Feature Friday – FOSH President Teresa Bippen testifies in Congress on the - Prevent All Soring Techniques Act.

Howdy Folks,

 

Today we are honored to have the President of Friends Of Sound Horses (FOSH) drop by as a guest blogger to tell us all about her trip to Washington, D.C. to testify before a Congressional Subcommittee regarding the PAST (Prevent All Soring Techniques) Act. ... FOSH has been, and is on the forefront of the effort to stop the horrible practice of torturing Tennessee Walking Horses known a soring. This very important bill is gaining support in the halls of Congress but, if you can believe it, there are elected officials who oppose it. Please read Teresa's story and then share it, and contact all your legislators and tell them to enact the PAST Act (H.R. 1518, S. 1406). – Many horses are counting on us to end their pain and suffering ... We can do this, for the horses.  … Thanks ~ Dutch Henry

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Dear Friends,

On November 13, I was honored to testify about the PAST (Prevent All Soring Techniques) Act before the Congressional Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade.  The PAST Act amends the federal Horse Protection Act (HPA 1970 and 1976) which was enacted to prevent the soring of Tennessee Walking Horses.  (Soring is the deliberate infliction of pain upon the front hooves and legs of a horse to create a highly animated gait in the show ring).   Despite being illegal for over 40 years, soring is still widespread in some show rings.

I was invited as President of Friends of Sound Horses (FOSH).  FOSH is a nonprofit, all volunteer organization that focuses on ending soring.  My contribution that day was to present the bleak picture of the current soring situation in the Tennessee Walking  Horse industry.  Luckily for me, FOSH has collected and analyzed data for many years that reinforced the urgency of this animal welfare issue.  With my testimony, I shared with the Subcommittee that soring is thriving and even more brutal than ever. 

 

Despite the industry’s claim that there are only a few bad apples, the Subcommittee was informed that the FOSH-produced Repeat Violators list, single-spaced, is 260+ pages in length—quite a bit more than a few bad apples.   They also learned that the industry’s claim that self-regulation works was totally false—when the USDA oversees inspections of some show rings, violations shoot up dramatically, sometimes 300% greater!

Whenever the industry explains how “clean” they are, I like to point out that 76% of the horses swabbed by the USDA at the 2012 Celebration tested positive for foreign, prohibited substances!  Let me mention that using these substances is cheating.  How many equestrian sporting venues have that many people cheating?

PAST provides three major changes.  First, it eliminates stacks and chains on big lick horses.  Why is that relevant?  93% of all USDA cited violations this year were on big lick horses.  Another major change is an increase in penalties for violations and to make soring a felony.  This will have a major impact on those repeat violators and also the Rider’s Cup contenders where the top 5 share 94 Horse Protection Act violations!  Finally, no more industry self-regulation which has been a disaster from the beginning or else there would not be hundreds of violations every year along with horses suffering from raw and scarred pasterns.

On a lighter note, my best memories are from the many well-wishers who sent emails cheering me on before that big day.  I was stunned.  I was also astounded that day in Washington, D.C. to meet many of those well-wishers for the very first time—they drove and flew to the hearing to support the efforts to fight soring.  Most of them went onto meet their very own legislators that day and ask for them to cosponsor the PAST Act, and I thank them for their passion and efforts to work towards the end of soring. 

I encourage all horse lovers to keep the pressure on their legislators to enact PAST (H.R. 1518, S. 1406) and to support FOSH in its battle against soring by becoming a FOSH member.  For more information on FOSH, please visit our website, www.fosh.info.

Thank You,

Teresa Bippen

"Feature Friday-Friends of Sound Horses- FOSH"

Howdy Folks,

I had the pleasure of interviewing the President of Friends of Sound Horses (FOSH), Teresa Bippen this week for a story that will appear in the June issue of Trail Blazer and knew I had to feature them here today. FOSH was founded by Cherie Beatty with a vision to end "soring" in the Tennessee Walking Horse world. Soring is a horrible practice that employs such despicable techniques as smearing chemicals on horses' legs so heavy flopping chains wrapped on their legs will hurt when they rub the tender, chemically sored skin above the hoof causing them to fling their leg high to relieve the pain with each exaggerated step. Other techniques include shoeing with nails up into the foot causing terrible pain and forcing the horse to try to carry itself more on the back legs. There are other, and just as gruesome techniques, but that's the general idea of the "soring" style, or insanity, of training.

Cheri had a vision of not only fighting to end soring, but to open new venues for Tennessee Walking Horse owners to showcase their horses. Creating FOSH would make possible both those dreams. FOSH has come a long way in shining the light on the horrible soring practice by keeping pressure on legislatures to pass bills to protect the horses and informing the public. Much has been accomplished on that front, but sadly much is still needed. (At the most revered, Tennessee Walking Horse show, the "National Celebration" in Shelbyville, TN, this past August, the USDA swabbed 190 horses and 145 tested positive (76%) for foreign substances including caustic agents and numbing substances.) One way of informing the public has been FOSH's creation of a website that provides 57 year's worth of history on soring including thousands of violations and violaters http://www.stopsoring.com/

 The second and third approaches to helping horses is that FOSH employs education, and creating fun. In the show venue their rule book and judges have been used nationwide for owners of all gaited horses to show sound horses. FOSH defines a sound horse as "one that has not been sored." FOSH will only support flat shod or barefoot horses and will never endorse any event that allows any artificial means to modify the natural gait of the horse.

First Gaited Dressage Competition-1986 Red Deer, Alberta Canada-TWH Shaker's Royal and Diane Sept

FOSH is the fastest growing gaited horse organization in the country and has become an umbrella group for all gaited breeds. Showcasing the agility, naturally beautiful gaits, fun and greatness of all the gaited breeds is their mission. They've created the "Gaited Sport Horse Program" with opportunities for owners of all gaited breeds to compete, play and learn. Check out the "The Gaited Sport Horse Program," here http://www.foshgaitedsporthorse.com/  ... You'll find the "Gaited Distance Program," and their "Equine Agility Program." And the "Gaited Dressage" program which FOSH has been on the forefront of promoting. In fact they've developed and written a non-specific gaited breed Dressage Test that makes it possible for riders and owners of any gaited breed to join in the fun, excitement and rewards of Dressage.

 Visit the FOSH website  http://www.fosh.info/index.html to learn how you can help them help.

Be sure to watch for my full article in the June issue of Trail Blazer http://www.trailblazermagazine.us/ to learn even more about FOSH whose motto is, "The Horse Comes First."

Gitty Up ~ Dutch Henry