WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has proposed a rule to strengthen Horse Protection Act requirements. These proposed changes aim to eliminate horse soring, a cruel and inhumane practice that gives horse owners and trainers an unfair advantage in walking horse competitions.
Walking horses are known for possessing a naturally high gait, but to be more successful in competitions, some owners and trainers use improper training methods to exaggerate a horse’s gait. These inhumane methods may cause the horse to suffer from physical pain, distress, inflammation or lameness while walking and moving.
The proposed changes include relieving horse industry organizations and associations of all of their regulatory responsibilities, which will eliminate potential conflicts of interest and ensure impartiality of inspections; establishing qualifying criteria for people applying to be inspectors, as well as processes for denying applications; allowing event management to appoint an APHIS representative to conduct inspections; prohibiting any device, method, practice, or substance that could mask evidence of soring; clarifying the “scar rule” by modifying the description of visible changes that indicate soring, and; amending recordkeeping and reporting requirements for management at horse shows, exhibitions, sales, and auctions to increase oversight and prevent those that have been previously disqualified from participating in events.
Together, these changes will allow APHIS to screen, train and authorize qualified persons to conduct inspections at horse shows, horse exhibitions, horse sales and horse auctions to ensure compliance with the HPA. The HPA is a federal law that prohibits sored horses from participating in shows, exhibitions, sales or auctions. The HPA also prohibits the transportation of sored horses to or from any of these events. This proposed rule may be viewed at federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2023-17814/horse-protection.
