The annual event appears to be more about defiance than about the horses SHELBYVILLE, Tennessee––Empty seats to the left of them, empty seats to the right of them, horse manure piling up behind them, into the 87th annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration rode 1,300 contestants in the world’s most notorious exhibition of what the […]
Trump USDA announces “Big Lick” equine circles of hell to continue
A Donald Trump administration for the second time scraps a soring rule just before it was to take effect WASHINGTON D.C.––The politics of trying to reform the “Big Lick” show horse industry much resemble “Big Lick” horse shows themselves. First the horses, whose legs have often been sored to induce the “Big Lick” goosestep, […]
It is time to make rodeo illegal, by Peggy W. Larson, DVM, MS-Path., JD.
“In my youth, I rode bareback broncs in the rodeo.” I am a both an attorney and a veterinarian, who has treated both ranch and rodeo animals. (See Who will fix Vermont cats with Peggy Larson retired?) In my youth, I rode bareback broncs in the rodeo. After law school, I worked as a state […]
“Big Lickers” & pals Haggerty & Vilsack defy the ghost of Clant Seay
The Prevent All Soring Tactics Act, or PAST Act, may be barn-sour WASHINGTON D.C.––The ghost of Citizens Campaign Against Big Lick Animal Cruelty founder Clant Seay, also known as the Ghost of PAST Act Failed, may already be rattling stacked horseshoes and chains in the offices of U.S. Senator Bill Haggerty and Agriculture Secretary Tom […]
“Greatest anti-soring advocate of all time” Clant Seay dies at 76
Walking horse defender BillyGoboy never slowed down in fight against the “Big Lickers” OXFORD, Mississippi––Citizens Committee Against Big Lick Animal Cruelty founder Clant Seay, 76, remembered by fellow campaigner Marty Irby as “quite a character and in my opinion the greatest anti-soring advocate of all time,” died on March 6, 2023 in Oxford, Mississippi. […]
Anti-“Big Lick” soring PAST Act passes U.S. House; goes to Senate
And California voters dump horse racing bail-out measure WASHINGTON D.C.––The U.S. House of Representatives on November 14, 2022 for the second time passed the PAST Act, short for Prevent All Soring Tactics, and sent it to the U.S. Senate, where for the second time it is likely to pull up lame. But maybe not. Before […]
The “Big Lick,” Tunica, & the smell of horse manure in the morning
“Big Lick” industry hopes to raise a defense fund at show finale brunches in center ring TUNICA, Mississippi––Tennessee walking horse “Big Lick” fanciers either love the smell of horse manure in the morning, or, when converging for shows at the Paul Battle Arena, miss the odor of Sugar Ditch Alley, the open sewer for which […]
“Big Lick” horses win in court. Can they get a break from Congress?
Trump killed rule meant to stop soring WASHINGTON D.C.––Former U.S. President Donald Trump in January 2017 improperly blocked a new USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service rule meant to protect show horses from taking effect, ruled a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on July 22, […]
Walking Horse National Celebration: don’t bet on the numbers
“Banned for life” trainer passed out a trophy SHELBYVILLE, Tennessee––Just what was celebrated at the 2021 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration? It wasn’t certainly wasn’t either ethics or economic success. Attendance, participation, and prize money claims included in Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration publicity appear to distort reality at least as much as the […]
Will anti-show horse soring bill pull up lame through last-hurdle compromise?
What would Marty Irby, Wayne Pacelle & Lamar Alexander think if weighted shoes were on their feet? UPDATE received on December 18, 2020, from Bernard Unti, senior policy advisor, Humane Society of the U.S.: “I’m pleased to share the news that the reckless attempt by an embittered faction within animal protection to swap in a […]