Soring and the Tennessee Walking Horse

I had heard of a practice called "soring," but I never really knew fully what it meant, until a friend sent me a video on Facebook, which led me to finding another, and another and so on. So, I decided to research this and what I found is appalling.

In a nutshell, soring is any practice that causes a horse pain in order to achieve an extension of a natural gait. This practice seems to be most prevalent in the world of the Tennessee Walker. Terrible looking contraptions are placed on the horse's feet, chains are tied around their fetlocks, chemicals are used to burn the skin and cause pain; All of this in order to force the horse to lift its front legs higher in order to try and avoid the pain.

Personally, I couldn't imagine doing such a thing to an animal, for any reason, and I have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to. But, as it turns out, just as I have mentioned in cases of horse racing where cruelties can abound, it's all about the money!

The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that the vast majority of exhibitors who convened at an Owingsville horse show grounds scattered like buckshot when officials arrived to inspect the animals for signs of cruelty and cite the trainers and owners for federal violations.

"One of the largest Walking horse shows in Kentucky virtually ground to a halt last week when U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors arrived, escorted by Kentucky State Police. "They're here to inspect horses and the folks that were here to show decided not to show. That's their prerogative," said Earl Rogers Jr., manager of the Owingsville Lions Club Horse Show and the president of the Kentucky Walking Horse Association.

Rogers said that USDA inspectors arrived Thursday for the last two days of the four-day show, in which 500 to 550 horses are typically shown. After the inspectors arrived, only 40 were shown. Hundreds of entrants turned their horse vans around and left."

Yes, there are many organizations now in place to help prevent soring and other unnatural methods of forcing horses into these exaggerated prances. Yet it still goes on, as I learned, because there's not enough resources to cover every one of the horse shows that exist and can possibly harbor people that practice these rituals. Some owners and handlers have been cited on cruelty cases more than once for soring their horses, and yet they continue to show.

Watch the back legs of some of the horses in the videos. These poor animals are far down on their hocks (in the back) as they try to relieve the pressure and pain from their front feet. It's almost painful just to watch. How anyone can put a ribbon to these animals is beyond me. Yes, these are gaited horses and their gaits can be quite extraordinary, but these video examples are extreme, severe and obvious to anyone who knows the natural movement of a horse.

On the other side of the coin, there are those kind souls who train their horses to achieve these gaits naturally and comfortably. If they can do it and still make the money, then what is it that drives these others to continue the cruelty? Most likely the answer is a short cut. It's easier to throw chemicals on the horse's legs and nail torture devices to its feet than it is to take the time (time is money after all) to train the horse to learn its natural rhythm and enhance it.

Please watch the video I have linked here and do your part on spreading the word that these practices need to stop!

The Cruelest Horse Show on Earth

Cruelty Behind Tennessee Walking Horses