FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — SEPT. 20, 2012 — Friends of Sound Horses (FOSH) announces its full support of federal bill (H.R. 6388) that amends the Horse Protection Act by strengthening enforcement and penalties for individuals who “sore” horses.

Soring of horses is the cruel and deliberate infliction of chemical or mechanical pain upon a horse’s hooves and limbs to create an unnatural, exaggerated, high stepping gait for the show ring. Soring is a major animal welfare issue that has been illegal for over forty years under the federal Horse Protection Act (HPA) yet the practice is still widespread in some show rings of Tennessee Walking Horses, Spotted Saddle Horses and Racking Horses.

Trainers and exhibitors have become creative at developing new methods to sore horses resulting in high incidents of soring in some show rings that refuse to enforce the current HPA standards. Major industry reforms are needed to stop this abusive practice. As summarized by former U. S. Senator Joseph Tydings, the father of the HPA, “The tragedy of this entire situation is that a culture has arisen in Tennessee and Kentucky particularly over the last 30 or 40 years where it’s quite all right to violate the law and torture horses.”

Valuable information regarding the enormity of this animal welfare issue is available at www.stopsoring.com with statistics on soring violations, trainer compliance histories, judging standards, and the alarming increase in the use of illegal chemical substances.

FOSH is a national leader in the promotion of natural, sound gaited horses and in the fight against abuse and soring of Tennessee Walking Horses. For more information about FOSH, to arrange an anti-soring presentation to a veterinarian group or to become a member, please visit www.fosh.info or e-mail data@fosh.info.