End cruel practice of soring walking horses
Since I first learned about it a few years ago, the practice of soring Tennessee walking horses to manufacture the “Big Lick” gait they are forced to perform in the show ring has made me a determined advocate for reform.
I’ve challenged the Big Lick faction of the industry to abandon its awful reliance on soring, lobbied in Washington and spoken around the country in support of legislative and regulatory action, and joined with countless others determined to usher in a new and better day for the breed.
Unscrupulous trainers covertly produce the highstepping stride they prize by applying caustic chemicals to horses’ legs and attaching heavy stacked shoes and chains to their hooves and ankles. It is a dark and terrible secret in the horse industry and a true betrayal of this gentle, trusting breed.
This has proven to be a tough fight, but I’m encouraged about the prospects for success in 2021. The Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R. 693/S. 1007, passed the U.S. House of Representatives in July 2019 by a decisive vote of 333-96. It was a great satisfaction to see Rep. Steve Cohen (D-memphis) distinguish himself as a champion of this legislation.
Cohen’s congressional district includes both Graceland and the training barn of Jackie Mcconnell, a walking horse trainer convicted in 2012 of cruelty to animals under Tennessee and federal law.
The PAST Act, which would expand prohibitions to end soring, strengthen enforcement at horse shows, exhibitions, sales and auctions, and establish a new inspection regime with tougher penalties for violators, enjoys strong bipartisan support in the Senate, with 52 cosponsors.
There is good reason to believe it will continue to enjoy resounding support in the new Congress, and I’ll be pushing hard to see it enacted.
I’ll also be urging the USDA under President-elect Joe Biden to swiftly reinstate a previously advanced soring rule from 2017. That rule was designed to strengthen Horse Protection Act regulations and accomplish much of what the PAST Act calls for.
Specifically, it would prohibit the use of devices integral to soring — the stacks and chains — and end the failed system of industry self-policing with its inherent conflicts of interest.
These opportunities are on my mind because the enablers of soring have engineered the consideration of a last-minute proposal for legislation that misappropriated the name of the PAST Act while undermining its substance and intent. Their proposed revision codifies dishonest industry self-policing, creates a new inspection regime that would turn a blind eye to soring, does not prohibit use of stacks and boots employed to sore horses, and doesn’t reach the training barn where the soring occurs.
The soring crowd has made their move because they see what I see. With the original version of the PAST Act and the USDA’S soring rule, we’re on a steady pathway to success. The last thing sorers want is to go into 2021 with these two measures on a fast track. Their proposal to revise the PAST Act is an attempt at deception, and it deserves to fail. We can end soring with the real solutions on the table already.
I was a young woman when I first encountered a Tennessee walking horse at a farm near Graceland, and it was love at first sight for me. The love affair continues, and I’ve never stopped celebrating and trying to safeguard this storied breed.
For more than half a century, from Elvis’s favorite horse Bear, to a recent addition, Duke, Graceland has been a home and safe harbor for the Tennessee walking horse. I hope and expect to be able to say the same thing for the whole state of Tennessee — and the country — very soon.
Priscilla Presley is the Founder of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. (EPE), an actress, author, entrepreneur and animal activist.