, no prize nor championship worth the price of one’s humanity.”
The proposed amendment will accomplish three major goals. First, it eliminates self-policing by requiring the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to assign a licensed inspector if a Tennessee Walking Horse show management indicates its intent to hire one. The hiring of a licensed inspector is voluntary and not a mandate. The incentive for show management is to ensure an honest and fair show, and protect itself from liability if soring is found at the show by a USDA spot inspection.
Second, it adds a prohibition on the use of action devices on the horse breeds that have been the victims of soring. Action devices, such as chains that rub up and down an already-sore leg, intensify the horse’s pain when it moves, so that the horse quickly jolts up its leg.
Lastly, the amendment increases the penalties on an individual caught soring a horse.
Horses in the Tennessee Walking Industry are known for possessing a smooth, natural gait, but in order to be successful in competitions their natural gait is often artificially exaggerated to ensure an extreme, high-stepping gait.
Some horse exhibitors, owners, and trainers use abusive and inhumane training methods to produce the higher gait. The abusive practices are called “soring,” which is accomplished by irritating or blistering a horse’s forelegs through the application of caustic chemicals such as mustard oil, cutting the horse’s hoof painfully short, or the use of mechanical devices to inflict pain, so that it hurts the horse to step down.
The OIG made several recommendations, including stiffer penalties and abolishing the self-policing practices currently allowed under regulations, where the Horse Industry Organizations (HIOs) are able to assign their own inspectors to horse shows.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's Dr. Scott Hopper: Voices from the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration
Video courtesy of NewsChannel 5;
Background: The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration is going on this week in Shelbyville, Tennessee. US Department of Agriculture veterinarians are on hand to inspect horses for evidence of "soring", the illegal practice of artificially enhancing a horse's gait. Also on hand are representatives of local organizations who are conducting their own inspections to see if they agree with the USDA results.
Dr. Stephen Mullins, president of the local inspection group SHOW, says that USDA inspectors issued five times as many citations in the first six days of this year’s Celebration as in all 11 days of last year’s, according to the Nashville newspaper, The Tennessean.
This week, a press conference was held to publicly inspect two of the horses rejected by the USDA. This is shown in the video.
On August 30, the Walking Horse Report conducted an interview with Scott Hopper, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS from Rood + Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. The Walking Horse Report has kindly agreed to allow the interview to be printed on The Hoof Blog.
Dr. Hopper was at The Celebration on the first Thursday through Sunday nights of the Celebration and will be in attendance all three championship nights.
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| Dr Hopper of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, Lexington, KY |
Q - During your inspection of the horses after they were disqualified by USDA VMOs, did you find horses that should have been allowed to show?
A – I looked at approximately 30 horses the first four nights of the Celebration and yes many of these horses should have been allowed to show. The biggest area of concern I had was with the palpation of horses and those deemed sore by USDA VMOs. Approximately 70% of those cases, I disagreed with the VMOs and found nothing wrong with those horses. My initial exam was similar to those performed by the DQPs and VMOs and I could not elicit any response. I went one step further and performed a more aggressive deep palpation of the horse’s lower limb and again I could not elicit a response. These horses should have been allowed to show.
Q – In your opinion, is the scar rule being interpreted as the “Understanding the Scar Rule” pamphlet distributed as the training manual to VMOs and the industry HIOs?
A – No it is not. The scar rule is a very subjective rule and is not being applied consistently.
Q – On those horses disqualified for scar rule violations, would you in your professional opinion, deem those horses sore?
A – A scar rule violation could be called and the horse show zero signs of soring, nor would it necessarily mean this horse had been sored in the past.
Q – Given that to be a scar rule violation the horse must show bilateral (both feet) scarring, did you see horses called out that only had unilateral (one foot) tissue change?
A – Yes, many of the horses I looked at did not have any evidence of a scar rule violation in one foot and would be questionable on the second foot
Q – Of those horses that you inspected and those you saw enter inspection, in your opinion is soring required to participate?
A – I don’t believe that horses need to be sored to perform at a high level at the Celebration. Of the horses I examined I saw no signs of abuse. If any owner or trainer believes that this is still necessary then they should be banned from the profession, because there is no place for it anymore.
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| The Walking Horse National Celebration attracts thousands of spectators. Photo by Stephanie Graves. |
Q – Would you be a proponent of more objective testing rather than the existing subjective inspections?
A – The industry needs to do everything it can to end soring. Yes, technology should be used to implement science-based, objective testing. The current inspections are very subjective, inconsistently applied and result in many unfair disqualifications. Sound horses are the only horses that should be allowed to show; but more importantly sound training methods should be the methods used in both the barns and at the show.
Q – Would you be willing to work with reformers in the industry to help restore the proud tradition of the Tennessee Walking Horse?
A – I have worked on many walking horses at Rood & Riddle, performing surgeries and lameness exams, and I know firsthand what a wonderful breed of horse the Tennessee Walking Horse is and can be. I have volunteered to serve in a capacity to help and would be willing to help with industry reformers that have a goal of ending soring and maintaining the welfare of the Tennessee Walking Horse.
Q – Is there a problem with soring in the Tennessee Walking Horse industry?
A – There are cheaters in every sport that think they can beat the system but I have no doubt that the inspections at The Celebration are doing everything they can to catch these individuals and put an end to soring. I did not see a problem with soring during my four nights inspecting horses at The Celebration.
Q – Who contacted you about inspecting horses at The Celebration?
A – Representatives from the Tennessee Walking Show Horse Organization contacted me through a mutual friend Dr. John Bennett. They asked me to come and examine horses to get my objective opinion on what I saw in horses that were disqualified from participation.
Q – Is it possible with improper palpation of horses to have movement indicative of soring when in fact the improper palpation is the reason for the movement of the horses foot?
A – It is definitely possible to make any horse move if that is the goal. Improper palpation techniques can be used to induce movement which does not mean that the horse is sore.
Q – Are those techniques being used in inspection?
A – I cannot speak to that directly as I am not directly involved during those initial inspections, however I would say several horses disqualified for sensitivity to palpation immediately came to me and I could not get the horses to show any sign of sensitivity to palpation, even when I aggressively palpated those horses. Palpating the limbs of lame horses is what I do for a living, if a horse was sore I would know it.
Original article appeared on the Walking Horse Report web site.
The Hoof Blog hopes to also have an interview with Dr. Tracy Turner, who is at the Celebration acting as a consultant to the USDA.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Walking Horses May Have a 2006 World Champion After All
The Associated Press reported this afternoon that the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association has organized a last-minute championship show for Thanksgiving weekend. The news was first reported in, oddly enough, the International Herald Tribune. One can only imagine what people in Paris and Prague and Stockholm thought of the report.
Only three of nine finalist horses at the recent Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration in Shelbyville, Tennessee were allowed to compete; the other six were turned down by USDA veterinarians and inspectors, who said that their inspections found that the horses' feet or pasterns showed signs of "soring" and were in violation of the Horse Protection Act.
The three horses that did pass inspection never made it into the ring because an angry owner of a disqualified horse offered to pay them not to go in. Earlier in the show, classes had been cancelled for more than 24 hours after disagreements between trainers and inspectors erupted.
Called the Tennessee Walking Horse Invitational, the new show will be held at the Tennessee Miller Stadium, which I think is in Nashville; it will have 50 classes and a purse for the grand champion of $15,000. Horses must first pass inspection before they can compete.
Check the archives for August 2006 to read more about the fireworks at the Celebration.
Only three of nine finalist horses at the recent Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration in Shelbyville, Tennessee were allowed to compete; the other six were turned down by USDA veterinarians and inspectors, who said that their inspections found that the horses' feet or pasterns showed signs of "soring" and were in violation of the Horse Protection Act.
The three horses that did pass inspection never made it into the ring because an angry owner of a disqualified horse offered to pay them not to go in. Earlier in the show, classes had been cancelled for more than 24 hours after disagreements between trainers and inspectors erupted.
Called the Tennessee Walking Horse Invitational, the new show will be held at the Tennessee Miller Stadium, which I think is in Nashville; it will have 50 classes and a purse for the grand champion of $15,000. Horses must first pass inspection before they can compete.
Check the archives for August 2006 to read more about the fireworks at the Celebration.
2006 Kentucky Walking Horse Celebration Cancelled in Advance; USDA Inspection Cited as Reason
According to a report posted on www.tennessean.com, the 42nd Annual Kentucky Celebration Tennessee Walking Horse Show, which was to have been held this week, has been cancelled.
To quote tennessean.com: "Jerry Hoskins, a member of the board of the Show, said the decision to call off the show was based on what organizers believed to be unfair and inconsistent inspections by federal officials.
"We decided it's in the best interest of trainers and owners to not even try to show," said Hoskins of Liberty, Kentucky, where the show was to be held for the first time. "We do feel like the USDA would be very hard on us."
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