Inspections up, disqualifications few at show

"This year they're out there a bit more than they were last year," he said of the USDA medical inspectors in a Saturday telephone interview with the Times-Gazette. "Right now we've inspected 1,731 entries, and out of that number, there's about a 96.2 percent compliance rate."

Mathematically, that works out to 66 disqualifications out of the 1,731 entries, though that number was not confirmed by Messick, who said he did not have the exact number available at the time of the interview.

"We want as good (of a compliance rate) as we can get," he said, "and for the number of horses we've had so far, that's a good percentage. The trainers are making a strong effort to bring their horses to inspection in good shape and make sure they're in compliance with the Horse Protection Act," passed by Congress in 1970.

Messick said that USDA Veterinary Medical Officers (VMOs) inspected the barns and other areas on the Celebration grounds Thursday and Friday.

"This is not totally all new, but this year they did walk the barns again and the trailers where they unload the horses, and they inspected some horses that they saw that they had some questions about," Messick said.

"They brought some of the horses back up to where they do the inspections at Calsonic Arena. Some violations were written on some of those horses."

The inspectors are looking for signs of soring, an illegal practice allegedly used by some trainers to give the Tennessee walking horse a more exaggerated gait by injuring or irritating the horse's forelegs through application of chemicals, pressure shoeing, or other means.

Messick said one horse was disqualified for showing signs of soring on one front pastern; another was disqualified for showing signs of soring on both front pasterns; and another was disqualified for a "scar rule violation."

He did not go into more specific detail. The USDA declined comment on the inspections.

Vocal protests

Animal welfare groups have been vocal in denouncing the practice of soring.

The inaugural Sound Horse Conference took place April 11 and 12 in Columbus, Ohio, at which animal welfare organizations joined with Tennessee Walking Horse industry groups and announced the formation of the Alliance to End Soring.

"This deliberate infliction of pain upon these noble, stoic horses is animal cruelty -- no less so than dogfighting or cockfighting. Soring must be brought to an end," said Keith Dane, director of equine protection at The Humane Society of the United States, in an official statement following the conference.

"This alliance will inform the public, the media and members of Congress of this inhumane practice and put violators on notice that the American people will no longer tolerate this criminal abuse of horses," Dane said.

Other members of the alliance are the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Animal Welfare Institute, the American Horse Defense Fund, Friends of Sound Horses and the Horse Protection Commission.

Joint effort

Though the NHSC's Designated Qualified Persons have inspected the barn and unloading areas during the past few years, this is the first time the USDA has been involved in inspecting those areas, Messick said.

"This is not actually the first time we've had individuals monitoring those areas," he said. "We've done this the past few years. This is a joint effort between the DQPs and the USDA to enforce the Horse Protection Act."

He said the total number of disqualifications through Friday night was "running close to what it was last year."

The Celebration did not crown a World Grand Champion Tennessee Walking Horse in 2006 after a large number of horses were disqualified, and the Celebration chose not to hold a competition in the Stake class.

In 2007, Celebration officials announced a series of initiatives designed to help ensure the health and safety of horses and people at the event, the integrity of the event, and the enforcement of the Horse Protection Act.

This year, retired UT animal science professor Doyle Meadows was named CEO of the Celebration, and new initiatives have continued during his tenure.

Earlier this month, the Celebration announced it would continue to implement its overall plan begun in 2007 to protect the animals on site, the integrity of the event, and the enforcement of the Horse Protection Act, which includes allowing VMOs and DQPs to perform random inspections in the barn area, and enforce the Tennessee Anti-Soring ordinance.

"A great deal of work went into this plan a year ago and we saw the fruits of that labor with the type of horse we saw in the ring," said Celebration CEO Doyle Meadows in an official statement earlier this month.

Improvement

Messick said that this year, the industry has had a 96 to 98 percent compliance rate.

"During this year, there has been improvement over last year, and I think the compliance rate shows that and indicates that."

Some trainers have argued that the inspection process is inconsistent and unfair, he said.

"Anytime a horse gets excused from a class, some of those people feel like there's nothing wrong with that horse, but our inspections have improved, they're more consistent, and at the Celebration, we have USDA VMOs present, and they're overseeing the inspection of the DQPs and there's a good team effort between those groups to make sure these horses are compliant."

USDA support

In an official statement earlier this month, the USDA said it supports the actions initiated by the TWHNC to ensure compliance with the Horse Protection Act

"Using a drug screening program to detect the use of prohibited substances, placing emphasis on improper shoeing, conducting random inspections of the barn area and ensuring enforcement of the Tennessee Anti-Soring ordinance, are all measures that will protect the horses, as well as the integrity of the show," said Dr. Chester A. Gipson, USDA Deputy Administrator.

He said the plan put into practice by the Celebration in 2007 and strengthened in 2008 could be the model from which other shows work in the future.

"We commend the Celebration's show management for their consultative and collaborative approach and commitment to having sound, clean horses in the show ring. We hope that the standard set by the Celebration will be adopted by other show managers."

White paper

The Celebration's plan does not go as far as the steps recommended in a white paper issued earlier this month by the American Association of Equine Practitioners. That plan calls for the abolishment of the DQP program altogether, in favor of a corps of independent veterinarians, and calls for changes in the judging standards to downplay the "currently manufactured exaggerated gait."

AAEP also calls for changes in the way soring inspections are conducted and for "establishment of a single industry organization that has governance responsibilities and sets and enforces uniform standards and regulations."

Dr. Mike Harry, who was recently named the official veterinarian of the Celebration, is a member of AAEP's Walking Horse Task Force.

Future goal

Messick said the cooperation of the NHSC and the USDA has made for a good Celebration so far, but that the industry as a whole must continue to improve in the future.

"The goal is to eliminate soring, and we are making every effort that we can to see that every horse is in compliance with the horse protection act that enters the show ring," he said.

"Those people (who continue the illegal practice of soring) will eventually be weeded out of the system. They're going to have to bring their horses into compliance."