In the heart of walking horse country, the Humane Society of the United States is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any violator of Tennessee’s horse soring law.
Keith Dane, the group’s director of equine protection, said the society began running advertisements about the reward Sunday in Middle Tennessee newspapers and publications for Spanish-speaking residents.
“To our knowledge, the Tennessee code on this has never been enforced, at least in recent history, and we’re thinking that part of the reason is that people who know about it will not come forward without incentives,” Mr. Dane said.
Soring is the deliberate infliction of pain to horses’ feet to produce artificially a high-stepping gait and increase the animal’s entertainment or monetary value.
The federal Horse Protection Act and Tennessee law forbid the practice, but Mr. Dane said both laws have proven hard to enforce. The federal law allows inspections at horse shows but not in private barns, he said, and with Tennessee’s reputation at stake, few if any local investigations have been initiated.
Mr. Dane said two publications already have refused to run the ad. One was the Shelbyville Times-Gazette, a paper in Shelbyville, home of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration. The other was the trade publication The Walking Horse Report, whose president, David Howard, also is chairman of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration board of directors.
Walking Horse Report publisher Jeffrey Howard confirmed Thursday that the publication refused the ad.
“We don’t disagree with the message, just with the tactic with which it was put forth,” said Mr. Howard, son of David Howard.
With the ad coming just as a major show, the Walking Horse Trainers Show, began its run this week in Shelbyville, the younger Mr. Howard said the publication’s leaders felt it was designed to “damage the horse show.”
Mr. Dane said Humane Society officials hope the rewards will bring forth enough information to provide law enforcement officials with “probable cause” for more scrutiny.
“We’ve talked with law enforcement officials and (district attorneys) who have pledged their support,” Mr. Dane said.
Chip Walters, spokesman for the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, the nation’s premier walking horse show held yearly in Shelbyville, said the effort is not needed.
“Every group within this industry has taken a strong stance against soring. Their rewards would be better focused on all breeds all across the country,” he said.
Mr. Walters said that in 250 shows last year more than 99 percent of the horses inspected were in compliance with Horse Protection Act standards, and soring violations from walking horse shows in 2007 fell by half from the number logged in the previous year.
In 2006, no Celebration grand champion was named after federal inspectors, citing signs of soring, eliminated all but three contenders.
Link Webb, president of the Walking Horse Trainers Association, did not return phone calls.
Mr. Dane said insiders hoping to claim $10,000 can telephone tips to (866) 411-TEAM (8326). The Humane Society will protect the identity of all callers, he said.
“We’ll be running more ads, and we expect a good deal of input,” Mr. Dane said.
Pam Sohn has been reporting or editing Chattanooga news for 25 years. A Walden’s Ridge native, she began her journalism career with a 10-year stint at the Anniston (Ala.) Star. She came to the Chattanooga Times Free Press in 1999 after working at the Chattanooga Times for 14 years. She has been a city editor, Sunday editor, wire editor, projects team leader and assistant lifestyle editor. As a reporter, she also has covered the police, ...
I applaud the TFP for writing this article. I remember that you did not carry anything in your paper reporting on last year's Celebration. I assumed that was because you, like many of us, were so disgusted with the Walking Horse industry that you thought ignoring them was the best approach. On the other hand, when you have a quote as laughably transparent as the one attributed to the young Mr. Howard, it needs printing. These people will do anything in their power to continue abusing these horses. And shame on the editor of the Shelbyville Times-Gazette.
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