Tennessee walking horses are one high step closer to protection under the law from “soring.” The Prevent All Soring Tactics Act passed on July 25 in the U.S. House with overwhelming bipartisan approval.
The historic bill addresses loopholes in the 1970 Horse Protection Act that bans sored horses from competitions and exhibitions. A lack of funding and crushing pressure from industry leaders led to an amendment in 1976 that allowed non-USDA employees to become certified as inspectors. Many of these Designated Qualified Persons do not strictly enforce the law, making it easier for violators to continue this horrific abuse.
Soring is the “intentional infliction of pain to a horse’s legs or hooves in order to force the horse to perform an artificial, exaggerated gait,” according to the Humane Society of the U.S. It is most often used on Tennessee walking horses and other gated breeds in the show industry.
This high-stepping gait is known as the “big lick.” In some breeds, such as Tennessee walking horses, a somewhat high gait is actually its natural stride. Long ago, these horses were quite popular throughout Europe and Asia as they were comfortable to ride for long distances. It was only when competitions arose in the US rewarding very high-gaits that soring took hold.
Soring is carried out through many forms of torture. Perpetrators may apply caustic chemicals to the horse’s legs and cover them in plastic wrap for days to “cook” the chemicals into the flesh.
Offenders may also cut the hooves almost to the quick before nailing on a shoe, causing the horse excruciating pain when walking. Or, use tall stacks of pads that compel the horse to stand at an abnormal angle for hours on the sensitive part of their soles.
According to HSUS, which conducted undercover investigations into soring in 2012 and 2015, sored horses are confined to their stalls without the ability to graze or socialize. They are only let out during training periods, in which yet more torture takes place.
If the bill is passed in the Senate, large stacked shoes and ankle chains would be banned. Penalties for violating the law would be strengthened, with fines increasing from $3,000 to $5,000 and prison sentences extending from one to three years. Independent, trained USDA inspectors would monitor the situation.
“We’re delighted with this historic success,” said Kitty Block, HSUS president and CEO. “We have long led the charge to end soring, conducting undercover investigations, raising public awareness, working to secure greater funding and more support for enhanced enforcement by USDA and now, working with House champions and coalition partners to secure this important milestone for horses. We’re going straight ahead to press for Senate passage of the PAST Act. These animals have suffered long enough.”
This is GOOD NEWS — BUT — WHY is this depravedly CRUEL event allowed to continue?
I am just angry and disgusted with humanity period!!!!!!. The everyday reading regarding the inhumane, horrific, cruel, constant abuse of animals is sickening. So much torture, abuse, neglect and killing of animals that has been going on for so long and yet the laws still haven’t been changed to protect them. A human society that cares nothing or not enough to make changes once and for all for these sweet, innocent, vulnerable creatures at the mercy of heartless humans breaks my heart. Animals are the sweetest things on earth and lots of evil people take advantage of that. My only hope is that the.karma they face. and oh they will have it to face it, will outweigh any physical and emotional harm they ever Inflicted on each and every animal. Wake up humanity. Animals are here on purpose and for a reason and you will find that out. The karma you animal abusers will face will teach you that. Be prepared.
How can horse soring even exist in a civilized society. People who do this are sick. Stop this terrible procedure. to deliberately make an animal suffer so you can win blue ribbons tells us a lot about Society. We live in a very sick world.
FINALLY!!!!! This horse abuse has gone on entirely too long.
It’s a disgustingly cruel practice, and I’m so glad the authorities are FINALLY taking notice and doing something!
Thank you for exposing this awful cruelty to horses, and to the US House for taking action to prevent the torture continuing.
good…please , people. demand no cruelty to any animal.
hope all animals get protection from cruelty
we all need to promote animal protection, not abuse nor killing
After all those kind hearted horses have done for you and keep on giving. All you can repay them with is torture and suffering.
Finally one positive change in this abusive behavior for these poor equines. Why in the hell don’t these owners wrap in their own legs in chemicals that burn into the skin and then let’s have your feet shod the way these poor horses have for far too long. Again humans just can not stop the animal abuse. Hopefully this legislation will help save many of these poor horses.
From 1970 until 2019? – That’s almost 40 years!!!! I am saddened by the fact that the graft and corruption that goes on to continue exploitation of the poor horses is so successful that it takes almost 40 years for reasonable people to bring about some change in the inherent loopholes. I hope that this legislation can bring some relief to the horses.
I am a very dedicated animal lover. I cannot stand to see them being hurt, wounded , and/or murdered for sport or just some human liking to be sadistic to animals. When is all of this going to stop? That is all I want to say. Thank you for allowing comments. I am glad the rhino is healing.
VICTORY — EXCELLENT NEWS — GREAT JOB — There IS a God!
Suffered they have more than suffered. Goverment and Congress needs to do MORE!!! I see everyday the riduclase waste that our goverment accuses. It sickens me that these people conducting these pratices are NOT BEING PUNISHED!! GOVERMENT DO MORE!!! PUNISH,PUNISH PUNISH. THIS IS CLEAR CUT! CRIMINAL! these are voiceless,breathing FEELING living beings. What is wrong with our goverment. It totally needs to be OVERRIDENED AND START FRESH! OUR YOUGHT HOLD THE KEY TO STOPPING THESE ATROSUTIES. GOVERMENT IS TO BLAME AND IT OS FILLED WITH LIYING DIRTY GREEDY USLESS POLITIONS THAT ARE NOT FOR THE PEOPLE BUT FOR THEMSELVES!!!
Yeah! So happy to hear. It’s been way to long to get this legislation considered.
The owners of these horses should have a dose of their own medicine. This soring is a good name for the pain these creatures go through every day.
I sure hope this will help the horses. What’s wrong with people to think that something like this is okay? And we wonder why there are so many more mass murders? If you can be cruel to an animal, you can be cruel to another human being. That is not an opinion, that’s a prove-able fact. God bless the beasts, and the children.
I had never heard of string. Is there no end to the suffering that humans inflict on animals?
COMPASSION & HUMILITY TOWARDS HORSES
Whoever has the power to make a difference in the lives of animals. — please do everything you can to stop ALL forms of animal cruelty.
I wish so much I had that power.
All I can do is sign these petitions. It hurts my heart when I hear of the unbelievable things we read about here of what our fellow citizens do.
It’s unbelievable how evil ‘guys’ can be. They egg each other on and say
‘kill it’ to each other. and torture it. and then they laugh. If they would
have watched the train mutilate the dog, they would have laughed. Torture
and killing is ‘fun’ to those evil scum. Evidently they have nothing better to
do then to tie dogs to railroad tracks so they can watch them get mutilated
so they can laugh,. They should be tied to railroad tracks so the train can
run over them.
Thanks to the House of Representatives for outlawing this unconscionable practice. All such cruel, torturous practices should be against the law. There are no excuses for torturing and abusing animals, particularly not to please human beings. What sort of person does this?
Wonderful news!!!😊 ‘family frendly’? ? Sorry l am not brethren with you 😕😑unless your christians.
Delighted – Have been aiming for this point for a number of years. Yes. BAN the soring, use of chains around the pasterns, padding, beating up – BAN. Anyone so doing, anyone involved with these practices or, turning a blind eye to these practices including veterinarians to be fined and imprisioned and if vaterinarians to be stripped of their licence to practice as well as fined and imprisioned.