And walking horses at the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration in Shelbyville, Tenn. -- which starts Aug. 20 -- test positive for masking and numbing agents more often than not, leaving critics to doubt the industrys claim that at least 97 of every 100 horses are free of soring and their owners and trainers in compliance with the Horse Protection Act of 1970. USDAs Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has a long list of banned foreign substances its inspectors test for at events like the Celebration. They are banned because they can be used to hide evidence of soring. The list includes many substances associated with industrial processes, such as making dyes and pesticides, bleaching wood pulp and making paper and packaging. Some, such as o-Aminoazotoluene or anthraquinone, are animal carcinogens. Still another, sulfur, is sometimes mixed with motor oil to make a paste that is rubbed on a horses damaged areas to cover up soring. And pain-blocking chemicals like lidocaine are applied in amounts calculated to keep a horse quiet during inspections but wear off in time for the pain to return in the show ring when the horse needs to demonstrate the exaggerated Big Lick gait, the American Veterinary Medical Association contends. USDA records show 67 percent of horses examined at the Celebration in 2013 tested positive for substances that could mask soring. Figures for other years include 76 percent in 2012, 98 percent in 2011 and 86 percent in 2010. wbir/story/news/politics/2014/08/15/banned-substances-on-sored-horses-undercut-compliance-claims-some-say/14137693/
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 23:15:47 +0000
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