Compromise unacceptable regarding sored Tennessee walking horses

Legislation would force the USDA to undo reforms of the widely supported PAST Act — which ends self-policing in the industry. Horse soring is the use of chemicals or mechanical devices to cause pain to the front feet and legs of horses when they touch the ground. This results in the horses picking up their…

Horses get some help from DC lawmakers

H.R. 8294: Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023 H.R. 8294 blocks the operation of horse slaughter facilities in the United States by permanently barring the use of federal funds to inspect such facilities. The bill includes $4.1 million—an increase of more than $1 million from the prior fiscal year—to enforce the…

The 2022 Spending Bill and horses

We have been fielding a lot of emails on this. — Fund for Horses On Friday, March 11, 2022, the President signed into law H.J.Res. 75, the “Extension of Continuing Appropriations Act, 2022,” which provides fiscal year 2022 appropriations to Federal agencies, and for other purposes. The horse protection issues covered are as follows. Horse…

Take action for sored horses

Urgent! Contact Agriculture Secretary Vilsack by email at agsec@usda.gov OR use Contact My Politician (Vilack's name is already inserted), using the words "Reinstate the HPA Rule" in the subject line stating:— "I respectfully request that you immediately reinstate the 2017 Horse Protection Act (HPA) rule promulgated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to end…

“Big Lick” animal cruelty racket crumbles into disarray

SPECIAL REPORT BY CLANT SEAY Mike Inman out as Celebration CEO After eight years at the helm of the Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration, CEO Mike Inman called it quits Wednesday. Yes, you heard it right. Inman’s resignation was reported as “effective immediately” by the Shelbyville Times-Gazette. The Times-Gazette tried to reach Inman on Wednesday, leaving…

The Horse Protection Act: Soring, the Scar Rule, and Self-Regulation

THE NATIONAL LAW REVIEW Published 27 August 2020 The Horse Protection Act (HPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1821 et seq., passed in 1970 and amended in 1976, outlaws the practice of horse “soring,” an inhumane practice of causing pain to a horse’s foot or leg to produce a more desirable gait. “Soring” is defined as the application…

Big Lick horses: Training babies

When training horses for human-imagined and -staged competitions, it often begins when the horses are very young. It is no different with sored or “Big Lick” horses and heartbreaking. The jerky, unnatural high-stepping gait called the “Big Lick” is induced through what is called horse soring, achieved only by inflicting unconscionable pain on a horse's…

Tennessee Walking Horses and Marsha Blackburn

INTRODUCTION For those of you who know little about the political history of horse soring, this is an excellent piece. For those of you who have good knowledge of it, this is still highly informative. Brilliantly written. What is horse soring? Soring is the intentional infliction of pain to a horse's legs or hooves in…

Help us get 2/3rds of the House to co-sponsor the PAST Act

WASHINGTON, DC — Help us get 2/3rds of the U.S. House of Representatives to co-sponsor H.R. 1847, the PAST Act (Prevent All Soring Tactics).  We only need 80 more co-sponsors to do it. The PAST Act is written to help close the loopholes in the Horse Protection Act outlawing horse soring. Horse Soring Horse soring is…

Support HR 1847 a bill closing loopholes in US anti horse soring law

WASHINGTON, DC — On January 13, 2017 the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced "a final rule that includes changes that will help to protect horses from the cruel and inhumane practice known as soring and eliminate the unfair competitive advantage that sore horses have over horses that…