𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧

Well there more than one who believes just riding or working a horse is cruel.

That is before getting to the weight of the rider who in many cases would exceed recommended weight of no more than 20% of the horse’s body weight, the 20% includes the rider’s weight and tack (10% for those in UK)

So weighing the horse, and the rider with tack might be the next little thing that is enforced

A bit of historical news to remind us of how the USDA tried to get updated regulations through in 2016, going through all the rulemaking and public comment, only to be blocked by Mitch McConnell and Lamar Alexander in the Senate successfully lobbying the Trump Administration to scrap them because USDA did not have them finalized by January 2017.

wouldn’t that be a drama fest. Yes some people are too heavy for their horses but 10% is insane. I’m 110lbs so me and a saddle is too heavy for my 15.1hh pinto of average build (who never had any issues passing a vet at baby level endurance - shockingly no sore back, lameness or exhaustion from carrying a horrific 13% of his body weight 15 miles)

Are there any horse show managers that have notified APHIS of upcoming shows? Are horse show associations actually following this or just ignoring it?

I have not heard of any local events reporting anything, but I have not directly asked any local show manager much about it.

USEF handles notification for any licensed competition, including outreach. They tout this as a benefit of licensing shows .

A TN lawmaker supports padded horses, so there’s that.

Just saw a video from Western Justice saying that every horse entering every show will have to be inspected and that fly spray will be banned. That is not anywhere near what the rules say but all of the Stock Horse people are sharing this video.
Who is behind this organization?

Someone who likes membership fees.

One person promoting them is saying every horse in wedges and pads will be banned from showing on TikTok. Even in those guidelines vet exemption is permitted so I’m not sure where she was getting her info from but was point people to them.

I bet that is the same video I saw that Western Justice was promoting

The person I saw was Yourhorseandponyleader on TikTok lol

So it seems that there have been legislators touting this as being overreach by APHIS/USDA in regards to the TWH industry. There have been subpoenas of USDA and APHIS leaders in regards to this since at least October. Mainly KY and TN legislators.
I suspect the heavy shod TWH industry diehards are at least somewhat behind the push into the stock horse world with the slippery slope theory.

So the TWH abuses are “over-reach” but the rest is business as usual …

Appreciate the enlightening information about all of this. Thanks to the those of you researching.

I just had to stop following the FB page for a nearby barn for this exact sort of hyperbole. I had been following it for years as it was a local-ish place. I dunno if the older trainer learned how to operate FB or lost/fired their person who was previously doing the posting, but it went from only posting events and maybe six a year to weekly posts about stuff like this.

Colton Woods & Western Justice are just fear mongering. If it was really that relevant to everyone, you know USEF would have sent everyone 5 billion emails about it already. Please watch this excellent explanation from TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zanzancancan/video/7458812695039511839?_r=1&_t=ZT-8t0s1rC6WZ1

Colton woods needs to keep his mouth shut. That man is a hack job trainer who keeps a pig sty as his barn. I do not like him and I whole heartedly believe he runs his business off his ability to sit on a horse and “smooth talk” women in the industry. If he wasn’t conventionally attractive he would not have any clients.

I am running a small catch-riding show next month with about 45 riders and 20 donated horses.

This is what I have to submit, in addition to requesting an APHIS inspector or hiring an HPI (of which there is no current updated list for me to pick from):

At Least 30 Days Before the Event
Under §11.14 of the HPA regulations, you must submit to the
APHIS Administrator the following information:
 Event date(s), name, street address, and zip code
 Event manager’s name, address, phone number, and
email address (if one is available)
 A copy of the official program, if one has been prepared
 Anticipated or known number of entries
 Whether you have requested an APHIS representative,
chosen and appointed an HPI, or will not use an
inspector to conduct inspections
 Whether you will allow any horse to be shown,
exhibited, or sold with wedges, pads, substances, or toe
extensions restricted under §11.6 of the HPA regulations
for therapeutic treatment (View the list of prohibited
devices and substances at www.federalregister.gov/
d/2024-09469#sectno-reference-11.6)

anyone else find that weird? what happens if you say you will not use an inspector? and who is going to say “yup, I’m gonna let people use restricted wedges etc”. The whole thing sounds like something our gov’t here would do - write a grandious law with no clue of what they actually banned and no plan on who is going to administer it.

I did a final research project when I graduated (as an old person, haha) last year on soring and how to end it. I talked to one veterinarian in particular who was involved in the industry and then finally realized how bad it was that he sold his vet practice and is now working at a university. He sent me several sources of information including a letter he sent to the US House of Representatives. I found most of that letter online, as well, so I feel I can post it here. He says without soring, there is no Big Lick.

https://www.chattanoogan.com/2013/12/19/265814/Roy-Exum-A-Horse-Doctors-Letter.aspx