The United States Department of Agriculture is intent on enforcing the Horse Protection Act, which prohibits the soring of Tennessee Walking horses. Soring practices include chemical treatment of the horse’s pasterns and pressure shoeing. Today the USDA sent a proposed rule change related to the enforcement of the Horse Protection Act directly to the agency’s higher authority: The White House. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) speculates (and hopes) that the USDA will request the authority to ban pad stacks.
Pad stacks are not technically part of soring. They are allowed equipment for Walking horses and are used by other breeds, such as Saddlebreds, Hackney ponies, Morgans and even Arabians under USEF rules. However, the stacks used by Walking horse trainers are extreme.
Stacks are used primarily to create the artificial “Big Lick” gait so carefully engineered by Walking horse trainers. Without pad stacks, there would be a great reduction in the exaggerated movement, and horses would be reduced to what their natural talent and shoeing within whatever latitude a new rule would allow.
It has been reported that the USDA has sent to President Obama a proposed rule change related to the enforcement of the Horse Protection Act. Presided Obama has used his controversial executive action power repeatedly during his time in office and it appears the USDA is trying to get executive action to implement new enforcement power.