Thermographic image showing excessive warmth (seen as red and orange colors), which may be caused by inflammation from soring. The pattern seen is consistent with soring using a chemical agent. © USDA
Federal authorities are making moves to ban the stacks and chains that are an integral part of soring walking horses, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) believes.
Its president and chief executive Wayne Pacelle, writing in his blog, A Humane Nation, says the Obama Administration has signaled its readiness to crack down on the illegal practice of soring.
Soring is the use of chemical and mechanical irritants to encourage the high-stepping favored by the so-called “Big Lick” segment of the Tennessee walking horse industry.
Pacelle asserted that the “Big Lick” segment had so far shown no willingness to root out abuse in the industry.
Pacelle said the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) sent a proposed rule late last week to update its existing Horse Protection Act regulations to the Office of Management and Budget for White House clearance – a key step before a proposed rule is released for public comment.
For some time, the HSUS has urged the USDA to take greater action against soring.
In February last year, the nonprofit animal advocacy group filed a rule-making petition with the USDA for a rule to ban the “stacks” and chains used in soring. put an end to industry self-policing; and crack down on violations by extending disqualification periods.
“At this stage of the review process, the text of the USDA’s proposed rule is not yet public. But to be effective, the proposed rule should include all of these commonsense, long-awaited reforms,” Pacelle said.
“It’s been a federal crime since 1970 to show horses who have been sored. But cruel, unscrupulous trainers exploit regulatory loopholes, and the corrupt industry self-regulation system allows the perpetuation of what amounts to organized crime, all for the sake of show ribbons.”
Pacelle noted that the USDA had stated publicly in separate Federal Register notices, in 1979 and in 2011, that if soring persisted it would consider banning the chains hung around horses’ legs and the tall, heavy stacks nailed to horses’ hooves.
“These devices exacerbate the pain of caustic chemicals on the skin, conceal hard or sharp objects jammed into the tender soles, and make the hoof strike the ground at an abnormal angle and with excessive force,” he said.
“It’s way past time to eliminate the use of these instruments of torture, as a majority in Congress recognizes.”
Pacelle reiterated his support for the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, which enjoys wide backing across the entire US political spectrum but has yet to be brought to the floor of the House or Senate for a vote.
It enjoys overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress from more than 300 Senate and House cosponsors and a wide range of endorsements from respected bodies.
“There is no question the current regulations are failing to protect horses from a core group of scofflaw trainers and owners in this industry,” Pacelle said.
“Their denials are hollow and their cruelty is incontrovertible. At this stage of the debate, this Administration has an opportunity to fix this broken system before President Obama leaves office, and here’s an issue where nearly the whole of Congress agrees with needed reforms.
“The agency action we’re pressing is urgently needed. We’re going to put our shoulder behind this rule-making to put an end now to both the lawbreaking and the scourge of soring.”
