According to a Tennessee Humane Society press release, federal authorities have indicted four people in Tennessee on horse soring charges including a renowned horse trainer.
A 52-count indictment that has been filed with the Federal Court charges that Tennessee Walking Horse trainer Jackie McConnell and three associates applied prohibited substances such as mustard oil to the pastern area of horses to sore them in order to produce an exaggerated gait.
Illegal soring of Tennessee walking horses
Renowned horse trainer and three others indicted for horse soring.
According to the press release, the Humane Society is helping the Tennessee 25th Judicial District Attorney General's Office, the US Atorney's Office and the US Department of Agriculture Office with the rescue of horses from McConnell's training operation.
Horse soring which has been outlawed for over 40 years is an abusive and prohibited practice that is associated in part with the production of "big lick" movement in Tennessee Walking Horses.
It involves using chemical agents such as mustard oil, diesel fuel, kerosene, salicylic acid, and other caustic substances on the pasterns, bulbs of the heel, or coronary bands of the horses, causing burning or blistering of the horses' legs in order to accentuate their gaits.
These chemicals are harmful, usually quite toxic and sometimes carcinogenic, such that trainers must use a brush and wear gloves when applying them. The treated area is then often wrapped in plastic while the chemicals are absorbed. The chemical agents cause extreme pain, and usually lead to scarring.
The Horse Protection Act of 1970, created specifically to stop such practices and to monitor the TWH in particular, prohibits the use of soring agents. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), part of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is working with the industry to enforce the law. Tennessee Walking Horse organizations send Designated Qualified Persons to shows to inspect the horses, and, as funding permits, APHIS sends federally-employed Veterinary Medical Officers to work with DQPs at some shows.