Trainer of winning horse at national Tennessee walking horse show suspended from competition for illegal activity
The body of proof of the widespread and rampant abuse of big lick walking horses is unassailable. It’s high time for Congress to step up and recognize that this racket is rotten to the core, with no intention of ever reforming. Photo by The HSUS
A few days ago, I wrote about plummeting attendance at the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, with the stands thin or bare on the most important nights of the two-week-long event – a resounding rejection by the public of the soring cruelty inflicted on horses in the big lick faction of this industry.
There’s a ready explanation for the fans’ waning interest: many of the participants are crooked and the game is rigged.
And it goes all the way from the top to the bottom rungs of the industry. Bill Callaway, the trainer of Gen’s Black Maverick, the horse named World Grand Champion at the Celebration, began serving an eight-month suspension for violating the Horse Protection Act right after the competition concluded. USDA disqualified Callaway from showing horses and fined him $1,000 for violations that preceded his appearance at the Celebration. So Callaway knew he’d be going on suspension but apparently cut a deal that allowed him to show at the Celebration. In a statement of how widespread and accepted soring is within the industry, the judges didn’t hesitate to give Callaway the top prize anyway. (His brother, John Allan, received the same punishment.)
In terms of his public posture on the juxtaposing of the win and his subsequent suspension, Callaway didn’t show any remorse, didn’t say he’d change his training practices, and did not promise to end his use of illegal tactics in future competitions. He merely claimed he took the suspension because it was a “great deal,” even though he didn’t agree with the USDA’s findings, which he said are “very subjective.”
The USDA purged a good deal of HPA violation data from its website earlier this year, but we’ve managed to dig up quite a bit of Callaway’s violation history as well as the history of members of his family (who all train out of the same barn – Allan Callaway Stables) from historical records. In addition to citations at the 2016 Celebration on which his current disqualification was based, he’s amassed other citations, and the family has a long history of repeat violations – with his father Allan disqualified at least twice over the years.
As if this utter disregard of the law wasn’t bad enough, during the Celebration, the Walking Horse Trainers Association presented its “Pleasure Horse Trainer of the Year” award to one Patrick Thomas, who, along Howard Hamilton, was recently found guilty of soring by a USDA administrative law judge. He appealed the decision (which is pending), so was allowed to show and win big at the Celebration. The association also named as their “Performance Horse Trainer of the Year” Jimmy McConnell (brother of Jackie McConnell, the subject of our 2011 undercover investigation) who himself has received numerous HPA citations by both horse industry organizations and the USDA, and is believed to have his own federal case pending against him. All these are more examples of this industry continually rewarding repeat violators, and thumbing its nose at the law and the USDA.
In the past, I’ve reported on evidence demonstrating that in the big lick cesspool, in order to compete, you have to cheat and violate the law. Last year, Honors, the horse named World Grand Champion, could be shown only because his owners sued the USDA and got a judge to issue a preliminary injunction against the agency from disqualifying the horse. They had previously been cited numerous times by both government and industry inspectors for violations of the HPA.
The body of proof of the widespread and rampant abuse of big lick walking horses is unassailable. Recently released USDA statistics from random testing of prohibited foreign substances used to sore the legs of horses (or mask the evidence of soring) at horse shows in 2016 show that a whopping 75.4 percent of all samples tested were positive, including 89.5 percent at last year’s Celebration. This is an increase over 2015, when 65.1 percent of all samples tested positive, including 87.5 percent at the Celebration.
It’s high time for Congress to step up and recognize that this racket is rotten to the core, with no intention of ever reforming – and that the HPA has some serious loopholes that must be closed in order for soring to be relegated to the dustbin of history. Congress should pass the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, H.R.1847, introduced by Reps. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., and Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., without delay. Tell your U.S. representative and your two U.S Senators you want them to do all they can to make sure this bill is enacted in this Congress.
I think maybe it’s time to send out a petition explaining to the public what it is and what it does to the horses and how painful it is and start getting signatures on petitions maybe that will be the only way the government will pay attention so sad!
What, is big kick still legal ?? I thought it had been banned???
**lick
It was, but people are still doing it because they can get away with it.
The Big Lick was outlawed ONE week before Rump took office. Within his first 24 hours in office, he reversed the ban so his wealthy friends could continue to torture their horses.
THis is accurate, Trump disengaged the ruling the second he took office. He’s a complete ass. This has nothing to do with politics, it’s about animal cruelty, but he will do anything just to undo anything Obama had his hands on, and these poor animals lie in the balance.
No. It was Mitch McConnel and his wife who swayed Trumps decision. Get your facts straight.
whats the matter with you bloody americans- GET IT STOPPED!!!!
It is very hard for investigators to gain access to these stables because the big lick crowd all seem to know one another. They try to get pro-soring people and it is hard for “outsiders” to get a job in their barns. When the show inspection is done, they can tell that some horses have been “sored” but they cannot prove who actually did the soring.
It was banned obama made it illegal the practice of soring and the show itself i believe i read somewhere but the plain fact is that when trump took office he reversed the ruling and some policies that obama put in place allowing his friends and others like them to continue to do this horrible practice aka soring.
I did too ??
The show itself has not been banned the practice of soring has been illegal for a while but people still do it
I think the BIG LICK show class should be protested WHILE it is under
way in the ring. How can I get the show schedule of classes for 2019?
I thought so too but I don’t think the state knows about it or it would be stoped
You are right we should start a petition of some kind
I strongly agree. Many years I’ve felt this mistreatment to be highly abusive and some type of organimation to step in. To use any type of drug enhancing performance is inhumane. Especially on top of what is done with their hooves only. I hope all efforts of citing these trainers and steps taken to stop further abuse succeeds!!
I agree…a lot of people don’t understand about this abusive and painful process and therefore don’t even look at it twice.
Good idea! These people have no love for the horses… just for the big win trophy, ribbon and $$$$. Sickening to know there are so many who don’t care about the pain inflicted to get high stepping. Many race horses receive a form of inhumane treatment as well.
I stopped attending events for both long ago.
Yes, I totally agree with u 🙂
Yes I agree. This article is written for people who know what all this is. I don’t know about it, but I would like to understand.
There is a petition, been on change.org for a while now.
https://www.change.org/p/mr-matt-buchanan-cancel-and-boycott-big-lick-tennessee-walking-classes-north-carolina-championship-show
Now that it’s done the person who started it is still updating with stories, findings and ways to help.
Yes. Please explain soring!
Before getting to soring – Please understand that long feet, normal use of pads, horses that have high motion, nor action devices used during training are cruel nor abusive and aren’t considered soring. Bands to keep shoes and pads along with toe clips are not harmful nor cruel used correctly and neither are horse shoe nails when put in the correct location which is the dead part of the hoof. Think of people who put diamonds or other jewels in their fingernails. They put them in the dead white part of the nail not in the quick which is the red part. . Action devices during training are light – 3 oz leather cuffs to 6-8 oz chain on a 1000-1200 lb horse is nothing. Grown men at 175 lb wear 2-4 lb shoes and boots all the time based on my checking shoe and boot catalogs. The chains work like bracelets on women – when we wear them we just naturally are always shaking them around. On horses this makes them pick up their hooves higher thus toning the muscles more. Some horses won’t pay any attention, and depending on the breed will or won’t work. Put a set of chains on a quarter horse and you won’t get the same effect as on a hackney who has naturally high action. Elastic tubing is the same as athletes or those working out using stretchy bands to tone muscles. And the below mentions cruel bits…a cruel bit that hurts a horse will make him over-bend (chin in chest, head and poll lowered below normal position) or throw his head straight into the air upside down. The huge majority of show horses in these classes aren’t being hurt. People see foam and think..oh my gosh – most of us that ride and show in all breeds understand we need for a horses mouth to stay moist and the more he plays with the bit, the better. Many, myself included have used packets of jelly, honey, bbq sauce whatever the horse likes best in the corner of the mouth to make them chew at it thus creating saliva. Some horses have very busy mouths all their life – some too busy and they will always have foamy mouths, but some have very dead, dry, non-moving mouths and these are the horses who it is tough to get much sensative training done with and little collection. I had a horse who liked copper rollers on his curb bit and would stay light and happy. Some horses like sweet iron bits that rust – apparently it tastes good. if you see a bunch of blood, yes something is not right. If a horse’s mouth is gaping wide and his head is turned up – he is trying to avoid the bit or in most cases he is trying to avoid bad hands and a bad rider. I have seen big smooth snaffles become torture devices with bad and inexperienced riders. It isn’t the bit, it’s the rider and how they use it.
To your question – what is soring. To give you a complete picture including history http://horsefund.org/horse-soring-faq.php
Now…the above in some places is a little over the top and not entirely accurate because it is a humane organization and they want everything to sound as bad as possible. Not all TWH horses are done this way in the show ring. And the percentage of “big lick” performance horse classes is small compared to lite shod, flat shod, pleasure and trail classes but it still needs to stop and how it was ever allowed to start I don’t know and by people who love horses but seem to have a “blank spot” on this subject.
I should point out – horses who trot can’t be sored in any fashion. So this knocks out other high action horses like American Saddlebreds, Arabians, Morgans, Frisians, National Show Horses, Hackneys, etc. Why, you say? Because they would be very lame when the trotted and would be eliminated from judging. So any horse you see in a ring that is picking is feet up high but is trotting – you know he isn’t sored…well unless lame but horses become lame for lots of reasons nothing to do with crooked or cruel practices and again lame horses can compete. The reason TWH horses can show and be sored is because they don’t trot which is a 2 beat gait and the lameness would show up. TWH do all 4 beat gaits (except canter which is a 3 beat) which is for them amrunning walk and it kinda hides the lameness and actually enhances it thus the “big lick” that extreme flat walk, and running walk.
Thank God finally a person with knowladge of a horse , I have owned & trained big lick horses , Done very well without soring , A sore horse does not ride good but a natural is a pleasure to work & show
I totally agree with you. I don’t know what Spring is etc but it sounds like it’s painful and not acceptable.
Soring
Dear one – please sign and share! I created this two days ago! I am sleepless due to the suffering of these poor souls!
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/sv/856/102/055/demand-a-law-that-forbid-the-sadistic-quotbig-lickquot-gait-for-tennessee-walking-horses/
And write them and tell them what you think of their practice:
http://twhnc.com/content/contact-us/
Petition: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/sv/856/102/055/demand-a-law-that-forbid-the-sadistic-quotbig-lickquot-gait-for-tennessee-walking-horses/
I agree but will it make a difference? I have a TN Walker and I would never do anything to hurt him. So sad.
I agree. Can we make a difference. I can’t imagine the pain of these horses. We love our TN Walker and would never hurt him.
I have TN Walker. He’s family. I would never do this. You can see the terror in that horses eyes. It breaks my heart.
PLEASE HELP US TO UNDERSTAND BY DEFINING “SORING”. WE MAY LOVE THE HORSES, BUT NOT ALL ARE EXPERTS AT DEFINING THE SPORT.
SORING is a painful practice used to accentuate a horse’s gait. This is accomplished by irritating the forelegs. One method of soring involves using chemical agents such as mustard oil, kerosene, 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 to accentuate their gaits.
I have seen this on videos and it is animal abuse at it’s worst.-These horse owners and trainers should be banned for this type of abuse to these beautiful horses.
Here is a portion of an article regarding soring and this statement does not cover the horrors completely. In reality it can be far worse than this with people actually using nails to pierce the sensitive portions OF the hoof…wire…anything to inflict pain on the hooves and legs to the point that skin is bare and torn and then the caustic substances causing and being placed on the open skin-the caustic substance is put on and often also wrapped with plastic wrap to cause it to purposely burn the legs-the pain then causes an even more exaggerated (the desired effect) step in the horse due to the pain: Soring involves the intentional infliction of pain to a horse’s legs or hooves in order to force the horse to perform an artificial, exaggerated gait. Caustic chemicals—blistering agents like mustard oil, diesel fuel and kerosene—are applied to the horse’s limbs, causing extreme pain and suffering.
A particularly egregious form of soring, known as pressure shoeing, involves cutting a horse’s hoof almost to the quick and tightly nailing on a shoe, or standing a horse for hours with the sensitive part of his soles on a block or other raised object. This causes excruciating pressure and pain whenever the horse puts weight on the hoof.
Look up soring in horses at the pictures…anyone who participates in this practice should be prosecuted.
Thankyou for explaining what this is .This is deplorable.I had no idea practices of this nature even existed.This torture needs to be stopped! Those poor animals .I am just shocked .
Just make use of google … Wikipedia: “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. This results in the horses picking up their front feet higher and faster than they would do naturally. It is an abusive and prohibited practice, illegal in the U.S. under the Horse Protection Act of 1970 (HPA). It is closely associated with a unique high-stepping action of the front legs called “big lick” movement in show ring Tennessee Walking Horses.”
Google is your best friend. Seriously, it doesn’t take much effort to look it up and educate yourself. Plus, cruelty like this has been going on for hundreds of years, like back in the 1800’s when people would put acid into the frog of the hoof.
I believe soring is the practice of injecting a substance into the horses legs or hood that make it excruciatingly painful to touch. Therefore the horse will pick up its feet briskly in an attempt to avoid the pain. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong…
You are wrong. Injections into the leg is NOT done. The definition is a causitic substance applied to the leg. It happens in other breeds but is as well known or publicized
Hi Joanne, please follow this link to learn more about soring. http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/tenn_walking_horses/facts/what_is_soring.html
They use mustard oil, wd40, and other items to irritate the skin so it gets “sore”. Then, when the chains are on their ankles, it hurts worse, thus, making the horse raise their hooves higher. …getting that “big lick”. Then when officials check the horses to check for soring, the owners apply shoe polish to cover up redness and hair missing. Hope this helps.
http://m.humanesociety.org/issues/tenn_walking_horses/facts/what_is_soring.html
very unfair to say nothing changed in last few years!! no intentions of changing false statement for industry.
What is unfair exactly…are you saying it has changed? Progress was finally being made against this disgusting practice and then all was rolled back and we are back to square one. This should not even be open for debate as it should not be allowed period-anyone caught participating in this evil should be prosecuted immediately! I have owned horses for 50 years-the face of the horse you see accompanying this post is a face of sheer pain and stress.
I agree.Anyone with one ounce of decency and sensitivity can see the despair pain anguish and hurt in the horses face Look at the terror in the horses eye.some people are disgusting and those who attend the shows are equally guilty.We as humans are surely better then this.Sickening to the utmost degree
Force the TWH Association to abolish The Big Lick!!! No ckass, no soring, no reason to continue this barbaric practice. Shame, shame, shame! Laws don’t matter if they aren’t enforced. Stop the madness!!!
You are so right, Tara. What good is any law if there’s no enforcement. It’s a dead law! Stop the spectacle
I agree. It shouldn’t take a Congressional Act to stop something that the TWH association should take care of. TWH and Animal Human activists organizations should stop this immediately. You can’t kick a dog or abuse a cat but you can sore a horse or run them to death on a track. A good example of a weak structure when it doesn’t protect All animals.
Suspension, and a $1,000 fine, they should be banned from the sport for life!!!
I had a Tennessee Walker. They are the most beautiful, kind being that I have ever owned. There is no need to put them through this horrendous torture for what they call Sport. My Mare would go into her paces on her own, no pressure from me & I never trained her in any way for her gaits. Callaway should wear chains & nails in his shoes. He deserves jail time, not a suspended sentence & The Bick Lick banned.
I did also. He was Big lick when i purchased him and as soon as he came down from NY…i pulled the big shoes and pads. We won almost every plantation class! This is a mellow breed. No need for hurting them for a piece of ribbon.
Well said. Agree 150%. xxxx
Horse soring isnt right and must stop
Don’t let up, Wayne! If we can get Congress to act, these morally bankrupt “so-called” horse people will be forced to end their love affair with the horrific “big lick” torture. Anyone who can honestly say they find these classes exciting and entertaining needs psychiatric help. No educated true horse person would ever knowingly participate in such cruelty. My heart aches for these beautiful, intelligent horses. They don’t deserve to be treated so miserably.
It is very hard to understand why, with all the evidence presented, this form of cruelty to Tennessee Walking Horses is still allowed? What began as a lovely breed of horse with a pretty and comfortable gait has turned into a travesty of pain and abuse. Shame on the trainers. Shame on the breeders. Shame on the EXHIBITORS who, for a ribbon, would put a horse through this. And finally, shame on spectators who clap and yell for The Big Lick. It sickens me and I believe it sickens all the other horse lovers of ANY breed. It needs to STOP – NOW.
Where was Wayne pacelle?
I guess the next thing you’ll write about is that whips used while riding should be outlawed too. Or that riding a horse hurts the horse and we shouldn’t do that either.
I assure you that the issue of soring isn’t limited to the TWH breed. I’ve shown Saddlebreds, as well as walking and racking breeds. EVERY TRAINER does some sort of soring. They’ve been doing it for decades. So lay off the TWH breed and focus on the problem as a whole.
Emily your Ignorance is shining thru!
Oh Miss Emily, most of us are aware that trainers of other breeds are also committing acts of cruelty, and there is nothing wrong with you wanting attention brought to them as well, but to come off as though you are defending what goes on in the TWH industry, and to be sarcastic toward those speaking up for them when you should be equally upset about what happens to these horses is pretty appalling!! Many bad things happen to horses at the hands of greedy people, but the TWH industry has gone beyond the extreme, wanting more, and more from these horses as years progress, and their gaits are now SOOO far beyond their natural gaits that it’s become freakishly unattractive to look at, and anyone who isn’t delusional can see the physical distress these horses are enduring as they’re forced to perform in such an unrealistic manner for the pleasure of people, so if you have issues with trainers of other breeds, certainly spread the word, create petitions, speak up for them, but do NOT attack people who stand up for ANY horse of ANY breed that is being treated as poorly as the TWH’s are!!!!
You are correct! Thank you for saying so!
Saddlebred trainers do not sore. A sored/lame ASB cannot trot square, and a square trot is paramount to every class a saddlebred shows in…please take your ignorance elsewhere
I know of no Saddlebred trainers who would be dumb enough to sore a horse. Every discipline has bad trainers, Thoroughbred, Quarter Horses, Arabs, Walking Horses, Saddlebreds, Hunter/Jumpers. No one has cornered that market but tarring Saddlebreds with the same brush as WH is just wrong.
You are a very sick person. If you think this is OK. How about we do this to you ? Let’s see if you like it.
Emily, I don’t believe every trainer does some sort of soring, they don’t need to, and the majority would not anyway, they care for their horses. Big lick TWH are thankfully in the minority, but the deliberate torture of these lovely horses is appalling and must be stopped. I personally believe that beating a horse with a whip, spurring it, and using a bit harshly should be stopped as well. If you train your horse with any type of force, you should be ashamed of yourself, and if you believe that any type of soring is acceptable, you should not be allowed near a horse. You say lay off the TWH and focus on the problem as a whole, but the TWH are the most visible and most abused, as far as I know, and if they could be stopped there’s more hope for others.
As a former owner of two wonderful TWH’s I rescued and kept on the farm for pleasure riding, I know the soring procedures are rampant and vital to “big lick” competition. After visiting one of the most prestigious TWH show barns in middle TN while attending the Celebration in the 1990’s, we made a complaint to the humane society for malnourished mares kept in a separate area from the main show barn I guess we weren’t supposed to see. The TWH is a wonderful benevolent breed who is able to tolerate this kind of mistreatment and still strive to perform and please the trainers. Is a pathetic form of abuse I am very surprised is still allowed to go on.
What is the big lick, and soring?
Google is your friend.
I agree completely.
I have had Tennessee Walking Horses for forty years. In 2010 I rescued two horse from a sore horse trainer. I have attended the Celibration for many years. Just resent years I have stopped going. My horses are all for pleasure and trail. How could you be in love with an animal and hurt that animal for profit.
Suspending the trainer has no impact. S/he will continue as the trainer in all but name, and continue to make his/her living “touching up” horses for an unfair advantage. The answer is suspend the horse from competition for 2-3 years, which hurts the owner. If owners lose the use of enough expensive horses, they will insist on clean horses and shows.
This obvious cruelty needs to be stopped! Good for the Humane Society for coming down on this practice! However, I agree with what someone said above, the penalty is a joke! They need to be completely put out of business and people need to quit attending these events!
THANK YOU Tracy!! Amen
I think if someone use this soring to make a horse move this way then put it on the person hands make them ride with this on their hands with gloves , and run them around hitting them with crops and kicking them with spurs ,and then ask them how it feels
About time, they don’t care about the horses, just the status and money they bring in. DESPICABLE.
Soring is inhumane, should be prosecution for humans that do this
He should never be allowed to own horses again. Anyone who participates in industrial cruelty should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Stop thus now
some people are just so mean like these horses are beautiful the way they are and some people don’t see that and try to make them more beauty full and that is like saying oh you are not pretty I am going to make your more pretty how would you feel and the worse part is they are suffering like if you look at Xrays the nails are so big that some of them touch their bone I feel so bad for these poor horses
I’ve seen this so many times..These people ought to be put behind bars for abusing these animals, they will do anything to make a freakin dollar!
Something has got to be done for these poor animals, they cant defend themselves!!
Just makes me Sick!
Wow if you people had as much compassion for people as you do putting these show horses out to pasture this country would be a much better place!
These show horses are treated better than most of you complaining treat your own children!
Take your trail horses and go ride on your trails no one tells you or says anything to you riding it for 6,7,8 hrs in a day’s ride but that’s ok tho.
Guess that’s not abuse either huh?
You do your thing let the folks wanting to show their horse be it big lick as you call them or not, you have no right stopping them, these folks love there horses just as much as you do,and spend as much money taking care of them as you do yours.
And these trainers you speak so badly about are probably the very people that broke your horse to ride
To start with.
Lay off these guys. Lay off the industry!
This remark shows sad ignorance of facts. Of course some of the horses are well treated but many WH are not. Try “soring” yourself and get back to us after a few days.
Oh, you are sick person . if you think this is alright. Went they are done with them and can’t do this anymore. They are send to slaughter house. You are that Dumb. Go look this up or are you one of these people who does this to your horse .
Matt, these guys, as you put it, have been found guilty of soring, so why should we ‘lay off them’? They have broken the law and tortured horses, and continue to do so.
If you ever see these TWH Trainers, then you know they work for Doctors, Lawyers, & Wealthy People that Demand their Horses WIN! So, they tell the Trainers to do ALL… So it’s not All the faults of the Trainers. Also ALL the other breeds that have a Fancy Step do this too. ALL Classes and Anything Related to the “Big Lick” & Fancy Step Classes for other Breeds would have to be completely DELETED FOR GOOD in order to Stop this procedure that has been here a Very Long Time!
I have lived in Tennessee all my life and been around horses and I think that the trainers that sore the horses should be banned from handling them or brought to some good ole time about is fair play the inhumane treatment of these beautiful animals is just about as bad as mistreating a child just for the sake of a trophy and a money the hobbling and beating of these animals should be treated the same as child abuse . So look for new laws to be enforced on this terrible thing and I know a lot of people do not know the severity of the actions of these trainers but I hope every animal lover and horse person will contact the proper authorities and get this stopped and if enough of us call and get enough signatures on a petition either stop it or stop the celebration and don’t give the owners and the trainers a place to commit the crime then it will slow it down but it has been let go so long and there is so much money changing hands it will be hard to stop now but all we can do is try .My statement to the people that are doing this is that there is a place for you when you leave this old world and its really HOT where you will be going ! THINK ABOUT IT👍👺
The TWH industry just like every other has there own bad apples, not all horse trainers train there horses in that manner. There are good trainers out there. And just because these horse has a more animated gait doesn’t mean this horse is sore! Contrary to what folks say these stacks as you call them, if you will look at these horses on these shoes there body weight is more toward the stronger legs of the horse. That’s the reason these horses can and do perform longer and later in there lives, they don’t have the bad tendon problems of other performance hoses have. So there are so advantages to the shoeing of these horses.
Oh Matt, so no. Stacks are never good for the horse. If they were, hooves would be a different shape.
AMEN Bobette!
I think any trainer who is caught so ring ANY breed of horse needs to go to court, have a heavy fine … $20,000 sounds good…and then some jail time during which the same nasty, caustic chemicals they applied to the horse are applied to their legs and arms more than a few times…so it burns and burns and eats their flesh just like what they did to the poor horse…just might teach them a good lesson….
Is there any way to go after the owners of these horses? After all, they’re the ones paying the bills. Can the owners be fined for animal cruelty? Perhaps if their names were publicized, or as somebody else mentioned, the horses were suspended for 2 or 3 years, making them useless as show horses.
I totally agree with Tracy. I had a TWH that was the best riding horse ever. This type of treatment of the horses should be banned and the fines should be enough to hurt their pockets and I certainly agree with the ban for life.
Wow, this is the most unnatural thing so see these horses do this big lick. The riders are hunched over….nothing pretty about it. All involved should be punished…owners, trainers, etc. This is just sick. Why would you do this…disgusting!!!! These people are missing some component!!! This should not be allowed!!!!!!
Lifetime ban…simple as that. Thin the cruel herd.
Any animal cruelty has to be SEVERELY punished full stop. And many activities with animals need to be bannef.
The punishment does not fit the crime. These horses suffer from the time a trainer gets their hands on them. If soring, or any other painful procedure is done to a horse, including those ridiculous padded shoes, immediate confiscation of the horses should happen. No second chances. The abuse must end and the beautiful, natural gait must be restored in the ring.
Even if the soring has stopped in most Big Lick shows. It´s still cruel to put stacks on them. The chains I don´t take as big of an issue of, but it is still pathetic that you do not want to take the actual time, understanding, and effort to train your horse to step higher without sticking something to their legs.
But the stacks, that´s a much bigger problem. The stacks are very unhealthy for any horse. They can make a horse severely out of shape. Deforming their hooves and legs, so it hurts to walk if they´re taken off of the horse. It can also ruin their torso and especially their back legs. It can also dislocate their ankles from their fetlocks. One example is Molly, a victim of the Big Lick. Her back ankles were so deformed she couldn´t walk properly, and had to be put down. I got this story from here:
horsenation.com/2019/07/09/meet-molly-journey-of-an-ex-big-lick-tennessee-walking-horse/
Basically these shows suck. And are one of main reasons i´m scared to visit Tennessee. Don´t get me wrong; I don´t think all the people from Tennessee are bad, many of them are sensible. But the fact that millions of people from the South enjoy this kind of garbage is baffling to me. They need to get out of the Jurassic period and realize that this isn´t the way to treat a horse. I´m 14 and don´t have a horse. But it brings up my self confidence that i´m at least a bit smarter then these people.