Tennessee Walking Horse Shows last year had an increase in USDA inspections. In fact the inspections were so diligent and strict that there was no World Grand Champion from the 2006 National Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration – the reason? Only 3 horses passed inspection, so they cancelled the class!
Mary Reeves from the Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro, TN did a story about this – Walking horse controversy makes this year’s show better
OK previously I have talked about some of the problems in the showing world and especially the racing world. Problems meaning the things we do to horses, which do not improve horse health, that either border on or actually are abuse in order to try to improve “performance” in the horse for their specific event. In Tennesse Walkers (TWH), the USDA inspectors are focusing on “soring”. Soring is a general term used to describe a wide variety of techniques used to make a TWH’s feet sore so that they pick them up higher and quicker, which exaggerates their normal gaits, thus improving their chances of being noticed by the judge. One of the most common techniques is to use shoes that put pressure on the sole of the horse, causing bruising. Imagine, you having to compete in running shoes that are crushing your little toe! Other things such as screws and needle or pin sticks are used as well, not exactly the best things for the horses health.
Well the inspections have done both good and bad for the TWH industry. For the bad? Some people are not attending the shows. Also it has been discovered that there are inconsistencies in the inspections from show to show. The good news? The horses that are at the shows are the ones that are not being sored – imagine that?? Also steps are being taken to make the inspections more uniform and consistent, and lastly, the horse shows and the industry itself is taking greater measures to be even more strict than the USDA and are trying to police themselves. This will be improve the quality of life for a show horse as well as improving their disposition and health.
In my opinion this is a good start to improving not just the TWH breed but all of horse showing. Other breeds and horse organizations are going to notice what has happened in the TWH world and improve themselves. The racing industry will be the most difficult to change as it involves the most money, but I believe it also can be improved.
