Horseshoes in Congress: Whitfield-Cohen Letter Clarifies "Weighted Shoe" Under Proposed PAST Act; House Hearing on Soring Legislation Wednesday

What and when: November 13, 2013 10 a.m. — United States Congress, House Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade hearing on the PAST Act to End Soring



Will the PAST Act finally bring an end to Walking horse stacks, pressure shoeing and pastern soring? A Congressional hearing on Wednesday will hear both sides of the argument. (Photo courtesy of

Federal Court Rules Against Lawsuit: USDA's Tennessee Walking Horse Anti-Soring Regulations Are Not Unlawful

A U.S. District Court in Texas upheld federal regulations to prevent the practice of “soring,” in which trainers abuse horses to force them to perform an unnatural high-stepping gait for competitions. The U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations, which were adopted following a 2010 legal petition filed by The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), require that USDA-certified horse

News and HSUS videos: Walking horses seized from show trainer's barn in Tennessee, veterinarian Adair explains soring

Walking horse trainer Larry Wheelon heads to court today in Blount County, Tennessee. The well-known trainer and judge will face charges following his arrest on Friday. As shown in this video from the Humane Society of the United States, horses placed with Wheelon for trained were seized by the USDA, with assistance from the county sheriff and humane society officials, in connection with the

Jackie McConnell Sentence: Probation and Fine for Tennessee Walking Horse Soring Abuse Captured on Undercover Video

Jackie McConnell was not allowed on the grounds of the 2012 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration earlier this month. This horse, Walk Time Charlie from North Carolina, was the judge's pick for World Champion. If some lawmakers have their way, he may be the last world champion to be shod this way. (Randall R. Saxton photo)

By now, everyone knows who Jackie McConnell is.

McConnell was

Horse Protection Act Amendment Proposed: Bans Action Devices on Tennessee Walking Horses

Tennessee Walking Horse show regulation changes proposed
in Congressional amendment to the Horse Protection Act

The following document was received from Representative Whitfield's office this afternoon and is reprinted in its entirety without editing. 

For the purposes of this document, the amendment has been reviewed. The text defines action devices as: "any boot, collar, chain, roller, or