Walking Horse Abuse

[TripleDigitRide]

http://abcnews.go.com/blotter

This is some of the most disgusting animal cruelty I've seen in a long time. I'm against the use of any animal for our selfish entertainment, and I wouldn't shed a tear if the entire industry disappears.

Some would like us to believe this is an isolated case, but I'm calling bull****. Forcing a horse to walk like that - no matter the method used - is abuse, as far as I'm concerned.

These redneck, wanna-be slave handlers make me sick. I say someone start a Tennessee High-Steppin' Redneck Celebration, where chemicals, cattle prods, and boots to the face are used as typical "training tools".

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[Dmo34]

Dear god....ban that crap already. If anyone has ever seen the walking horse celebration, those horse's gait is NOT normal. And like the article said, over what a 2 dollar blue ribbon? It's all fun and games until you get caught on nation-wide news.

[bluedog]

Saw that in the Tennessean. Just nasty.

[TripleDigitRide]

Dear god....ban that crap already. If anyone has ever seen the walking horse celebration, those horse's gait is NOT normal. And like the article said, over what a 2 dollar blue ribbon? It's all fun and games until you get caught on nation-wide news.

There is actually big money to be made in the Walking Horse business. And that's exactly why this stuff is happening.

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[Dolomite`s Breezy]

As a horse owner who owns a TWH..

I can tell you.. people like this do not deserve to own any of the animals..period.

I am so disgusted with human beings .. its sickening...

It is NOT isolated.. I seen horse for sale that still had chains around their legs and open sores from the chemicals that burn their legs..

This practice of soring is so ingrained in the older generations.. it will not change.. it might die out in the next 3 to 4 generations if laws are changed.. Horses are still considered Lifestock....sadly..

It just makes me sick.. all this for a ribbon and maybe 100 $ more for a tube of semen..

[TripleDigitRide]

As a horse owner who owns a TWH..

I can tell you.. people like this do not deserve to own any of the animals..period.

I am so disgusted with human beings .. its sickening...

It is NOT isolated.. I seen horse for sale that still had chains around their legs and open sores from the chemicals that burn their legs..

This practice of soring is so ingrained in the older generations.. it will not change.. it might die out in the next 3 to 4 generations if laws are changed.. Horses are still considered Lifestock....sadly..

It just makes me sick.. all this for a ribbon and maybe 100 $ more for a tube of semen..

I don't need any trade secrets, but would you care to share some insight as to some of the "proper" techniques used to force a horse to walk so unnaturally?

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[TMF]

I don't need any trade secrets, but would you care to share some insight as to some of the "proper" techniques used to force a horse to walk so unnaturally?

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I don't have experience with TWHs but I do have experience with horses. They're smart creatures. You can teach a dog all kinds of stuff using positive reinforcement. I don't suppose it's much different with horses. Of course negative reinforcement may be quicker and more effective, but it isn't right. There is a TWH ranch right near where I live and they look like well treated animals. I don't think the sport should be banned or shunned from folks that train in a humane manner.

[TrickyNicky]

Really terrible stuff here. IMO often time in crimes against women children or animals an eye for eye would probably do wonders deterring true human scum.

I wonder how mister horse trainer would feel with his ankles smeared with caustic chemicals then wrapped with plastic and chains. Oh oh plus we could charge for the privilege of zapping him with a bull prod. $2.00 a zap, three for $5.00

[Guest SpicyMchaggis]

Another horse owner here. It's truly pathetic how some of these "trainers" treat their animals. We have a 24 year old TWH, but we let the old man meander in the pasture these days. I have never personally seen treatment like that, but trust me, if I had you'd hear about it on the news.

[Spots]

This kinda of stuff disgust me. We raise horses and cattle, along with pigs, goats, ponies, and a plethora of other animals. Never once have I felt the need to use physical pain to make one do what I wanted. People who do this kind of stuff are among the dregs of society, they are the kind of people who in a different life could have been serial killers or child molesters. To them its all about having power over something thats weaker then them. I hope a lot of people go to jail for this......

[greenego]

There is a special place in hell for people that do things like this.

[peejman]

I see little more than laziness and bullying something that can't fight back. Disgusting.

[Guest 270win]

Bad way to ruin a good animal by making it sick in its legs.

[tnhawk]

Really terrible stuff here. IMO often time in crimes against women children or animals an eye for eye would probably do wonders deterring true human scum.

I wonder how mister horse trainer would feel with his ankles smeared with caustic chemicals then wrapped with plastic and chains. Oh oh plus we could charge for the privilege of zapping him with a bull prod. $2.00 a zap, three for $5.00

I'd like to help some of these trainers and owners "earn" a few ribbons for an unnatural pattern of walking. I'd also like to coach some greyhound trainers on their track times.

[E4 No More]

I used to have my chiropractic practice in Shelbyville, and many of my patients owned horses. Some of them had TWH and some were normal horse-keepers. I would hear about things like this and it would make me just sick. Imagine having your head tied up from above in a stall all night just to teach you to keep your chin up. I heard about soreing and that it was illegal, but you just have to look at those horses to know that they are abused. This whole TWH crap is similar to making us walk on our hands all of the time. Imagine how that would feel.

[Makiaveli]

I don't need any trade secrets, but would you care to share some insight as to some of the "proper" techniques used to force a horse to walk so unnaturally?

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Shoes and light weights. Of course, these take time, and the right horse and a lot of work by expert trainers. A lot easier and cheaper to hurt the horse.

FTR, I am not a "horse person", but my wife's family had a ringside box for many years at the Celebration. They also showed and even won some. Never were into soring and were not tolerant of those who did. Those of you who live in Nashville might remember the Metro official accused of reducing his own property taxes? That was blatantly false, and was payback against my in-laws for dropping a dime on a guy who was abusing his horses.

My point is, TWH do have a high stepping gait. They are a very pleasant to ride horse, even for a complete amateur like me. There is no need to ban the hobby, just to sneak up behind the bastards who sore and beat the crap out of them. I have a bat and am willing to travel.

[TrickyNicky]

... So, have bat will travel? Let's print you up some cards and start callin you Paladin.

Ok pretty lame even by my standards, but hey what was I supposed to do?

[Spook]

There is actually big money to be made in the Walking Horse business. And that's exactly why this stuff is happening.

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Triple - I'm not disputing your claim but where is the big money? There are no big sponsorships that I can see and they have only one big event (the Celebration) each year. Is the prize money that high? Obviously, I'm not intimately familiar with the TWH horse industry, just my observations. I always thought it was it was an insulated group with little appeal to those outside.

Anyone involved in soring should be prosecuted to the max.

[vaiger]

The way to make a small fortune in the TWH business is to start with a large fortune...

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[Dolomite`s Breezy]

The natural gait of the TWH is NOTHING like the ones they have in the Celebration. Its it over exaggerated and way over the top. Same goes for fine harness horses ( Hackney, Saddlebred etc)..It is a cruel, painful method. IMHO .. they need to do away with the celebration or any other kind of event that promoted breeding or training of any animal. It does nothing but overpopulate the horse world ( or dog , or any other animal they race). And at the end they end up either starving to death, in a slaughterhouse or in rescues.

I own a grandson of a WGC ( word grand champion) I got him for a little more than you pay for a set of tires..The TWH world is so overpopulated that you can get a good horse with very good papers now for next to nothing. And people cry over the slaughterhouse issue , yet keep breeding horses...

The Dressage world has its own way to set a head of the horse..They call it Rollkur.. to break at the poll and set the head it a unnatural way.. it is very painful and very unnatural for the horse..It is horrid.

This whole issue is a sore point with me and I do not like show people or what they did to the horse world.

And if you make money from breeding any dogs or horses.. you are in it for the money. .not to better the breed..

[TripleDigitRide]

Triple - I'm not disputing your claim but where is the big money? There are no big sponsorships that I can see and they have only one big event (the Celebration) each year. Is the prize money that high? Obviously, I'm not intimately familiar with the TWH horse industry, just my observations. I always thought it was it was an insulated group with little appeal to those outside.

Anyone involved in soring should be prosecuted to the max.

I'm definitely not an expert on the subject, but I went to the Celebration when I first moved to the Middle Tennessee area, and I'm pretty sure they were boasting something like $750,000 in prizes. And I also saw a couple horses that were being sold upwards of $20,000. I know that's not race horse kind of money, but it seems like a whole lot of money for riding around on a silly horse.

[TripleDigitRide]

Again, I'm no expert, but I can't help but wonder why there are a million horse stables/farms in and around the Shelbyville area if there's no money in it? Is it little more than a status symbol?

Edited May 19, 2012 by TripleDigitRide

[dats82]

I guess I will play devil's advocate a little. I used to work in the TWH industry, and I can honestly that this problem is not as wide spread as the media and the humane society would have you to believe. Does it happen? Obviously, but if it were as much of a problem as people think it is, why wouldn't they show a video of more than just this one dude? I am making no excuses for it, I certainly am not condoning the practices, and I am not saying he is the only one doing it. However, there are probably hundreds of thousands of people involved in this industry, and there is a very small minority of people doing this stuff. They should be shut down and prosecuted, but to call for the demise of the entire industry is a little ridiculous.

I will just comment on a few things in the video, and again, I am not defending what you see. I would like to point out a few things though. They talk about putting caustic chemicals on the legs and wrapping in plastic; however, you can also put stuff on there like bengay and wrap the leg. Just because you see a horse with their leg wrapped, it does not mean they are being abused. Secondly, they claim they are soring these horses so when the chains hit their legs, it will hurt and cause them to step high. That is partially true, but in the video, they show a horse standing there while they put the chains on. If that horse were sored to the point that it hurt for the chains to touch his leg, do you really think he would just calmly stand there for them to put the chains on? The natural gait of the horse is exaggerated by the weight of the large pad and the chains. On a horse that has not been sored, the only purpose of the increased weight is to cause them to jerk their foot up, and throw it further out in front. These horses wearing the chains and pads are no different than ladies (or maybe some of you) wearing large platform shoes and ankle bracelets. There is a limit to the amount of weight the horse can show with, and the chain weights are like 5-10oz. They are not putting log chains on them or anything. Thirdly, people are talking about the money to be had. Really, there is little money to be gained. For most people, these horses are hobbies and traditions. With that said, a sored horse is worth absolutely nothing when it comes to showing. If these people are really out for the money like people say they are, that is even more reason why they would not sore a horse. Even horses that have been sored in the past and have healed scars, they are not permitted to show. That horse is now no more than an expensive pet. Granted, there are not inspectors at ever single show, but you can bet your ass they will be at the high profile shows that mean anything as far as money goes.

Again, I am not defending the actions seen in the video, and I am sure someone will flame me for siding with the owners and trainers. I do not own walking horses, nor are there any owners or trainers in my family. I just want people to know that there are plenty of good people in the industry who do properly care for their animals. Most people in the industry are all about prosecuting those who are abusing animals, but I am also not about jumping on a slippery slope to condemn the entire industry. I have been and will continue to go to the horse shows; however, I do admit that I enjoy the flat shod classes the most. If you don't even understand what that means, I would encourage you to learn a little more about the TWH before you are ready to do away with it all.

Edited May 19, 2012 by dats82

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

I know enough about the TWH industry to know that we would be better off without these shows. It has done nothing for the breed as a whole. It has put us on the map as a bunch of rednecks that treat their horses bad.

If people think this is some romantic horse fairy tale.. well.. it is not.

The horse show ring is a very competitive place.. and people do a lot of heinous stuff to win a ribbon or place or get their stud noticed.

This is not an isolated incident...

I do not care what others think about these shows..this is just my opinion and I stand by my previous thought.. They need to do away with it.. all of it.. and horse racing and dog racing.

[dats82]

I respect that, I am sorry you feel that way.

I guess while were at it, we should throw beauty pageants in the mix too. Lol