A frame captured from video of a Humane Society of the United States investigation show the measures taken to produce the exaggerated stride of Tennessee Walking Horses. In the video, horses are struck with clubs, shocked and have their hooves treated with chemicals and mechanical devices.A Tennessee walking horse inspection group has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the USDA’s recent regulatory action requiring the industry to impose mandatory penalties for abusing the horses.
The suit claims the rules — intended to curb an abusive training practice known as soring — are unconstitutional, according to a statement released Monday by SHOW, the horse industry organization that inspects animals entered in the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration.
“Reformers within the walking show horse industry are committed to self-regulation as demonstrated by recent efforts but the USDA’s regulations are not only unconstitutional, they unfairly punish those most aggressively working to clean up the industry,” Dr. Stephen L. Mullins, a veterinarian who heads SHOW, said in a prepared statement.
USDA officials could not be reached Monday to comment on SHOW’s lawsuit.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced mandatory minimum penalties for Tennessee walking horse abuse, including soring, the use of caustic chemicals and devices — sometimes chains to irritate skin treated with chemicals and sometimes even nails driven into the hooves — that makes Tennessee walking horses achieve their famous high-stepping gait with less training time.