Sunday, March 23, 2008

Horse Detective Alert

Humane Society of the United States Offers $10,000 Reward for Info. on Horse Soring

(March 18, 2008) — The Humane Society of the United States is offering a reward of $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any violator of Tennessee’s “horse soring” law, which prohibits the deliberate infliction of pain to horses’ feet to produce an artificially high-stepping gait.

Soring is used on Tennessee Walking Horses and other gaited show horses. It sounds innocent. We've all had sore feet, but these horses are burned with toxic chemicals like acid. Their hooves are cut almost to the bloodline so their shoes exert painful pressure with each stride.
Yes! Sure enough, the horses jerk their feet up at every step they're forced to take, "prancing" in an exaggerated, high-stepping gait that increases their entertainment value.

It's hard to believe this happens very often, until you learn that in 2006, NO WORLD GRAND CHAMPION was named because most of the finalists were disqualified for soring.

Missing out on prize money infuriates cheating owners, so some horses are "taught" not to flinch when their painful feet are handled by judges looking for abuse.

How do you teach a horse to fool a judge? Each time a horse flinches when his painful feet are handled, you burn his tongue with a lit cigarette. Pretty soon, he learns to stand still, no matter how much it hurts.

How can you help?

If you're at a show for gaited horses, keep your senses sharp!

"The first thing you might notice about a sore horse barn is a strange smell. That is, if you're not distracted by a smooth talking barn employee or just run off altogether. Though the barn might have a "public area" much of it is off limits. The barn may seem dark because stalls are kept shut up, to keep horses from view and to muffle the sound of groaning. Horses are down a lot. If you get close enough to look at the horses, look in their eyes. That pain shows through." This quote is from this informative article: http://www.eagleridge-twh.com/soredhorses.htm

Anyone with information on this cruel practice should call 1-866-411-TEAM (8326).

The Humane Society of the United States will protect the identity of all callers.

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 4:30 PM

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