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	Articles • Data on Gaited Horse Show Soring • What is Soring Archives • 2005 Soring Soring September 27, 2006 Mr. Bruce Knight Under Secretary Marketing and Regulatory Programs United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Ave. SW Washington, D.C. 20250 Dear Under Secretary Knight, We, the undersigned, understand that a proposal to amend the definition of soring contained in the Horse Protection Act has been submitted for the Department’s consideration by Sens. Bill First and Saxby Chambliss. We also understand that this proposal was received by Sen. First from the National Horse Protection Society, a group formed in 2005 that purports to represent the Tennessee Walking Horse industry. According to industry sources, this proposal was not presented to, discussed with, nor approved by many key industry groups, including the breed registry, the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ and Exhibitors’ Association. Further, several of the Horse Industry Organizations that are certified by the USDA to inspect horses under the Act were not involved in the development of this proposal, nor made aware of it in any way. It is important to note that more than 90% of the Tennessee Walking Horses in the world are sound, flat shod, pleasure type horses that are never ridden or shown on stacks of pads, or with chains on their pasterns. We represent several national and regional groups of owners of such horses, and several other gaited horse breed groups that are opposed to soring, with over 10,000 members and supporters. The language proposed by the National Horse Protection Society would serve to weaken the protections to horses provided for in the Horse Protection Act. The changes would, in fact, protect owners and trainers who perform inhumane acts on their horses for unfair competitive advantage, by decriminalizing behavior that is currently illegal under the Act. Whole classes of violations would be eliminated by these changes, and they would hamper the Department’s efforts to detect and enforce violations as Congress originally intended. We oppose the proposed language, and further, would like to address a situation which has been allowed to continue in this industry for far too long. Historically, when USDA inspectors arrive at horse shows affiliated with certain USDA-certified Horse Industry Organizations, the violation rate increases tenfold or more over the violation rate that industry inspectors cite when the USDA is not present. These industry inspection programs are not consistently doing their job – to find and penalize violations under the Act – unless USDA inspectors are present to oversee them. This is where the inconsistency in inspections is occurring in this industry. The USDA needs more support, more staff and more funds in order to effectively enforce the Act and combat the problem of soring. The Act does not need to be amended to weaken the protections that it provides for horses, and make the USDA’s enforcement more difficult. There has been much controversy and discrepancy this year related to the interpretation of the USDA’s Scar Rule regulation. All scars, calluses and other tissue changes caused by a person, using chemicals, chains, or other substances or devices, are indicative of soring. All of these tissue changes, when formed, would have been caused by intentional repeated trauma, and accompanied by the presence of inflammation, manifested as pain, swelling, redness, heat, loss of hair or loss of function. In other words, the horse was sore when the tissue changes occurred. The concept put forth by some in this industry that performance Tennessee Walking Horses are athletes and therefore should be expected to develop “work” scars on their pasterns is preposterous. Horses do not walk on their pasterns. Several other breeds use chains and other action devices in training and competition, but their horses do not bear the telltale signs of soring abuse found on the Tennessee Walking Horse and related breeds. Due to these facts, and the ongoing controversy and discrepancy over what is an acceptable “scar” and what is not, we propose the prohibition of all pastern tissue changes indicative of soring. We ask that the Department evaluate and comment on the following proposed regulatory language: “Any horse born on or after January 1, 2007 that has on its pasterns bilateral scars, calluses or other tissue changes indicative of soring (whether caused by chemicals, chains or other substances or devices) or any attempts to mask or cosmetically/surgically alter such tissue, will be considered to be “sore”. All horses born prior to January 1, 2007 are subject to those HPA Scar Rule regulations in place immediately prior to the implementation of this rule on January 1, 2007.” This change is necessary in order to protect horses from cruel and inhumane treatment, as the elimination of all bilateral scars, calluses or other tissue changes indicative of soring will help ensure that horses are not sored during the development of their gait. We look forward to receiving your comments on this important issue in a timely manner. The letter above was sent to several key USDA officials and U.S. Senators. It was signed by 26 gaited horse groups from around the country. Today we heard that the letter was received, and is making an impact in Washington. In addition, several of the humane groups that were copied on the letter have taken the initiative, on their own, to draft another joint letter that will come from some of the major humane organizations in the country. This letter will be delivered tomorrow. PLEASE send emails or letters to these USDA officials and Senators in support of the joint gaited horse group letter. Continued, persistent communication will send a strong, unified message for the humane treatment of our horses. A sample letter follows, followed by email addresses. Please also cross post this email to any list that supports the humane treatment of horses, and all animals. Thank you - together, we truly can make a difference. SAMPLE LETTER Dear Under Secretary Knight, I am writing to express my strong support for the letter regarding changes to the Horse Protection Act, sent to you on September 27, 2006 from 26 gaited horse organizations from around the country. I oppose any changes to the Horse Protection Act that would serve to weaken protections for the horse, or hamper USDA enforcement and prosecution under the Act. I support full enforcement of the current Act, and support the changes proposed in the above-mentioned letter which would improve protections to the horse by prohibiting all pastern tissue changes indicative of soring. Please give the letter your careful consideration and prompt attention. Thank you, Cc: Senator Bill First Senator Saxby Chambliss Senator Mitch McConnell Secretary Mike Johanns Dr. Ron DeHaven, USDA Dr. Chester Gipson, USDA EMAIL ADDRESSES OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS: Under Secretary Bruce Knight: Bruce.Knight@usda.gov Senator Bill First: Senator_First@First.senate.gov Secretary Mike Johanns: Mike.Johanns@usda.gov Dr. Ron DeHaven, USDA: Ron.DeHaven@usda.gov Dr. Chester Gipson, USDA: Chester.A.Gipson@aphis.usda.gov or copy and paste this list: Bruce.Knight@usda.gov,Mike.Johanns@usda.gov,Senator_First@First.senate.gov,Ron.DeHaven@usda.gov, Chester.A.Gipson@aphis.usda.gov Also, go to http://chambliss.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.ContactForm&CFID=14006233&CFTOKEN=43918282 and send the same message to Senator Saxby Chambliss and http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/contact_form.cfm to send it to Senator Mitch McConnell. To find addresses for your U.S. Senators and Representative, visit www.congress.org and type your zip code into the box on the left side of the home page (under “Write Your Officials”). FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Person: Teresa Bippen tbippen@fosh.info (01/20/2006) FOSH Proposes Changes to USDA Horse Protection Program Operating Plan Friends of Sound Horses (FOSH) presented a number of proposed changes to the 2007 USDA Horse Protection Program Operating Plan (OP), at a meeting of Horse Industry Organization (HIO) representatives held September 13, 2005. Sound horse supporters can demonstrate their support of the proposed changes by either writing to the USDA or attending the USDA Listening Sessions, which will be held in various cities throughout the United States (dates and cities are provided). Following two years of historical data analysis, FOSH identified several areas of the current Operating Plan that minimize the effects of penalties and allow violators to continue to participate in shows while on suspension. FOSH believes the following changes to the next USDA Operating Plan are needed in order to improve enforcement of the Horse Protection Act. The probation period for HPA violations should be eliminated. This probation period - currently set at one year - is the window following a person’s suspension during which they must remain free of violations before a subsequent violation of the same type will be treated as a new, first-time violation. FOSH believes this window should be closed, as it allows trainers and owners to enter horses at shows under other individuals’ names to avoid receiving a second, enhanced violation during the probation period, when they are supposedly “turning over a new leaf”. Violators should not be entitled to unlimited “second chances” – those who truly intend to change their ways permanently do not need a probation period. Violators on suspension should not be allowed to be present on the grounds of any gaited horse show. At the present time, there is no way to ensure that such persons are not participating in the preparation or coaching of show entries in the barns or elsewhere on the show grounds. Because DQPs and VMOs typically spend most of their time at a show in the inspection area, they are unable to monitor the actions of violators elsewhere on show grounds. The USDA should define specifically in the OP, the criteria for HIO decertification. In Spring of 2005 the Department made reference to several criteria that it would use to make a decision to decertify an HIO, one of which was a variance in an HIO’s violation rate with/without USDA personnel present. But it has not stated how wide that variance would have to be in order for a decision to decertify to be made, nor how the variance would be measured. Historically, large variances have been recorded for several HIO’s. The combined HIO suspension list should be published by the HIOs in industry trade publications or made available on the Internet, or USDA should release it to the public, with proper disclaimers. The USDA should commit to a standard set of show, inspection and violation data that it will compile and release on a regular (monthly, quarterly or annual) basis, and that report criteria should be included in the OP. There should be a standard set of forms and data used across all HIOs for submission of information to the USDA. Regarding the Operating Plan development process, FOSH believes the USDA should post on its website all proposed OP changes submitted to date, prior to the holding of each scheduled listening session. Posting such changes in advance means that interested parties can provide input to the Department on proposed OP changes. By holding an open forum to obtain input on proposed changes, the OP is more likely to be a collaborative document that is supported by individuals and HIOs alike. FOSH welcomes input on these and any other changes to the next Operating Plan; comments may be sent to Keith Dane at djuj@aol.com. FOSH also requests that concerned members of the sound horse community contact the USDA to indicate their support for the above proposed changes and/or attend a USDA Listening Session. Letters and emails should be sent to USDA. For information on contacting the USDA or a sample letter, visit FOSH’s website at www.fosh.info. The first USDA APHIS Listening Session will be held on February 8, 2006, from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm at the Blue Ribbon Circle Club on the Celebration show grounds in Shelbyville, TN. A second session will be held on March 13, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center in Springfield, MO. Listening sessions will also be held in Chattanooga, TN, Pomona, CA, and Dallas, TX. FOSH is a national leader in the promotion of natural, sound gaited horses and in the fight against abuse and soring of Tennessee Walking Horses. For more information about FOSH or to become a member, please visit www.fosh.info or call 1-800-651-7993. Data on Gaited Horse Show Soring Violations By Each Reporting Horse Industry Organization  The USDA is the government agency tasked with enforcing the federal Horse Protection Act, (HPA), which prohibits the showing, sale, auction, exhibition, or transport of sored horses. In the past, the USDA has issued annual summaries of their Horse Protection Act activities and findings. However, after their fiscal year 2000, they have been unable to publish this summary. Therefore, to make this information available to the interested public, in a format similar to the USDA's report, Friends of Sound Horses, FOSH, has voluntarily collected and summarized the data for 2001 through 2004. The data shows these HIOs with the worst rates of soring & HPA violations per 1,000 horses per average from the past four years when the USDA officials are present at inspection: Horse Industry Organization (HIO) HPA Violations per 1,000 horse entries 1. Kentucky Walking Horse Association (KWHA) 39.1 2. National Horse Show Commission (NHSC) 28.3 3. Spotted Saddle Horse Breeders & Exhibitors (SSHBEA) 23.8 4. Heart of America Walking Horse Association (HAWHA) 17.8 The data shows a concerning trend for the Horse Industry Organizations, (HIOs) with double-digit violation rates. Their rate of soring violations dramatically increases when the USDA officials are present vs. when the organization is self-policing itself with its own Designated Qualified Persons (DQPs) performing the inspections. This assumes that all shows have equal importance and likelihood of soring, which may not be a valid assumption. The following averages are compiled for years 2001 through 2004: Horse Industry Organization (HIO) Increase in HPA violations with USDA present: Heart of America Walking Horse Association (HAWHA) 2460% Kentucky Walking Horse Association (KWHA) 1630% National Horse Show Commission (NHSC) 730% Spotted Saddle Horse Breeders Assoc. (SSHBEA) 730% These four HIOs represent almost 80% of all show entries reported. This trend is increasing over the past four years for all four of these organizations. For example, the NHSC's rate of violations with the USDA present vs. self-policing has steadily increased to a difference of 1180% more violations in 2004 when the USDA is present, compared to 440% more violations in 2001. A representative of the NHSC stated that this data was not statistically significant. FOSH asked several professional statisticians to review this data, and each of their findings confirmed that the data is statistically significant. One stated, “From a statistical viewpoint the issue is a slam dunk. There is no question that the rates of violation are statistically significantly different between when the USDA is present versus not.” Another stated, “At a 99.9% confidence level (well above the typical 95% or 99% confidence level that most statisticians would deem statistically significant), you can see that there is absolutely no overlap between the ‘with USDA violation rate' and the ‘without USDA violation rate.'” For those that are opposed to the cruel and illegal practice of soring, this data highlights that if USDA officials were able to audit all Tennessee Walking Horse shows, the annual number of soring violations recorded would sharply increase. This is an alarming number of incidences of horses being treated cruelly each year (and this data only reflects those being caught for soring their horses.) Of the Horse Industry Organizations that have reported soring & HPA violations at their shows for the past four years, in total, these have been the number of violations cited: a. National Horse Show Commission (NHSC) 1,715 b. Kentucky Walking Horse Association (KWHA) 439 c. Spotted Saddle Horse Breeders Assoc. (SSHBEA) 161 d. Heart of America Walking Horse Association (HAWHA) 71 e. National Walking Horse Assoc. (NWHA) 30 f. Western Intl. Walking Horse Assoc. (WIWHA) 12 g. Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Assoc. (MFTHBA) 12 h. Friends of Sound Horses (FOSH) 1 During recent years, the USDA officials have been able to officiate at a declining percentage of the horse-entries in reported shows and sales : 2004 5.7% 2003 9.7% 2002 16.8% 2001 14.7% 2000 14.8% FOSH is a national leader in the promotion of natural, sound gaited horses and in the fight against abuse and soring of Tennessee Walking Horses.  For more information about FOSH or to become a member, please visit www.fosh.info or call 1-800-651-7993. What Is Soring? Many horses that are shown for cash prizes, trophies and ribbons are "trained" in certain ways. Some are sadly subjected to one form of abuse or other in the name of such "training" and for the glory and monetary gain in their value. The Gaited Horse breeds are victims of Chemical and/or Mechanical "Soring". The Horse Protection Act was enacted in 1970 to protect ALL horses but it came into being because of the atrocities committed upon the Tennessee Walking Horse (atrocities committed to this day and which have "spread" to other Gaited Breeds!) Some of the Chemicals of choice by the Sorers include Mustard Oil, fuel oil and other petroleum products, Collodian and Salicylic acid. These chemicals cause terrible burning pain (from which some horses actually die!) and inevitable scarring to pasterns, pockets, coronet bands etc. When the USDA/APHIS recognized this, they created the NO SCAR rule which in turn drove the Sorers (who will NOT give up their abominable practices even though they are breaking Federal Laws) to the use of Salicylic Acid which is applied liberally to the scarred areas and literally "burns off" the scarred skin while the horses lie in excruciating pain without the benefit of anesthetic. This "new" skin (IF the horse survives) is scar free but thickened and sparsely haired. Many horses, after this "treatment" have open lesions and/or "scurfing" on their pasterns but are "passed" as "clean" by the Sored-Horse Inspection Organizations when the USDA/APHIS is not present at their shows. note* The USDA/APHIS can afford to attend only 10% of the Horse Shows. (The enforcement of the HPA has never been fully funded, even to the 1970 limits) Mechanical Soring can be just as hideous and just as painful for the horses. Stacks (up to 5" high and sometimes filled with wet sand for weight) and chains are affixed to the front hooves (mostly after the horse has been Chemically sored) causing the horse to snatch his painful front hooves up off the ground and throw his weight onto the back of the spine, hips and rear legs causing the "knee up the nose, butt dragging" image of the Big Lick Show Horse. Pressure Shoeing causes appalling pain and even some of the Sored-Horse Trainers stop short of this despicable practice, though too many do not! Road Foundering is a common practice before showing causing exactly the amount of pain you would expect with "acute founder". Heavy Plantation Shoes ("manhole covers" up to 60 oz. in weight) accompanied by a Chemical "touch-up" and chains on already painful areas, also produce the sought after but bastardized "gait". Horses that are "chemically sored" not only suffer instant pain but can also be subject to Nervous System Disorders, sterility, genetic mutations, spontaneous abortions, intestinal tumors etc. and most die from Colic. Mechanical Soring, aside from the instantly produced pain, causes irreparable damage in young horses to the tendons, knees, cerebral spine, hips, tendons and hocks of the rear legs. Show horses are subjected to this torture from as young as 14 mos. of age!! The Show Careers of these unfortunate horses are short lived and these horses have the highest mortality rates and the lowest insurable ages-up to 12 years! Bonnie A. Yeager Sound Horse Organization http://www.walkinghorse.org Make a difference and join us, the American Horse Defense Fund Justice for Horses and Just Horses – we’re here for the long haul
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