According to District Attorney General Mike Dunavant, several Tennessee Walking Horse owners will be investigated to determine whether they knew their horses were being sored by Jackie McConnell.
More culprits in horse soring cases
Affidavits in the Tennessee Walker soring cases claim horse owners witnessed some of the abuse at McConnell's stable.
Last week, trainer Jackie McConnell was sentenced to three years’ probation, fined $75,000 and ordered to perform 300 hours of community service for violating the federal Horse Protection Act. He still faces 17 state misdemeanor charges related to soring, or illegally injuring a horse’s legs to enhance its gait.
Affidavits in the state cases claim owners witnessed some of the abuse at McConnell’s stable.
The District Attorney said officials will investigate how much owners knew and whether they took part in soring.
Keith Dane, equine director for The Humane Society of the United States, applauded the state’s interest in owners saying that horse owners who were in the barn when the soring took place had culpability.
According to Dane, some of the horses previously had been ticketed for soring while being trained by McConnell. “That should tend to suggest that they had known he was soring horses in the past, but they continued to leave their horses in his care.”