Monday, May 21, 2012

Tennessee Walking Horse scandals continue


Since moving to Tennessee a couple of years ago, I've learned a lot about the scandals surrounding the Tennessee Walking Horse (TWH) 'industry'.  The Humane Society summarizes the situation like this:

Many Tennessee walking horses, known for their distinctive gait and willing natures, are subjected to a cruel practice known as soring — the intentional infliction of pain to their feet and legs to produce an exaggerated gait known as the "Big Lick".

The lives of many Tennessee walking horses trained in this manner are filled with pain, suffering, and fear. Most are kept in stalls the majority of the time. Fitted with tall, heavy shoes, their legs covered with caustic chemicals meant to cause pain, these horses are subjected to extreme cruelty, all for the sake of a ribbon.

There's more at the link.  The Humane Society released this video report about soring in 2009.




The industry asserts that the problems are confined to a few 'rogue' operators - breeders and trainers - and insists that the vast majority of them are operating in an ethical and honest manner.  Unfortunately, history doesn't support this claim.  CNN aired the report below as long ago as 1985, 27 years ago;  yet the problems it identified are still being encountered to this day.




Furthermore, inspections at TWH shows routinely uncover cases of soring.  The industry claims that the number has decreased dramatically in recent years, but that's arguable.  As the Tennesseean pointed out last week:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is charged with enforcing the Horse Protection Act. Violations could mean up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

USDA veterinarians can only make it to a small number of shows each year. Because of the lack of federal funding, the department relies on a form of industry self-regulation.

But a 2010 report from the USDA’s Office of Inspector General found that the self-regulation is “not adequate to ensure that these animals are not being abused”.

Under the system, horse industry organizations hire inspectors. Because of that conflict of interest, inspectors do not always examine horses according to the requirements of the Horse Protection Act. Many in the industry, the report concluded, do not believe abuse is a problem and resent federal oversight.

The Humane Society on Thursday called for abolishing self-regulation and urged Congress to step in and close loopholes in the Horse Protection Act.

“We want to see all of these violators brought up on charges,” Dane said at a Nashville news conference to release the video.

U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesman Dave Sacks said Thursday ... the department has made strides to improve oversight and reduce soring. For instance, the department’s veterinarians went to 80 horse shows in 2011, up from 50 the year before, Sacks said. There are more than 450 shows a year.

The USDA also is proposing changes to the Horse Protection Act.

Sacks said one proposal would allow the department to train and license the inspectors hired by horse industry organizations. Another change would require horse industry organizations to enforce the USDA’s minimum penalties for soring.

Again, more at the link.

Last week ABC's Nightline program showed an undercover video taken by a Humane Society informer, showing one of the leading trainers of Tennessee Walking Horses abusing and assaulting a horse.  It's sent shock-waves through the industry, and resulted in the trainer losing his license.

WARNING:
This video shows graphic scenes of cruelty to animals.
DO NOT WATCH IT if you're easily upset.




However, it looks as if the trainer will get off lightly.  He was originally charged with 52 counts, but in a plea-bargain will plead guilty to only one (the rest being dropped).  This makes me furious beyond words, but there's nothing I can do about it.  One can't help but wonder what sort of pressure or 'influence' was brought to bear in order to obtain a plea agreement so favorable to the defendant . . .

Personally, I'd be more than happy to see the entire TWH industry abolished, and a permanent ban placed on training horses for this particular equine 'sport'.  I don't believe a word the industry says about the relative rarity of soring.  I have friends who own and show horses, and they uniformly allege that the entire industry is rife with corruption, cruelty and connivance between trainers, owners and others who make their living out of showing these animals.

May I ask those of my readers who have an interest in this matter to act upon it?  Please write to your Congressional representative and Senators, and (for Tennessee residents) to your state Senators and representatives, to urge them to take and/or support action against the soring scandal in the TWH industry.  Make it clear to them that the same problems have been uncovered over and over again for many years (the Horse Protection Act was passed in 1970 in an attempt to control soring, yet forty-two years later we're no nearer eliminating it!).  A solution is long overdue.  My preferred option would be to shut down the whole thing on the grounds of persistent, endemic, systematic cruelty to animals, but I daresay that's too much to hope for - at least at present.  Nevertheless, something must be done.  Horses can't speak for themselves.  It's up to us.

It's probably not politically correct enough to become law, but I wish we could make the punishment fit the crime!  If anyone's convicted of soring, why not force them to wear two-inch-thick horseshoes, and put chains around their ankles, and apply caustic, burning chemicals to their shins and calves?  They were eager enough to dish it out to defenseless animals, so let's see how they like it when the (horse)shoe's on the other foot!





Peter

10 comments:

FarmGirl said...

Peter.. I have a few things to say about this, which considering the subject matter, is not all that surprising.

First off, some of the things that fall under the title of "soring" are actually harmless... the tall shoes, for instance, when used for training and shows and then taken off, are harmless, and merely encourage the horse to show the stride. They still fall under the title of "soring" though. To me, this falls into the same category as spurs. Properly used, they are a useful training tool, incorrectly used, they can cause damage.

The weights are a tool that falls into a similar category. The chemical sensitization came, I believe, from someone who used a medicinal treatment on his horse's legs that can cause sensitivity, and noticed the secondary effect of making the horse stride out more. The people who use the shoes and weights properly are not worse than people who use spurs properly, and vice versa.

It is an issue that needs to be addressed but the best way to address it, and this has been proven, is through the show organizations. The problem with soring is that you can't prove it easily after the fact... find a way to do so, and the show organizations will adopt it. AQHA has regulations concerning cruel bits and other pieces of tack that are intended to enhance performance through application or threat of pain. Arabian show organizations pressure owners and trainers on the subject of cutting the ligament under a horse's tail, and wrapping the tail so that it stands vertically.

The flip side of this particular post is this: HSUS is a bag full of assholes. IIRC (and I'm not in the mood just now to search for the actual figures) far less than a quarter of the money they take in actually goes to helping animals directly. They run no shelters, they rescue no abused pets. They play on emotions that every rational human has towards the abuse of animals, for the purpose of continuing to fund their payroll and produce more tear-jerker commercials.

If HSUS could sensationalize collars and leashes to the proper extent, and get money out of it? They would. Problem is, even though collars and leashes are misused far more often than spurs, they're too commonplace. No one wants to give money to an organization that is implying they might be part of the problem.

Yes, the practice of soring, taken to the extremes that it is, is abhorrent. Yes, it needs to be stopped. I do not condone chemical soring or trainers that practice it.

But, the HSUS needs to fall off the face of the earth, preferably in a fiery ball of ignominy.

trailbee said...

What a sad state of affairs.

Anonymous said...

The tail-breaking and other practices among some Standardbred stables are also well known. I suspect that each breed has a few nasty operators, but that some are worse than others as far as the concentration of bad apples.

LittleRed1

Anonymous said...

What Farmgirl said.

Unfortunately, the fact that this abhorrent practice continues is probably down to both the culture of the TWH world combined with the fact that the rest of the horse world won't, for good reason, trust the HSUS, its associated lobbyists, and its government backers. Unless, or until the HSUS clearly separates itself from sharing PETA's views, I will have nothing to do with them.

The other problem is, of course, the subjective nature of the issue: when does training become too extreme, when does extreme training become abuse? No horse person will have the same answer.

Finally, a half-remembered quote: If you want to know what a man is like, see how he treats his horse, his dog, and his servants.

Anonymous said...

I'd add though, that I am fully behind the USDA doing the hiring of inspectors as opposed to the horse shows; combined with forcing the organizations to enforce the the standards. It would raise other problems, but conflict of interest is never helpful.

Mad Jack said...

I refute Farmgirl's opinion.

Those built up shoes are harmful. Horses injure their tendons due to these shoes, and that's abuse. The 'encouragement' you're talking about here is dangerous to the horse's well being.

As far as weights, chemical sensitization and spurs go, one is not the other. If I wear spurs, which is very rare, I'll decide every single, individual time I apply the spurs just how much force I'm going to use. That isn't true with weighted shoes, chains or chemical sensitivity treatments. Once it's done, it's done.

This issue has been addressed through show organizations, and that hasn't worked. It never did work, and the organizations are not going to adopt anything that might work. Want proof? The practice started sometime in 1950. It's 2012 and the abuse continues.

Anyone knowledgeable about horses can spot the affects of egregious soring. An equine venterinarian can easily detect a case of soring, but the Walking Horse people don't want that. They like things the way they are.

By your opinion of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), it sounds to me like you've had a run in or two with them. My own mileage varies considerably. HSUS is one of the few organizations that's willing to actually do something about this abusive practice, and in so doing they are bound to step on enough toes to fill a podiatrist's office for a month of Sundays.

You're in a real gray area, Farmgirl. You're trying to excuse bad behavior and abuse because it isn't real bad, glaringly obvious or well known to the general public. Take off your spurs.

Mad Jack said...

Peter:

Thanks for posting this one. I didn't see the news report.

I agree with you, by the way. The idea of a forced march sounds about right.

Borepatch said...

There is absolutely no cannibalism in the Royal Navy. And when I say "absolutely none" I mean that the problem is relatively under control ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DlN4Sh06po

Tass said...

As far as the HSUS (and PETA) is concerned, I discount everything they say due to their agenda of animals should not be eaten, owned, etc. Not something they include in their heartfelt tv commercials.

With that said, just about every horse-showing/breeding group out there has it's own issues. There is a large percentage of QH people who are breeding horses with a congenital defect that can lead to seizures (with people on their backs). There is a test for this gene that traces back to one sire. Some Dressage people still use an extreme method of getting a horses head down, look up Rolkur.

Hopefully the breed organizations will stop rewarding this end result at shows, but the mindset within the groups needs to change.

Tass
former hunter/jumper owner-trainer & mounted police barn manager

BenC said...

I know nothing about the issue but I don't trust the Humane Society because they have an agenda to push and based on their record of accuracy and reliability on issues I do know something about (guns and gun control) I would not trust CNN or ABC either. That doesn't mean these reports are untrue but I would need some independent verification from sources I trust before I get upset about it.