Jeff Dockery leaves the Joel W. Solomon Federal Courthouse downtown in this file photo.On the heels of a televised Humane Society of the United States video showing abuse of Tennessee Walking Horses, the federal government is moving toward stiffer, mandatory penalties for horse soring.
“This is a much-needed step to strengthen enforcement of the act, which prohibits the showing and transporting of horses whose legs have been ‘sored’ through the application of painful chemicals or other painful training methods,” said Keith Dane, director of equine protection for the Humane Society of the United States.
The rule was announced in teleconference on the same day a fourth Tennessee walking horse handler pleaded guilty in Chattanooga to a Horse Protection Act violation.
Soring causes the horses to perform an artificially high-stepping gait, known as the “big lick” for show competitions.
Under the new rule, horses found to be sored in a show inspection will be disqualified from that show. And the people responsible for the horse — not just the trainers, but also horse owners, transporters and others associated with the horse — could be suspended from participating in any show, exhibition, sale or auction for as much as a year on a first offense.