No action taken on Horse Protection Act

CHATTANOOGA (AP) -- Congress failed to address an effort to amend the Horse Protection Act before adjourning last week.

Prompted by disagreements this year between federal agriculture inspectors and members of the Tennessee walking horse industry, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., in September asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a clarification of the act.

"Because the walking horse industry has both a long history in Tennessee and an important economic impact on our state, the senator was working to establish clear, consistently enforceable regulations," Frist's spokesman Matt Lehigh said Tuesday.

The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration in Shelbyville ended without naming a champion after federal inspectors disqualified all but three horses for signs of soring, a type of physical abuse banned by the HPA.

The act, passed more than 30 years ago, defines soring as methods used to artificially accentuate the walking horse's natural high-stepping gait -- called the "Big Lick" -- in the show ring.

Many trainers say the act's definitions of scars and irritation around the foreleg as signs of soring are not clear and federal inspectors aren't consistent in enforcing the rules.

The two Southern senators sent a letter to USDA Undersecretary Bruce Knight asking for a clarification on the rules so inspectors can enforce the act "in a more consistent manner."

The letter also asked for comment on a proposed industry amendment to the act.

Lehigh said Congress adjourned before the issue could reach a resolution.

USDA spokesman Darby Holladay and USDA veterinarian, Dr. Todd Behre, could not be reached for comment.

Matt Jessie of Bryan Cave Strategies, a lobbying firm retained by the industry, declined comment.