I'm sure I break more "rules of blogging" (other than 'post more often'). Sometimes I stress, edit, fact check, save, re-edit, and finally post. Other times, like today, I've just read and seen enough the past few days that I'm going to write 'off the cuff', so to speak.
It's Celebration week in Tennessee. The world championship of Tennessee Walking Horses that used to create $30,000 horses and thousand-dollar stud fees. The high-stakes mess that became so abusive and corrupt, Congress actually passed a federal law (HPA) to try to protect the horses. It's the week that brings political posturing and pandering on both sides of the aisle, and what gets lost is the horse itself.
HSUS announced an initaitive this week to "recognize and reward" TWH's outside the show ring. If HSUS was an organization of horseback riders, they would already know that probably 95% of owners enjoy recreational trail riding, and maybe some local fun shows, with their walking horses. These owners don't care about pads, chains, chemicals, 24/7 pain, suffering and abuse. Most people will roll their eyes and go on with their riding, because they don't want to be "recognized and rewarded" by HSUS.
On the other hand, if TWHBEA (the Tennessee Walking Horse registry) was smart, they would've implemented a program such as the Horseback Riding points program AQHA touts, the PAC program for Paints, or the Trail program for Appaloosas, all of which allow riders to earn points and prizes for non-breed shows and trail rides. In other words, people are rewarded for simply logging the time spent riding their horses.
All in all, the horse is on the losing end either way. HSUS comes in, and to people in the south, completely discredits the entire argument. TWHBEA has alienated all but a small percentage - the "good ole boys" club is alive and well, and HPA violators hold board positions. The dubiously nice thing about the Horse Protection Act, being a federal law, means the list of violators are public record. Want to check on a walking horse trainer or owner? You can pull the list of tickets he's had, on what dates, with what horses, and why - scars, chemicals, heat ... TWHBEA has failed miserably at policing within its own ranks, and so the lay person who owns a TWH is turned off from showing, and many times doesn't even bother to register their horses. (Not to mention that TWHBEA's fees are high compared to stock horse breeds, and, unlike associations like AQHA and ApHC, you even have to pay to research a horse's pedigree).
People argue that 'soring' is the only issue, or that eliminating pads and chains altogether isn't the answer. Well, I have never, NEVER seen a padded horse that is sound later in life. When the front end is 6+ inches higher than the back end, it puts a tremendous strain on hips, stifles, and hocks. When you pad an 18-month-old BABY, you do irreversible damage. I don't care if you are putting nails under the pads or painting the legs with mustard oil -- or if you are simply keeping him in a 12 x 12 stall with pads on his feet 24/7 -- it ruins the horse. End of story.
People act like if you only have flat-shod classes, you eliminate soring. Guess again. Road-sore one and slap a set of flat shoes on him a few hours before he shows. Hot nail him. Use chains and chemicals up until the day of show. If you think eliminating the padded performance division will 'clean up' a high-stakes show like the Celebration, you're dreaming. The scum will move from one event to the other, complaining the entire time.
Oh, and that whole thing about HPA violations and suspending trainers from showing? They just move from a TWHBEA-sanctioned show, to a local show, and keep on doing the same thing over and over again, knowing that the USDA's budget for inspections might allow it to get to 30 shows a year, nationwide. (If you're the USDA, which shows will you try to hit on your pathetically small budget? The big ones: the state fair shows, the regional championship shows, and the Celebration. You don't care about Johnny Q's backyard points show series that earns a trophy at the end of the season.)
So, what is the answer? First, people need to give a damn about the horse. Breeders need to get back to the foundation of the breed - that was a naturally gaited, comfortable horse for plantation owners to ride for hours. Stop breeding a leggy, 17-hand pacer that only gaits with weighted pads on his feet, and get back to the days of the 15 hand rocking chair that you didn't need to hang on its face to set it in gait. (BTW, many naturally gaited horses get PISSED if you try to "set them" - because they gait on their own, without the ventro-flexion crap!)
Owners need to give a damn what the trainer is doing to their investment. You buy a young walking horse and are paying a trainer, do your research! Don't endorse and support someone with HPA violations. Their excuses don't matter. Visit their barns. Do you see healthy, happy horses - or do you see horses laying in their stalls in pain? Are there unlabeled bottles sitting around? What's in the tack room? Don't take someone's word for it -- your horse can't make the decision himself; protect him. Take pride in winning based on your horse's talents, not his pain.
Next, people who "only trail ride" their walking horses need to give a damn. Speak up for your breed! DO show them off. Put them in shows - you might lose to the sored horse, but people who know what is going on will appreciate your horse more than the poor cripple Go to a Paso Fino show ... these people are happy to let an interested person ride their horse; they love showing off the natural gait of their breed. TWH's should be the same, or better - they are quiet, calm, family horses, but all a non-gaited horse person hears is the negative press about soring, abuse, and arrests. Demand educated judges; demand better DQP procedures. Demand more from YOUR REGISTRY that YOUR MONEY supports.
