Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Tennessee Walking Horses...the controversy continues
This article was written in October of 2004 and won 2nd place in FOSH Investigative Journalism Awards. So much of this article is still relevant today 10 years later as the battle against Soring is still going on.
By Cheryl Childs
There has been controversy swirling around the showing of Tennessee Walking Horses for many many years, due the practice of soring these horses for the show ring. The soring of Tennessee Walking Horses goes back to the 1950’s. This process became widespread in the 1960’s, when horses that were being sored began to place and win at the shows.
What is soring? There are two kinds of soring -mechanical and chemical. The two methods are, at times, used in conjunction with one another. The process of chemically soring a horse involves applying caustic substances to the pastern of the horse’s front legs then placing plastic wrap on the area and applying leg bandages. Some of the chemicals used are kerosene and diesel oil, along with more harmful chemicals like crotonaldehyde and mustard oil. The plastic wrap and bandages, essentially, heats the chemical and burns the skin, causing the horse to experience constant and extreme pain.
Chains are then fastened around the horse’s pasterns, after the chemicals are applied, which causes the horse to jerk his painful leg up off the ground and throw his weight back onto his rear legs, making the horse appear to be high stepping with lot of action. This is what is called, in the industry, a “ Big Lick” show horse. These horses have an exaggerated gait when being ridden and look as if, at any moment, their rear ends will give way and they will fall to the ground. The same holds true where mechanical soring is concerned. Mechanical soring is just as painful for the horse as chemical soring and can cause just as much damage. Padded shoes are put on the horse’s front legs. These shoes, also called “ Stacks”,can be as high 5 inches and, in some cases, are filled with substances for added weight. These shoes are never removed from the horse and they cause the horse to stand in unnatural position . Some trainers and owners will also have the horse’s back hoofs trimmed very short to help accomplish high action in the show arena.
In the 1970’s, due to public outcry over this abusive
practice the Horse Protection Act (HPA) was passed. The HPA is in place to prevent cruelty and abuse of any horses being shown, but it was the abuse of Tennessee Walking Horses that set it into motion. It passed in 1970 and was amended in 1976. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is the USDA agency charged with enforcing the HPA.
According to the HPA soring is a cruel and abusive practice used to accentuate a horse’s gait. The HPA is a Federal law that prohibits horses subjected to the practice of soring from participating in shows, sales, exhibitions or auctions.
The HPA ensures that responsible horse owners and trainers will not suffer unfair competition from those who sore their horses and that the horses will not be subjected to the cruel practice of soring. According to the HPA the responsibility for preventing sored horses being exhibited, shown or sold rests with owners, trainers, riders, sellers and managers of events. It states that managers have the major legal responsibility to exclude or disqualify sored horses from their shows, sales, auctions or exhibitions.
To assist in enforcement of the HPA the Designated Qualified Persons Program (DQP) was established. DQPs are USDA accredited veterinarians with equine experience, or farriers, horse trainers, or other knowledgeable horsemen/women who have been formally trained and licensed by a USDA Horse Industry Organization (HIO). The managers of a show may contract with an HIO to hire the DQPs to assure horses that have been sored are not allowed in the ring. At a show or event the DQP is responsible for physically inspecting every Tennessee Walking Horse and racking horse before they may be shown, exhibited or sold. They must report any horses that do not meet Federal regulations, under the HPA, to show management. It then becomes the show management’s legal responsibility to disqualify the sored horses. Show management , however, is not required by the HPA to have a DQP present at the show, but they have the major legal responsibility if horses being shown are sored.
The USDA makes every effort they can to enforce the HPA despite the fact that they have limited funding. According to Todd Behre, DVM, The Horse Protection Coordi-nator of the USDA the USDA attends 4% of the horse shows nationwide. They go to the shows unannounced. Dr. Behre says that once competitors are made aware of the presence of the USDA at a show many will simply load up their horses and leave, sometimes up to 30% to 60% of competitors present. “The violations rate (number of violations cited divided by the number of entries) is much greater when the USDA is present than when USDA is not present,” Dr. Behre stated. The USDA is working on new techniques to detect chemicals on the horses. One such technique is Thermography, which detects heat and another is is Chromatography, that can actually detect the presence of chemicals on the leg of the horse.
Even though the Horse Protection Act was passed over thirty years ago it seems the abuses of Walking Horses still goes on. Many people believed that, after the passing of the HPA the abuse stopped, but the evidence that it hasn’t stopped can be seen at shows today. Some of the photographs featured in this article were taken recently at a local show. The fact that the Pony Press photographer was questioned by the show management about what she was photographing (an experience the photographer has never had at any of the horse events we have covered) is evidence that the people involved in these abuses are well aware of the fact that it is illegal.
The goods news is that there are breeders, trainers, and owners out there that are unquestionably against the act of soring these wonderful horses. There are also organizations working hand in hand with those breeders, trainers and owners to end this abuse of their beloved Tennessee Walking Horses.
Schemel Stables, located in Perryville MO, is one such breeder of Walking Horses that is against the soring of horses. The Schemels have bred Walking Horses for nearly 30 years and they breed for the natural gait. They believe in the natural qualities of the horse, not abuse or mechanical devices, when training their horses. The Schemels stand several stallions and they have shown them. In 1998 they showed at The Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration (held each year in Shelbyville,TN) but unlike many of their fellow competitors they showed their horses without soring them. “Of 23 stallions being shown only 2 were shown clean (not sored)” says Rick Schemel. The Schemels hope that the soring of Walking Horses will some day come to end. They completely and openly support the end of this abusive practice.
The National Walking Horse Association (NWHA) is an organization that is against the soring of Walking Horses. NWHA was established in 1998 by a small group of people who wanted to offer an alternative to those opposed to soring and to eliminate the stigma that has affected the Walking Horse breed for so many years.
The NWHA now has 800 members with 50 affiliated horse shows a year. Every show is in compliance with the Horse Protection Act. Soring is absolutely not allowed at any NWHA show. NWHA members have also voted to eliminate the use of pads and action devices at any NWHA affiliated show. The NWHA feels that their organization is having a positive impact on the Walking Horse breed.
NWHA President Don Bell, who trained Walking Horses for 28 years, feels that the sored Walking Horse is a dinosaur, but it’s extinction will come slowly. Bell stopped training Walking horses because of the methods used in the industry. He sees problems with the Horse Protection Act and the Designated Qualified Persons program. “It’s like the fox guarding the hen house” he says. He feels that many DQPs are too closely involved in the industry. He also feels that this issue is political, with lobbyists working in Washington on behalf of people who stand to benefit from the continuation of these abusive practices. That is the reason Bell is involved in the NWHA. Bell feels that NWHA will continue to grow.
Sherie Beatty, who was also once active in the Walking Horse industry, but, like Don Bell, made the choice to get out of the business, also feels there are problems. Beatty, an outspoken advocate against soring, and a founding member of the Friends of Sound Horses organization is also concerned about the problems within the DQP program. She feels that the industry is “policing itself”. Like others Beatty hopes to see an end to soring horses, but doesn’t see that happening in the near future, because high stepping horses make for a better show and more spectators, which brings in more money.
Friends of Sound Horses (FOSH) is another organization who’s goal is to help end the soring of Tennessee Walking Horses by making the public aware of the inhumane practices in the industry. They want to promote the showing of flat shod Walking Horses at competitions designed to showcase the naturally gaited pleasure horse. FOSH takes an activist’s role in the fight against the soring of the Tennessee Walking Horse.
The one thing that FOSH, NWHA, USDA, and many others have in common is a goal to put an end to the cruelty and abuse of these wonderful horses. In describing the Tennessee Walking Horse words such as “docile”, “even tempered”, “resolute” and “amazing” were used. Like the members of all these organizations, the Pony Press hopes that, in the very near future, no Walking Horses will be forced to suffer for a rib
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