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…

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…

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…

Trump removes Rule aimed at ending the inhumane practice of horse soring

WASHINGTON, DC — In a nightmare move for horse advocates Trump axed a Federal Rule aimed at ending the inhumane practice of horse soring. The Rule was removed just hours before it was to be published in the Federal Register. On January 13, 2017 the The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service…

Final horse soring rule could lead to legal action

WASHINGTON, DC — On January 13, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced a final rule that strengthens the Horse Protection Act (HPA) and safeguards horses from the practice of soring. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the new amendments to the Horse Protection Act make…

Feinstein Supports Ending Abusive Horse Soring

PRESS RELEASE Washington DC (July 25, 2016)—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today applauded a decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to strengthen enforcement of the Horse Protection Act and end inhumane practices known as soring, the use of painful devices or chemicals to force an unnatural gait. Senator Feinstein is an original cosponsor of the…

Honest horse groups would cooperate when it comes to soring

Finding cooperation among the USDA and the groups certified by the agency to conduct inspections to enforce the Horse Protection Act and eliminate the soring of Tennessee Walking horses can be a big challenge. Currently the USDA is forced to use outside inspectors because they are undermanned and underfunded. In an OpEd for The Tennessean,…

Walking Horse groups could face USDA sanctions

Well, here's a another hot mess, and horses are suffering cruelly year after year -- decade after decade -- for it. If you think horse racing has problems, the industry that "sores" and competes Tennessee Walking Horses is loathsome and mafioso-like in its operations. The Horse Protection Act was passed by Congress in 1970 but…