Abuse to Win

I have been keeping up with the soring issue within the Tennessee Walking Horse industry and have no idea how people are capable of purposefully inflicting pain on a horse for personal gain. This issue is important to me because I own a 6-year-old Tennessee Walker and cannot imagine him having a life of abuse for a ribbon and money.

For those of you who might not be familiar with soring, this is what it is: The practice of inflicting pain on a horse’s forelegs to induce a higher-action gait. There are several kinds of chemical substances that are used to accomplish this like diesel fuel, mustard oil, kerosene, salicylic acid and others. The purpose of doing this is to achieve the “Big Lick” gait used in the show ring which is an exaggeration of the gaits the horse performs naturally. Personally, I see no beauty in this. It is artificial and unnatural, and I do not agree with the several inches of pads used to shoe the horse with because this is another avenue used for abuse. The flat-shod TWH on the other hand is pure beauty, elegance, and grace. Why would someone manipulate something that is the foundation of the breed to produce a fake series of movements?

I am disturbed by the fact that some people will do anything to win – even compromise the existence of a creature that supports their cruel habit. If the desired goal can’t be achieved through hard work and practice, it seems logical to get out of the profession. Not everyone is meant to be a horse trainer. When a “trainer” or owner is willing to hurt the horse to win in the show ring, what else do these horses have to endure?

Soring has been illegal since 1970 with the Horse Protection Act but until offenders are severely punished it will still be widespread. Welfare and industry officials issue numerous citations every year and are using more sophisticated methods of detecting soring and improper shoeing. In 2006, the USDA became a lot more involved to crack down on such offenders and there are other equine organizations banning together to help stop this unethical practice.

This is a huge issue that will need the cooperation of the owners, breeders, trainers and judges and will not be corrected overnight. These horses have been bred to move with these thick pads to produce the exaggerated gaits that win in the show ring. Millions of dollars have been invested in these horses and will require the cooperation of the key players in the industry to become eradicated.

Beyond this, in other breeds of horses there are practices of abuse to win. These offenders are on the same level of the people who sore the TWH which deserves punishment and in my opinion, banishment from all competition FOREVER. There are several organizations that believe soring is inexcusable. I belong to the National Walking Horse Association. http://www.nwha.com – National Walking Horse Association