Soring

Soring is the use of chemicals, pressure or devices to cause pain to the front feet and legs of horses when they touch the ground.

It is closely associated with a unique high-stepping action of the front legs called "big lick" movement in show ring Tennessee Walking Horses.

Under normal circumstances, "big lick" action is normally created by horseshoes that have added pads and weight (sometimes called "stacks"), usually combined with additional weighted chains or rollers placed around the pasterns to create dramatic, high-stepping action of the horse's front legs, desired in the horse show ring.

Practitioners of soring do so because they believe that the pain associated with this practice exaggerates the "big lick" to a greater degree and gives them a competitive edge over horses that are not treated in this manner.

Tennessee Walking Horses are not allowed to be shown without passing a USDA and HPA physical inspection for current and past evidence of soring.

While controversy also surrounds the use of long toes, stacked pads and weighted chains around the pasterns to enhance a horse’s gait, this is separate from the practice of soring.

These methods include excessively heavy weighted chains, use of tacks deliberately placed under the shoe into the "white line", or quick, of the hoof, trimming the sole of the hoof to the point that it bleeds or is bruised, increasing the weight of the stacked pads by driving in a large number of concealed nails and the controversial practice of "soring", which is the application of a caustic chemical agent to the pastern of the front legs to cause pain when the chains bang against the pastern with every step.

This results in the "squatting" body outline (hindquarters extremely lowered, forelegs flung very high) typical of the "big lick" horse.

[2] The HPA,[3] created specifically to stop such practices and to monitor the Tennessee Walking Horse in particular, prohibits the use of soring agents.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), part of the USDA, is working with the industry to enforce the law.

Trainers sometimes place objects, such as metal beads, nails, or screws, under the pad, causing intense pressure, although this practice has begun to decrease with the use of fluoroscopy to detect such methods.

The movement of a chain over a chemically traumatized area of the leg increases the painful response, resulting in the exaggerated gait.

[11] However, the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders' and Exhibitors' Association, which sanctions many shows, is not affiliated with the USEF and exempts some devices.

Normally, single relatively thin pads, either flat or with a small wedge-shape, are used with horseshoes in many circumstances and can protect the sole of the hoof or make simple alterations to action.

Stacks of pads that are built up on a horseshoe have a metal band that runs across the front of the hoof to help keep them on the horse's foot.

[1] Considered legal "action devices" in the industry, chains themselves are not harmful, but they rub against the already irritated skin and increase the horse’s pain.

In response, his gait becomes flashy: He picks up his sored feet more quickly and lifts them higher than normal, and he shifts some of his weight to his hind end to escape the pain up front.Soring has been prohibited at sales and shows for decades but is still practiced.

A new device known as a "sniffer" (also used to detect the chemical presence of bombs in airport security), whereby swabbed samples are taken from the horse and then "sniffed", can now be employed.

In a video shot by the Humane Society of the United States, high-profile trainer Jackie McConnell is seen beating horses, using electric cattle prods, and soring their hooves with caustic chemicals.

[16] In April 2024, the USDA announced a new federal rule, effective February 2025, strengthening the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's enforcement of the Horse Protection Act regarding soring.

Once a prominent figure in the industry and hall of fame trainer, in 2012 McConnell pleaded guilty to 12 counts of animal cruelty and of violating the federal Horse Protection Act.

[21][22] Formal sanctions were imposed on Jackie McConnell by the US Department of Agriculture pursuant to the Horse Protection Act numerous times between 1979 and 2012.

According to Roy Exum of The Chattanoogan, "McConnell has a known record that includes over 30 unbroken years of persistent violations of the federal Horse Protection Act, but because laws have been so lax, he has done little more than wink and continue on his way.

In September 1989, McConnell was charged for exhibiting Executive Order (owned by Floyd Sherman) in the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration in Shelbyville while sore.

In May 1979, he entered the sored horse Threat's Black Power in the Ninth Annual Fun Show in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

[28] After ABC News aired the footage, McConnell was banned for life from the Tennessee Walking Horse organization's biggest event and stricken from its hall of fame.

[29] In September 2012, McConnell was found in violation of the federal Horse Protection Act; he was sentenced to three years probation and fined $75,000.

"[28] In 2013 Lee and Mike McGartland entered a horse named The Royal Dollar in the 74th annual Red Carpet Show of the South.

They sued the USDA, on the grounds that "the enforcement program denies due process to those accused of violations and breaks privacy laws by publishing personal information."