NEWS - Industry to Do Their Own Sniffer Tests

***CLICK HERE FOR OUR BLOG POST OF PEOPLE AND ASSOCIATIONS TO CONTACT ABOUT HOW YOU WANT TO SEE SORING END!***

So after the incredibly good news from yesterday, we get this crap.  And I'm going to rant about this one, folks, because of the sheer absurdity of it.

**********

The Walking Horse Trainers’ Association’s Enforcement Initiative will begin with its swabbing protocol at participating horse shows on June 15, 2012. The new initiative will test for caustic agents and masking agents through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technology.

Any entry testing positive for a foreign substance violation through the enforcement initiative will result in the trainer receiving a two-week suspension of their trainers’ license and all violations will be made public on the WHTA web site. In addition, all violations will be made public to industry HIOs accepting the protocol.

The new enforcement initiative of the WHTA will be administered by independent veterinarians and/or veterinarian technicians. The results will be sent to the independent lab identified by the Tennessee Walking Show Horse Organization (TWSHO), who has helped administer and fund the initiative. Those results will be reviewed by an Independent Commissioner outside of the Horse Industry for imposition of the appropriate penalty in conjunction with the TWSHO and WHTA representatives. Testing and results will take 7-10 days to receive.

“Our board and our membership understand the importance of this initiative as we continue to place importance on the welfare of our horse. We have a great horse capable of great things and this initiative will prove the natural ability of the Tennessee Walking Horse. We urge all horse shows that allow Tennessee Walking Horses to embrace and implement this testing,” said President Jamie Hankins.

“Although we are extremely disappointed in the recent joint statement of the American Association of Equine Practitioners and American Veterinary Medical Association, we are encouraged that it clearly and correctly pointed out that our action device and package cause no harm to our horse,” concluded Hankins.

Any trainer or entry that refuses to submit to the testing prior to showing will not be allowed to enter the class and will receive a suspension of their license for two weeks.

**********

And this was posted by Bob Medina on the WHC:

"I think the swabbing initative purpose is not to catch people, although that may well be a result. Its main purpose is to counter that claims of HSUS et al. Presently, we have no way to prove that the USDA's results are askewed. If the results show that 98% of the horses have no soring agents, it givea creditablity to the inspection numbers of 98% compliant. Obviously, an undertaking like this requires funds. I hope many will take the opportunity to send checks to FAST earmarked for this. After all, no data, no defense. Bob Medina."

WELL THEN, there you have it. They don't want to actually get REAL data, they just want to counter the HSUS. Who didn't even do the sniffer tests in the first place and were never involved in it.

This is ABSOLUTELY ridiculous. Participating shows = don't bring your sore horses to this show so we have clean swabs.  Now, I ask: who are the participating vets and vet techs?  What's your baseline?  It took 4 years for the USDA to develop a baseline at FOSH and NWHA shows, and even other breed shows that aren't even TWH related.  I can clearly see you're not doing nor have you done that.

So we all know what the results will be, right?  98% were found having no chemicals!  GEE!  IMAGINE THAT!  I cannot believe this industry can be SO STUPID to pull this kind of crap.  It jsut amazes me that they see someone do X and they don't like the results, so they go oh yeah?  Well we'll just do our own tests then!  Yeah, that's it!  Nyah nyah nyah!  Big babies.

Oh, and my favorite part: "we are encouraged that it clearly and correctly pointed out that our action device and package cause no harm to our horse."  WHERE, in ANY of the AVMA/AAEP release does it say that pads and action devices DON'T cause harm?  Isn't the whole point of the release that they are used to specifically cause pain?  Good God, at this point I'm just laughing at the gall of these animal abusers to continue to pull this crap!  WE ALL KNOW YOUR HORSES ARE SORED, YOU MORONS!  Stop trying to pretend they're not!  I just find it incredibly funny that they STILL think they can convince the world that what they do to these horses is a-okay.

I hope the USDA bombards them with demands of chains of custody and names of lab and lab techs who studied the results they way the industry did to the USDA...