Monty Roberts, world-renowned horseman and author of The Man Who Listens to Horses, continues to the lead the charge against the practice of ‘soring’ in the highly competitive world of Tennessee Walking Horses. He is joined by other high-profile supporters of change including Marty Irby, the executive director of Animal Wellness Action and a past president of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ & Exhibitors’ Association.
For those of you who don’t know, soring refers to the cruel practice of inflicting pain on the Tennessee Walker’s feet in order to achieve the desirable gait known as the “Big Lick” movement. Tools of the cruel trade include large stacked shoes and ankle chains to create lingering pain so the horse steps higher and snappier.
Further indignities for the sake of “aesthetics” include the horse’s tail tendons being severed, and the horse having to endure living with a tail set in a device that maintains a full break. The horses are then forced to endure further pain with the use of a “U” shaped stand under the tail to keep it in the high-crested shape that the breed is known for.