2 bills aim to rein in Tennessee walking horse abuse

NASHVILLE — A battle is brewing in Congress over how best to protect walking horses from intentional abuse designed to force the animals to walk with a higher step.

Two pieces of competing legislation would alter how the U.S. Department of Agriculture enforces the federal law banning the abuse known as soring.

One bill is backed by the Humane Society of the United States, veterinarian groups, celebrities such as Priscilla Presley and Alyssa Milano, and horse organizations pushing to end a practice the Tennessee walking horse industry has struggled with for four decades.

The other, introduced Feb. 26, has the support of the breed's official registry and the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, the industry's premiere show.

The stakes are high. Although popular across the nation, the industry is centered in its namesake state and in neighboring Kentucky.

Shelbyville, Tenn., about 60 miles southeast of Nashville, hosts the national celebration and the breed means millions of dollars to the local economy.

Tennessee walking horses have a naturally high gait, giving riders less bounce. The high step serves as a natural shock absorber.

Over the years, trainers have used special shoes and metal chains to encourage a higher step. Eventually, some figured out that the training could go faster if they abused horse's hooves and ankles — the practice known as soring.

Dripping harsh chemicals on the horse's front ankles or putting foreign objects into their hooves, forces them, because of pain, to lift their legs higher and shift their weight to their back legs. The movement produces an even higher gait. The walk, known as the "Big Lick," is prized in walking horse competitions.

The problem became so bad that Congress took action. In 1970, lawmakers passed the Horse Protection Act, a law that prohibits transporting a horse that has been sored or entering one into a show. Various state laws, including in Tennessee, also ban the practice.

Walking horse industry groups have pledged for more than 30 years to crack down on soring, particularly after well-publicized cases. Leading industry groups condemn the practice and say a small number of trainers are giving the sport a bad reputation.

But the industry has never been able to rid itself of the problem or the negative reputation. The issue came back into the spotlight in 2012 when the Humane Society released undercover video of well-known West Tennessee trainer Jackie McConnell beating and overseeing the soring of horses.

McConnell, once a member of the celebration's hall of fame, was convicted in federal court of violating the Horse Protection Act.

Keith Dane, the Humane Society's vice president for equine protection, said the McConnell investigation was a tipping point in the push to end soring.

"Exposure is not going to wane. This is not going back into the bottle," Dane said. "The public wants action. The public wants change."

The Humane Society backs the bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., introduced last year. The legislation's provisions include a ban on the tall shoes and ankle chains that mark the breed's performance divisions.

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee takes up the Senate version of Whitfield's bill Wednesday.

Dane, a horseman himself, said the "Big Lick" gait is unnatural and man made and the chains and other devices have long been used in combination with soring.

To end soring, he said, the devices should be banned.

But that prospect doesn't sit well with some trainers and officials with the industry's top events. They say the shoes and chains do not harm the horses and doing away with them eliminate a whole segment of the industry.

They support the newest legislation by U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., which keeps the shoes and chains but calls on the increased use of technology to spot soring. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has said he may co-sponsor Blackburn's bill in the Senate.

"One bill eliminates soring," said Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration CEO Mike Inman. "The other eliminates the horse."

To enforce the Horse Protection Act, the USDA has long relied on a form of industry self regulation. Both bills also change that structure.

Whitfield's bill would require the USDA to license, train and assign inspectors. Blackburn's calls for a single inspection group governed by an independent board appointed by the agriculture commissioners in Tennessee and Kentucky, with additional appointments made in conjunction with industry groups.

Contributing: Heidi Hall of The (Nashville) Tennessean. Gang also reports for The (Nashville) Tennessean.