NEWS and ARTICLES - SBS Dateline of Australia Helps Expose the Truth; Dr. Blackwell, DVM Explains Soring Pain; Billy Go Boy's Recent Post

We have some great things going on within the Tennessee Walking Horse world.  If you've been following our Facebook page, our Twitter feed, and Billy Go Boy's website, you'll know that the National Sheriff's Association has endorsed the PAST Act, while the Tennessee Farm Bureau has of course endorsed the industry and their useless counter-acts.  Although honestly, The Tennessee Farm Bureau's actions don't surprise me.  It just shows us that they are just as ingrained in profiting from the abuse as the Lickers are.

The list of supporters and endorsements of the PAST Act continues to grow!  Use this list when you're contacting your Congresspersons.  Click here to view the most updated list as of April 25, 2014!

The USDA has been working very hard.  They were at all of the major shows this season so far, and their presence either scared off exhibitors or caught a lot of the abusers in the act.  They brought their scientific, objective methods, and it's proving to work.  Please send them a message to thank them for their hard work.  Click here for the USDA HPA website for contact information.

Next, SBS Dateline out of Australia did an EXCELLENT piece on the TWH industry and soring.  They were present at this year's Trainers' Show and the Sound Horse Conference, so they showed footage and data from both.  This video is full of facts and good information from both sides of the sore horse world.  It also points out several fallacies within the industry, and counters many of their claims.  Click the banner from SBS Dateline below to watch the video.

"This is not the natural gait of the Walking Horse."

~ SBS Dateline, Walk of Shame

"The exaggerated Big Lick is only achieved with the aid of what trainers call 'action devices,' the most obvious the ungainly shoes on the horse's front feet."

~ SBS Dateline, Walk of Shame

Some interesting things I noticed.

03:25 - Brain Power reacts to Groover reaching toward his hooves.

04:53 - Mike Inman states that the TWH industry is important to the agriculture and farming in Tennessee.  There is no farming involved in owning TWHs.  Only showing.

08:13 - Winky Groover has vets check his horse after the USDA has disqualified the horse from the show.  He says the vets disagree with the USDA's findings.  Well of course the vets disagree--they are PAID by the industry to be there.  

11:26 - Dr. Tracy Turner used thermography at the Trainers' Show to help identify sored horses.  The Lickers continue to complain about the USDA not using scientific, objective inspections.  I don't know how much more scientific and objective thermography can get.  So you got what you wanted at the Trainers' Show, Lickers.  Sorry, Winky, I'm going to listen to the vet that used thermography and specializes in equine podiatry rather than your paid ones that didn't use anything but a subjective inspection.

After watching the thermography webinar and learning so much, I have to say I saw the lines on Winky's horse's pasterns that corresponded with the thermography.  I can see why the horse was disqualified--from what I've learned, he was clearly sored in the past but was "compliant" for the show.

But this was probably the best part of the video for me.  Mike Inman stated, "Essentially they [the HSUS] want the entire breed eliminated, again saying that will eiminate soring.  Well certainly, it will if you eliminate the horse.  There won't be any horse left."

Immediately, this quote was countered with Keith Dane's statement: "We [the HSUS] have programs to reward and encourage people who will use their Tennessee Walking Horses in humane, respectful ways and help promote the breed to the rest of the world.  So if we were against people having horses and using their horses, we wouldn't be offering rewards and recognition to people who are doing that humanely."

It continues to amaze me that this industry is so bent on perpetuating and rewarding animal abuse with the lengths they will go through.  But we're looking at a "tradition" that is truly normal to these people.  They've gotten away with it for so long, it's become ingrained in their culture.  Plus, these are trainers who wouldn't know how to train a horse without stacks, chains and "juice."  They have no idea how to start a horse from the ground up, how to use regular horse training methods to teach a horse to be ridden or prepare it for the show ring.  This was even commented on in the video: each horse is only ridden for about 20 minutes before they're hauled off to the show.  Twenty minutes of "training" is nothing compared to the hours upon hours most trainers put into their horses to compete, even those who use mechanical means.

Overall, a huge thank you to SBS Dateline for airing this.  The truth is out there, and it's becoming international!

The Sound Horse Conference 2014 has put up videos of their speakers on their YouTube feed.  I highly recommend hopping on over to YouTube to watch the videos of the presenters.  (Click for the link.)  We had some major players that told the truth about what's going on in the TWH industry.

My personal favorites are:

Dr. Michael Blackwell - Talks about what the pain of soring actually feels like.  Click here for Billy Go Boy's text of this presentation.

Carl Bledsoe - Former sore horse trainer who has chosen to leave soring behind.

Clay Harlin - Former supporter and owner of sored horses.  A preacher who talks about his time when he realized what was happening was wrong.

Dr. Tracy Turner - Thermography information and how soring happens, and debunking some of the Lickers' claims.

Of course, I recommend watching all the videos.  They are all extremely informative and helpful to end the practice of soring.

And speaking of Billy Go Boy, I really, really think this post is important: click here.  I love BGB's website because he keeps us going with such great information from the goings on within the industry, so much so that it keeps the fight going and fresh in everyone's minds.  I just find that this particular post really needs to be read and understood by everyone.  It shows how clearly disillusioned the TWH industry is.  It also reminds us that we are still gaining and we need to keep up the good fight!

Some thoughts:

I find it interesting that the only "spokesperson" for the TWH industry is Jerry Harris (Whatajayroe per BGB), of the What A Horse show from Tennessee.  He puts together a lot of videos with interviews of those within the industry.  However, it's clear that he twists words and facts to fit his own agenda, which to me is clearly to continue the sore horse racket so he can get paid.  Sadly, Harris doesn't realize that a change within the industry will stop it from hemorrhaging money and bring back the spectators and supporters of this great breed.

I also find it interesting that the industry keeps saying they want "scientific, objective inspections."  What's more scientific than x-rays and thermography?  Scientific studies continue to prove them wrong, yet they ignore them because it doesn't fit their agenda.  I have pointed out time and time again the quotes by Dr. Turner on various Facebook pages and forums, and the industry flat out WILL NOT watch the webinar or take the time to learn what science is really all about.  But we all know what's really going on: they just want to keep cognitive dissonance, to continue to believe their own lies, even in the wake of absolute proof.  If we say the sky is blue, they will call it black.  It doesn't matter to them.  Keeping their way of life is what truly matters.  So it's up to us to save the horse.

I'll keep you updated as I can, but please remember to follow us on Facebook or Twitter @FortheTWH to keep as up to date as possible.  THANK YOU for continuing to support the welfare of the horse!

ARTICLE - Dr. John Haffner, DVM, Tells Us The Truth

Currently the Sound Horse Conference is going on, and we'll see a lot of interviews and vital scientific information come out of the conference that's goign to help everyone out.

I wanted to share this today because I am in awe as to what Dr. John Haffner, DVM said during a presentation today.  I wasn't there to witness it, but Billy Go Boy shared the entire speech on his website.  So I'm copying and pasting it here.  Whether or not you are religious or believe in the Christian Bible, these words are still important no matter where they come from.  THANK YOU, Dr. Haffner, for telling the truth about this horrid industry.  (Click here for BGB's web link.)

**********

JOHN HAFFNER, DVM EXPLAINS WHY SORING IS NECESSARY FOR A WINNING GAIT AT SOUND HORSE CONFERENCE

March 29, 2014

BRENTWOOD, TN – The Saturday Sound Conference included John Haffner, DVM.  explaining why soring is necessary for a winning gait.  Haffner was frank and made reference to scripture in how he came to his epiphany regarding the sore Big Lick.

Soring: A Necessity for the Winning Gait

Isaiah 1:15-20

Your hands are full of blood!

16 Wash and make yourselves clean.

Take your evil deeds out of my sight;

stop doing wrong.

17 Learn to do right; seek justice.

Defend the oppressed.[a]

Take up the cause of the fatherless;

plead the case of the widow.

18 “Come now, let us reason together,”

says the Lord.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;

though they are red as crimson,

they shall be like wool.

19 If you are willing and obedient,

you will eat the good things of the land;

20 but if you resist and rebel,

you will be devoured by the sword.”

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

 ”It was these Bible verses that were illuminated to me like a newspaper in an old black and white movie early one August morning. It was as if God was speaking directly to my heart saying it was time to get out of a business built on the suffering of horses. This was the culmination of about 2 years of struggle for me. It began at the Columbia Spring Jubilee where I was the show veterinarian. A trainer that I did work for me asked me to inspect a mare that had been turned down by the USDA inspector. When I did, I could find no problem with her. I repeated the exam with the horse show videographer recording the exam.

The breeder’s association agreed to defend the case and they hired a lawyer from Dallas, Texas who had taken cases to the U.S. Supreme court because they figured they would lose in lower court and they were willing to take it all the way. The night before the trial at the Federal Court house in Nashville, I attended a meeting that the defense team had in a hotel room. I asked the attorney what he thought I was going to say if they asked me if soring was routine. To his credit, he said I must tell the truth. Then he asked “Is it?” I assured him that it is. It seemed that he was the only one in the room who didn’t know. Some of the others in the room became angry, and I got the impression the attorney was a little unsure about having me testify, but he really had no choice. At the trial I was very nervous, but as the questioning began, that question never came up. It apparently never comes up. And until I wrote my letter to Representative Whitfield, it seems that it has always been overlooked. In my opinion it is the critical question. It is the question that reveals the farce that inspection is. It is all a game. The trainers pretend they don’t sore the horses, the DQP’s pretend that some horses haven’t been sored, the USDA lets everybody pretend that there are only a few bad actors that sore, and horse show life goes on its merry way. But I digress.

When the decision was rendered, the judge wrote that he ruled for the defendant based substantially on my testimony. As I recall, that was in February. It was just in time for everybody to get ready for the show season. And did they ever get ready. I saw more open oil of mustard and blatant soring that spring than I had ever seen in my life. It just sat out in the open in the cross ties. The oil was so pungent in the cross ties that it made my eyes water. The USDA had been put in their place, and I had helped do it. So we were free at last to show like we wanted. That entire spring and summer I was troubled greatly about what I had done. I told the truth, but not the whole truth. I wasn’t asked, and I did not volunteer the information.

So that August morning when God told me that my hands were covered in blood and I had to stop doing wrong and learn to do right, I believed Him. Two weeks later, I had sold my part of the practice and was out of it. That fall I was called to meet a friend in the business and he wanted to know if I would run the DQP program. I told him I wasn’t interested in getting the government off their backs if they were not serious about ending soring. The thing I could never work out was how to let some horses in and keep others out. If they were doing the big lick, they had been sored. It was and is that simple. Some of the horses can make it though inspection and some cannot. Many can make it sometimes and not other times. Unfortunately for the trainers’ sakes, they can’t always tell when. The horse might check fine at the barn and then flinch for the inspector.

Pain is a complex sensation. Individuals respond differently to the same stimulus. For example: some people like to eat hot spicy food, and others cannot tolerate it. Or something that is painful at one time may not be noticed at another if there is a distraction. The degree of pain resulting from a particular stimulus will vary depending on many uncontrollable factors. Pain is an immense subject of research and is difficult to elucidate even when working with humans who can tell the investigator when and where and how bad it hurts. So to try to determine scientifically what hurts or doesn’t hurt a horse with mathematical certainty is not a promising endeavor. And I submit it is not necessary or reasonable to expect the exact painfulness of any training technique to be determined by any repeatable quantitative means. But it is reasonable to assume that oil of mustard on the skin or excess pressure on the sole hurts.

I hear people talk about the perception problem the industry has. I contend that the problem is not the perception. The problem is the reality.

The reality is that soring is the foundation upon which the big lick is built”.

QUESTIONS?

Is soring necessary for the big lick?

If not, why is it still a problem 43 years after it was made a federal offense?

Why do essentially all the trainers active during those years have a record of violations?

Why did pressure shoeing become a common practice after pastern inspection began?

Why were the terms fixed and deep substituted for soring and the degree of soring?

Why do horses have to be trained to stand still while their pasterns are palpated?
Why do so many swabs test positive for forbidden substances?

Why when going from barn to barn did I see that all the horses in training for the big lick were sored?

Why would inspections at horse shows still be necessary?

Why hasn’t the industry ended it?

Why hasn’t a line of sound big lick horses that dominate the breeding and yearling sales been developed through selective breeding?

Why would industry insiders forfeit their friends, their livelihoods and sometimes their personal safety to expose something that is not a problem?

Why has no one stepped up to publicly refute the letter I wrote that stated soring is necessary?

Why is it not just a bad memory from a long time ago?

Scientific evidence has been called for to detect soring. There are many types of evidence and means of proving something. In the case of soring, the problem is not evidence. There is the evidence a history of over 60 years of soring. The problem is the willingness to acknowledge what is obvious. The problem is to risk the loss of money. The problem is to have to admit we have been doing something wrong and we do not want to be exposed. We don’t need to discover some scientific fact that has been hidden for many years. We only need to admit what is obvious and repent of our wrong doing.

Can it be scientifically proven that a horse cannot do the big lick without soring; probably not without breaking the law? Two groups of horses would have to be trained identically except one group would have to be sored and the other would not. That poses legal and ethical problems that would be difficult to overcome. It is also unnecessary. Who would it need to be proven to anyway? The trainers know soring is necessary. The grooms know soring is necessary. The farriers know soring is necessary. Anybody that works in and around the barns and is willing to open their eyes knows soring is necessary. Anyone who has been in the business for any reasonable amount of time knows that it’s necessary. There are a few people that I have found that it does need to be proven to. That is many of my friends in the AAEP and some of the folks at USDA. Most of them are unfamiliar with Walking Horses and the training required to achieve the big lick. Some of them think that perhaps the really good horses do not need soring and that it is only the unscrupulous trainers that do it.

The suggestion that a horse that has been trained to do the big lick can be turned out over the winter and put back on pads in the spring and do the big lick without soring fails to take into account an important fact. And that fact is that this is only possible with horses that at one point in their training were sored. They learned the gait because of the pain induced by the chain hitting on the pastern or the pressure shoe pressing on the sole. Those horses remember the pain and they will do the big lick without a recent episode of soring. It is safe to say that a horse that has never been sored will not do the big lick if someone puts a built up shoe and a chain on him and starts riding. He will walk in an odd manner with an exaggerated gait, but he will not immediately start stroking. And he certainly would not win a class at the Celebration.

According to a popular radio host, when you want to eliminate debt, you begin with the smallest and work your way through them taking on the next bigger debt until they are all gone. That is how I see the problem of soring. It may not be the biggest problem, but it is a problem; a real and serious problem. Maybe more so because of the effect it has on the people who do it and approve of it than the damage done to the horses. To intentionally inflict pain on an animal for any sort of gratification, dulls the conscience and can lead to many other problems. It appears that showing sore horses may become a thing of the past. However, considering the previous 43 years, I would submit that it is not a foregone conclusion. But whether soring goes or not if this country is to survive, we still have other more serious problems that threaten the very existence of our nation that must be resolved.

Soring is only one of many problems. The laws haven’t stopped it. The bad publicity hasn’t stopped it. A change of hearts is what is needed to stop it.  Ultimately, all of our problems will only be resolved if we return to God and He relents from His judgment on us and our nation.”

BREAKING NEWS! WE HAVE MAJORITY SPONSORSHIP OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE!

268 U.S. Representatives co-sponsor the PAST Act – 62%

51 U. S. Senators co-sponsor the PAST Act – 51%

BUT...THIS DOES NOT MEAN THE FIGHT IS OVER.

The PAST Act still has to go through the regular process of becoming a law, which gives me an excuse to post this old blast from the past:

Within the next couple of weeks, the Senate is going to hear information about the PAST Act.  They originally had it scheduled for March 5, and then March 12, but weather has been a problem.  So we still need to keep contacting them.

The Lickers had gone to DC for the March 5 meeting, but obviously that didn't work out.  However, know that they are going to do whatever they can, even throw money around and bully others, to get what they want.  SO KEEP CALLING AND WRITING TO YOUR CONGRESSPERSONS!  If yours has already co-sponsored, tell them THANK YOU and to keep their decision solid.

Many of you probably already know that Marsha Blackburn, one of the number one enemies of the horse, has tried to put together a bill to counter the PAST Act.  She only has about ten helpers on this, and the Tennessean newspaper put out a scathing editorial titled "Rep. Ed Whitfield's walking horse legislation would end soring; Rep. Marsha Blackburn's would enable it."  Click here to read this excellent article.

Plus, we still have some powerful allies on our side.  Pricilla Presley has ben visiting DC along with our sound horse warriors, and Carrie Underwood retweeted the above Tennesseean editorial, reaching thousands of her followers.

I am still working on the transcript for the thermography webinar, but I'm having computer problems and it's kind of getting done in spurts.  I did make this new image, though, so feel free to pass it around!  (Click for a larger view.)  You will get tons of news from Billy Go Boy's website, so keep heading on over there.

At this point, the light a the end of the tunnel is very bright.  We WILL get the PAST Act passed, and it's because of the continued hard work of all of you who want to save the horse that we will get there!  So keep your letters, emails and phone calls flowing!

NEWS, ARTICLES and HOW YOU CAN HELP - Christmas for the Tennessee Walking Horse Continues Into the New Year

DON'T FORGET:

GET YOUR LETTERS IN TO THE CONGRESSMEN WHO HAVEN'T CO-SPONSORED

THE PAST ACT YET!

Click here for our post with the list!

I am amazed, simply amazed at the hard work and dedication of the sound horse people in the past year of 2013.  December turned out to be a wonderful month for the TWH, and the gifts just keep on giving.  I was actually going to put together a timeline of what happened, but good ol' Billy Go Boy did it for me!  Here's a quick rundown of the timeline, and you can read it directly here.  I have added links to the confessions so everyone can read them.

January

• Midnight Sun statue leaves the TWHBEA building.
• Kentucky After Christmas Sale is inspected by IWHA; no stacked horses show up.

February

• David Howard forces WHTA trainers to join PSHA.

March

• PSHA attempts to tell the USDA on short notice they will be the HIO at the Trainers Show.  USDA says no.  Lots of empty seats at the show.
• PSHA Chair Terry Dotson, Jeffrey Howard, Mickey McCormick and Lobbyist Jeff Speaks meet for 15 minutes with U. S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and promise to clean up soring.

April

• Blount County SPCA/USDA obtain search warrant and raid Larry Joe Wheelon's Barn in Maryville, Tennessee.  Wheelon is arrested a few days later, and 19 horses are seized.

May

• TWHBEA Executive Committee votes 7 – 4 to endorse HR 1518,  the PAST Act.  
• TWHBEA Directors refuse to ratify Executive Committee endorsement of HR 1518.
• TWHBEA President Tracy Boyd issues his statement endorsing the PAST Act.  Boyd is later fired from Baskin-Irby Construction.

June

• TWHBEA CEO Ron Thomas takes early retirement.
• TWHBEA hires Tracy Boyd to replace Ron Thomas.
• Former TWHBEA President Marty Irby starts campaigning for HR 1518.

July

• Loyd  Black is selected Interim TWHBEA President.
• Celebration confiscates TWHBEA’s building on Celebration grounds.
• Celebration refuses to give TWHBEA show records.
• Jackie McConnell sentenced in Somerville, Tennessee – fined $25,000.00 and sentenced to one year house arrest, five years monitored probation and not being able to own, train, board, or have any dealings with horses for the next 20 years.
• Fayette County Assistant District Attorney  Mark Davidson files action to confiscate Floyd and Beverly Sherman's horses seized at Jackie McConnell’s.
• U. S. Judge Terry Means upholds the USDA Mandatory Minimum Penalties in a Summary Judgement in Fort Worth, Texas.
• David L. Howard announces $931,000 in losses to the Celebration over five years and that SHOW HIO in debt for $560,000.
• HSUS gives $1,000 to sponsor the TWHBEA World Versatility Show - the first time in history HSUS has ever supported a horse show of any kind.
• Sound Horse Advocate Donna Benefield, W.Ron Dehaven, AVMA CEO; FOSH President Teresa Bippen and Gaited Horse Clinician Gary Lane meet for one hour with U. S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

August

• Preliminary Hearing for Larry Joe Wheelon is held, and the charges are dismissed on a technicality.  Wheelon is found neither guilty nor innocent.
• Outraged Blount County citizens start Petition Drive for the Blount County D.A. to take the case to Grand Jury.
• Celebration officials David L Howard and John T. Bobo accept the Mandatory Minimum Penalties for the Celebration.
• Pat Stout asks the Executive Director about polling TWHBEA members on HR 1518, and she is told that is not a good idea and don’t bring it up.
• PSHA Chair Terry Dotson gets two horses turned down sore the first night of Celebration, one being Honors, the "shoe-in" for winning the WGC.  Dotson argues with a USDA VMO.
• Honors is turned down for two scar rules and barely misses getting a two-footer sore violation.  The visibly upset crowd voices displeasure and leaves the Celebration in an uproar.
• Terry Dotson resigns as PSHA Chair, packs up horses and leaves during the Celebration.
• On Friday, August 30, SHOW HIO finds 0 of 138 inspections while the USDA finds 10 of 75.
• SHOW HIO finds 30 HPA violations for the entire show.  USDA spot checks horses and finds 70 HPA violations.
• Celebration attendance is the lowest it has been in years, a decline from 162,176 attendees from 2004 for Saturday night to 95,400 in 2013.

September

• TWHBEA VP of Horse Shows Pat Stout decides to poll the TWHBEA members on the HR 1518/S1406 legislation with funds donated by a private party.
• 6,950 postcard ballots are mailed to TWHBEA members.
• TWHBEA members rally to vote in sound horse supporters to the Board of Directors.

October

• TWHBEA President Loyd Black abruptly resigns.
• HR 1518 Poll votes are counted.  26% of the members responded.  63% of TWHBEA members who responded voted YES for passage of HR 1518/S1406 PAST Act; 37% voted NO.
• Board of Directors votes are tallied.  Many sound horse directors are voted in, but not enough to vote for a sound Executive Committee and Officers.

November

• University of Tennessee Homecoming game features flat shod natural gaited Tennessee Walking Horse.  Caroline Emery rides Amazing Grace, Cat Dye, Trainer, Winchester, Tennessee.
• Full color ad announcing the results of the poll runs in Sunday edition of The Tennessean, paid for by Concerned Citizens Against Horse Soring.
• Congressional Hearing before House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee concerning the PAST Act.  Invited witnesses testify before the Congressional panel with supporters and opposers in attendance.
• The Tennessean Newspaper criticizes Tennessee U. S. Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and the Congressional delegation (except Rep. Steve Cohen) for remaining silent on the PAST Act.
• Congressman Ed Whitfield (R-KY) hires Marty Irby as Agriculture Legislative Aide.
• Celebration SHOW HIO resigns from being an HIO.

December

• Blount County, Tennessee Grand Jury indicts Larry Joe Wheelon and three alleged co-conspirators on 19 counts aggravated animal cruelty charges. All are afforded the presumption of innocence.
• California TWHBEA members represented by attorneys Fran Cole and Patricia Kryder, King & Ballow, petition TWHBEA under Tennessee law for removal of Christy Lantis as California Director.
• TWHBEA  Executive Committee dismisses all matters regarding Pat Stout.
• Nominating Committee doesn't even consider a sound horse panel for the Executive Committee and Officers.  Steve Smith is voted in as President after lying that he has never received an HPA violation ticket.
• Discussion regarding HR 1518/S1406 Poll dominates TWHBEA members meeting.  Everett “Butch” Allen makes a motion for the Enforcement Committee to revisit the HR 1518 Poll matter.
• U. S. Senator John Thune (R-SD) co-sponsors S.1406.  Thune is the ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee to which S. 1406 has been referred. He is Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and number three man in the Senate Republican leadership.
• Clay Harlin publicly provides his experiences facing the reality of soring and his vision for the Tennessee Walking Horse breed.
• Trainer Carl Bledsoe publicly tells the truths of soring.
• John C. Haffner, DVM, Horse Science Faculty at MTSU publicly provides a hands on narrative of Big Lick soring culture.
• Responding to Texas Director Allen’s Motion, Pat Stout's attorney, Clant M. Seay, releases the Greg Cook, CPA, Cook and Co., Detailed Breakdown, State by State and Region, along with a graphic of a color map of the United States indicating support and non-support for the PAST Act. (included below).
• Priscilla Presley notifies Celebration that the Graceland Challenge Trophy will be rescinded over the continued soring and “inhumane treatment” of horses at The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration.
• California attorney and former TWHBEA Director Fran Cole persists in representing California TWHBEA groups efforts to have removal vote on Director Christy Lantis to be done by secret written ballot.
• TWHBEA Senior VP Walt Chism denies California TWHBEA members the right to vote on Lantis removal by secret written ballot and engages in internet discussion with Directors regarding TWHBEA’s legal position.
• TWHBEA President Steve Smith responds to “internet Chatter” and writes a letter to TWHBEA directors.  He lectures them on being involved in “squabble” that is wasting TWHBEA resources, and promises to “promote our breed to new heights”.

Then today, Eric Gray, a former TWH farrier, came out with a letter about pressure shoeing and how it works.  Click here to read it.  From his letter:

First a little history: when you pulled shoes back in the mid 90s, back before the machines, it wasn’t uncommon to find a half of a halter ring sitting behind the white line and in front of the frog of a horse that had been trimmed with a shaved down, flat sole.  I’ve personally found all sorts of things on big lick horses between the top of the nail pad and the bottom of the hoof, things like strings of quarters glued together, heel springs with bouncy balls melted on to the area of the frog, nail pads that were ground down at the edges but domed at the center and hammer shims of metal including steel.  Flat shod horses weren’t immune to the problem, either. Tall beads of weld around the inside toe area of the surface of the foot caused painful sole pressure and there were other tricks as well.

Melted?  MELTED???  I am just shaking my head at that.  I know I shouldn't be, but I am constantly shocked at the lengths people will go to to torture animals.

But what's most shocking is this:

I have seen horses left standing in crossties overnight, days before a show to keep them from lying down and escaping the pressure in their feet.  I once arrived at a barn in the early morning to find a horse dead, still hanging from the crossties. The autopsy revealed stress colic due to unexplainable circumstances.

I used to keep a list of horses that were listed in the Voice magazines that had died due to colic.  They weren't exactly old horses, either.  It just seemed suspicious to me since it seemed several horses died each month from colic.  What are the people in Tennessee doing that these horses keep dying of colic?  I wish I had kept that list.

Some huge news from Graceland also hit the computer screen.  Priscilla Presley, Elvis Presley's wife, came out and will be taking back the trophy she and Elvis donated to the Celebration.  Click here to read the story.

Here is the Lickers' response:

"'Cillia, get me another six, a set of peppers, and a tie down"

"I am a big licker to the core baby..."

This was posted on the Walking Horse Chat.  It was a rolling gif, so photos were taken of it.  I cannot believe how cruel some people can be.  I'm sure Ms. Presley was looked upon fondly by them.  Now they are going to treat her like garbage.  My take is that if you don't agree with their twisted need to torture animals for fun and profit, then you're blacklisted and must be attacked.  I imagine that if even Phil from Duck Dynasty publicly said soring is cruel and needs to stop, he'd suddenly be torn to pieces as well.

Even better (or worse): this is a COPYRIGHTED image, so basically Tommy Williams, the owner of the WHC, is going to be in a lot of trouble once this information gets out.  (Photo is copyright Authentic Brands Group.)

As stated before, Attorney Clant Seay released information regarding the PAST Act Poll along with an excellent graphic to show how the PAST Act is viewed across the United States.  Here's the graphic.

You can click on the map to make it larger, but here's the rundown of the percentages. These are based on the 26% of members who responded to the PAST Act Poll.  Green states are the states that voted for the PAST Act.  Pink states are those that voted against it, and blue states are evenly divided between yes and no.  The percentages below are pro-YES.  I think it's pretty clear where the population of the United States that are TWH owners/breeders/trainers/exhibitors/riders stands.

Alabama - 39%
Alaska - 100%
Arizona - 100%
Arkansas - 53%
California - 79%
Colorado - 100%
Connecticut - 100%
Delaware - 100%
Florida - 89%
Georgia - 48%
Hawaii - No votes
Idaho - 86%
Illinois - 82%
Indiana - 100%
Iowa - 82%
Kansas - 100%
Kentucky - 43%
Louisiana - 70%
Maine - 100%
Maryland - 87%
Massachusetts - 100%
Michigan - 95%
Minnesota - 90%
Mississippi - 42%
Missouri - 63%
Montana - 100%
Nebraska - 100%
Nevada - 100%
New Hampshire - 100%
New Jersey - 100%
New Mexico - 100%
New York - 100%
North Carolina - 48%
North Dakota -100%
Ohio - 67%
Oklahoma - 90%
Oregon - 80%
Pennsylvania - 94%
Rhode Island - 100%
South Carolina - 51%
South Dakota - 100%
Tennessee - 32%
Texas - 78%
Utah - 82%
Vermont - 100%
Virginia - 67%
Washington - 81%
West Virginia - 74%
Wisconsin - 84%
Wyoming - 100%

Finally, this showed up in my inbox.

You can click on the picture to make it larger so you can read it.  From what I see, we're looking at quite the witch hunt here.  From what I understand, Marty Irby went to BL barns as the TWHBEA President, and if people welcomed him on their property, there isn't much that they can do about it now.  It's not like Marty ran around reporting who's soring horses; otherwise we'd be seeing a lot more raids going on.  Again, the WHTA has something up their sleeve to distract from what the real problem is: TO END SORING.  This is how they deal with soring: attack and "get" anyone who no longer agrees with it and is standing up against it.  If they were this bullheaded about ending soring, it would have stopped 40 years ago.

I want to thank each and every one of you who has helped out in the fight to save the horses.  Whether it's  phone call, a vote, a letter, an email, signing a petition, sharing information, it doesn't take much to keep our work going and to keep the abuse in the spotlight.  In 2014, The Year of the Horse, I believe we WILL see the PAST Act pass, and we will see a solid beginning to the end of soring for good!

NEWS and ARTICLES - TWHBEA Disappoints the Sound Members Again, But There Is an Alternative

Some of you might already know about this, but I'll post it anyway.

Unfortunately, even after all of our hard work to get sound supporters on the board, the Lickers still prevailed.  There just weren't enough sound people voted onto the board--it was a simple fact of numbers.  Plus, I know a lot of folks who are on the sound side couldn't make it because of the weather, and since TWHBEA is still living in the 1960s, they won't allow conference calls to make these decisions per their by-laws.

So, the Lickers, as predicted, ignored Pat Stout's poll and the clear requests to vote sound by the members.

Side note: Last year, any of the directors put together a request to start allowing conference calls and electronic voting.  It was shown how much money it would save TWHBEA than sending out paper ballots (to the tune of thousands of dollars).  They denied the request.  I speculate that it's most likely because they know that the Lickers will lose control of TWHBEA if they actually allow anyone outside of TN to vote or participate electronically.

From the Walking Horse Chat (and yes, WHC is pro-Big Lick)...

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TWHBEA Opposes PAST Act
Sunday, December 08, 2013

The Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders' & Exhibitors' Association's International Board of Directors overwhelmingly supported a motion to oppose the legislation introduced by Congressman Ed Whitfield at its annual board meeting on December 7, 2013. The motion read as follows:

The International Board of Directors of the TWHBEA strongly opposes the legislation introduced by Representative Whitfield in the U.S. House of Representatives; the legislation introduced by Senator Kelly Ayotte in the U.S. Senate; and any other legislation which would make it illegal to ride or show a sound Tennessee Walking Horse.

Both of these proposed laws would make it a federal crime to show sound, healthy Tennessee Walking Horses which have never been sored, unless those horses are shown barefooted or in an "unweighted" shoe.

The great majority of Tennessee Walking Horses are shown in weighted shoes and some in pads and action devices, meeting the strict guidelines of the various divisions and the detailed regulations of the USDA. This equipment does not harm the horse.

These proposed laws would also abolish the HIO inspection system now approved and supervised by the USDA. If this system is abolished, the great majority of show horses will not be inspected or protected.

The International Board of Directors of the TWHBEA strongly supports working with the USDA and other appropriate industry stakeholders to identify and use objective, scientifically reliable testing methods to identify and eliminate sore horses.

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Never mind the fact that TWHBEA was sent a letter by Congressmen Whitfield and Cohen explaining exactly what the "weighted shoes" portion of the PAST Act will mean, and the OIG report of 2010 that proved that the HIOs are not doing their jobs.

In their ongoing effort to keep the sore horse in the ring, they have also re-retracted their attack on Pat Stout.  Of course, this makes no sense...but here are the facts from Billy Go Boy's website.  Click here for their article.

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AS PREDICTED, BIG LICK SORE CROWD TAKES OVER AT TWHBEA – SOUND HORSE FOLKS SWEPT OUT THE DOOR – PAT STOUT HR 1518/S 1406 POLL VENDETTA WITCH HUNT CONTINUES
Posted on December 7, 2013

LEWISBURG, TN – The TWHBEA Directors elected a new Executive Committee, and a Director from Texas Everett “Butch” Allen who campaigned on a radical Big Lick platform made a Motion to send the Pat Stout matter back to the Enforcement Committee. The Motion passed.  It is not clear what the Enforcement Committee is supposed to do. The new Chairman of the Enforcement Committee is Tom Kakassy who was one of the biased conflicted persons who quarterbacked the September 27, 2013 lynch mob which tried to excommunicate Pat Stout at that time for Polling the TWHBEA membership on the HR 1518/S 1406 legislation. Kakassy prepared a Complaint and distributed it at the meeting, but did not pay the $250.00 and file it.

The former Executive Committee on whose watch all of it happened, after reviewing an Enforcement Committee report by Denise Bader Keyser, voted unanimously on Friday, December 6, 2013 to dismiss all matters involving Pat Stout.

Pat Stout, VP Horse Shows, sent ballots to 6,945 TWHBEA members seeking a YES or NO vote on HR 1518, PAST Act. The TWHBEA members voted a landslide 63% in favor of passage of HR 1518/S1406, PAST Act, which will remove the pads and chains from show horses, eliminate the corrupt HIO self regulation system and make Horse Soring a federal felony. An outstanding 26% of the members participated in the Poll.

The new Executive Committee is expected to now oppose HR 1518/S 1406 against the expressed will of its members. It will be interesting to see if they want to try and make a martyr out of Pat Stout for just asking the members how they felt on an ultimately important issue.

The newly elected Executive Committee is:

Pres. Stephen Smith – (HPA VIOLATION)
Senior VP Walter Chism;
Admin/fiscal Christy Lantis;
Breeders David Williams; (EMPLOYED BY HPA VIOLATOR)
Exhibitors Denise Keyser; (HUSBAND – HPA VIOLATION)
Performance Ford Gates;
Pleasure Jessica Hlebak;
Marketing Ashley Wadsworth;
Training/welfare Dr Lynda Montgomery; (HPA VIOLATION)
Bylaws/ enforcement Tom Kakassy; – (“PROUD” HPA VIOLATOR)
Youth Sherrie White;
Secretary Loren Sanderson

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So, I don't know about any of you, but I'm going to be asking for my money back.  TWHBEA clearly does not care about their members' opinions, needs and wants...so why should I care about them?

Now, as an alternative, I want to talk about a new association: The World Walking Horse Association.

Click here for link to the website.

This has actually been a goal of mine for quite some time, but someone else beat me to it!  Honestly, I'm so thrilled to actually be a part of this, though.  I heard about it, contacted the WWHA, and they were kind enough to offer me a position as Vice President of Operations.  I am also in charge of the breed registration portion of the association.

To explain, the World Walking Horse Association is going to be an alternative for those who don't want to register their horses, show, or affiliate their activities with any of the HIOs or associations that are supporting the sore horse.  WWHA has two major missions: to be both FOR THE HORSE and FOR THE MEMBERS.

WWHA has announced we are FOR the PAST Act, and the goal is to provide a safe and sound location for all Walking Horse (WH) activities, including showing, trail riding, competitive riding, versatility, youth programs, registration, etc.  The goal within the next year will be to ask all the sound HIOs, local clubs, 4-H groups, trail riding associations, competitive trail associations, and all kinds of places where WHs are being shown and ridden so people can gain points to win high-point awards with WWHA.  We will recognize horses for their achievements in ALL areas of riding, not just the show ring.  We also will put together a dressage program and maybe one day (dream of all dreams) work with the USEF to get the WH into their good graces.  We want to include everyone, no matter their age or affiliations.  Eventually, we will have WWHA shows and events where the focus is NOT what's on the horses' feet, but rather the horse's way of going.

We are still working out lots of details.  You can read all about what we're doing on the website.  January 1st will be when we roll out the registration (including a hardship registry for horses that are at least 1/2 WH).  We're also going to have a contest where members can present new ideas for logos and members can vote on the official logo for WWHA.  We're going to keep you UTD on all our happenings on our Facebook page: click here.

We really, really want to provide a place that is truly focusing on the horse and the members, where members have a voice, and that voice is to protect the horse.  So I hope you will consider joining us!  Stay tuned to the WWHA website and FB page for more!

BREAKING NEWS - Larry Wheelon and Three Others Indicted by Grand Jury for Animal Cruelty

**EDITED 12-4-13 to include the final article listed**

I don't think my day could get any better than this.  Click here for the article from The Daily Times.

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Wheelon, Gunter, Lunsford, Primm indicted for animal cruelty by grand jury
Iva Butler (ivab@thedailytimes.com)

Four men were indicted by the Blount County Grand Jury Monday with 17 counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, including long-time Blount County Tennessee Walking Horse trainer Larry Joe Wheelon, 68.

All four men turned themselves in at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday and were free on bond by 9:45 p.m.

Wheelon and his employees Randall Stacy Gunter, 44, and Brandon Randall Lunsford, 32, were indicted on charges of aggravated animal cruelty (conspiracy to commit aggravated cruelty to livestock) and aggravated animal cruelty.

They are all three free on $10,000 bond each.

Farrier Blake Tanner Primm, 44, was indicted on aggravated animal cruelty (conspiracy to commit aggravated cruelty to Livestock. He is free on $5,000 bond.

All three are to appear in Blount County Circuit Court on Monday, Dec. 9.

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There's also this article from the Tennessean.  Click here to read it.

Tennessee Walking Horse trainer, show judge indicted for animal cruelty 
Dec. 4, 2013

A Tennessee Walking Horse trainer who has served as a show judge and on an industry group’s ethics committee was indicted Monday on animal cruelty charges related to a soring case earlier this year.

Larry Joe Wheelon, a Maryville, Tenn., trainer, along with Randall Stacy Gunter, Brandon Lunsford and Blake T. Primm, are accused of applying acid to walking horses “in a depraved and sadistic manner” for “competition in horse shows,” the indictment reads.

The only horse specifically named in the indictment is Jose’s Happy Feet/Laura Kate.

Similar charges were filed against Wheelon and the others in the spring, but were dismissed after a prosecutor’s misstep during an August preliminary hearing. Wheelon was at the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration days later and said that he was innocent of the charges all along and was suffering financially because the horses he had been training were seized as part of the case.

Wheelon formerly sat on the ethics committee of the Walking Horse Trainers Association and was a judge for Shelbyville-based SHOW, a horse inspection and judging group.

Unscrupulous trainers burn walking horses’ pasterns to induce the breed’s naturally longer, higher gait. The process is called soring.

Check with Tennessean.com later today for more on this story.

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Here's that "later today" story.  Great stuff!  Click here for the article.  Click here for the video from the April raid.

Tennessee Walking Horse trainer, show judge indicted for animal cruelty
By Heidi Hall
Dec. 4, 2013

Maryville, Tenn., horse trainer Larry Wheelon stood outside the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration stadium in August, days after animal abuse charges against him were dropped on a technicality, upset that horses seized as evidence in the case were not being returned.

He’d been attending the sport’s premier event in Shelbyville for decades — a respected show judge and ethics committee member for the Walking Horse Trainers Association — but with the horses he trained in the hands of animal rehabilitation groups, Wheelon couldn’t compete, only watch and insist that he didn’t hurt any animals.

Now, he’ll get an opportunity to prove it in court.

A Blount County grand jury handed down indictments Monday on felony charges of aggravated cruelty to livestock animals and conspiracy to commit that cruelty in connection with the same investigation that first named Wheelon, 68, in the spring.

Specifically, Wheelon and two other men — Randall Stacy Gunter and Brandon Lunsford — are accused of abusing 16 horses named in the indictments, either chemically burning their legs or irritating the quicks of their hooves.

A fourth man, farrier Blake T. Primm, is named in the case of only one horse. All are due in court on Monday.

The process is called soring, long used by unscrupulous trainers to emphasize the breed’s naturally longer, higher gait because it pains the horse to put its feet down.

After a year-long investigation, workers with the Blount County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other animal protection groups executed a search warrant at Wheelon’s Maryville stables.

What they found was horrifying, said Kellie Bachman, a Blount County SPCA investigator and former police officer who presented evidence to the grand jury. And seeing the charges dismissed against Wheelon for an assistant district attorney’s misstep at a probable cause hearing was devastating.

“The horses were down, they were moaning, they were casting themselves, their legs were all wrapped,” Bachman said. “It was pretty brutal.

“To be able to go before the grand jury and talk to 12 people I didn’t know, to say it in front of (District Attorney General) Mike Flynn, it was therapeutic. Like having a weight lifted off my shoulders.’’

She said 19 horses seized were returned to Wheelon after the initial charges were dismissed. She doesn’t know where they are now.

No one returned a call left at a Maryville listing for Wheelon. Neither Flynn nor Rob White, the attorney who represented Wheelon earlier this year, returned messages left at their offices.

SHOW, the Shelbyville-based horse show inspection and judging group that licensed Wheelon, suspended that license Wednesday — as it had the first time Wheelon was charged.

The Performance Show Horse Association issued a statement pointing out that these were state charges, not violations of the federal Horse Protection Act. The group is lobbying against an amendment to the act, HR 1518, that would lead to tougher penalties against trainers caught soring and ban the tall horseshoes and pastern chains that mark the breed’s elite performance division. The industry is already cleaning up abuse on its own, the group contends, citing figures showing a 28 percent improvement in Horse Protection Act compliance since 2009.

Industry detractors contend that trainers are just getting better at hiding evidence of soring during horse show inspections.

The Humane Society of the United States supports HR 1518. Its equine protection division director, Keith Dane, said Wednesday he was pleased Wheelon will have his day in court.

The HSUS released a stomach-turning undercover video in May 2012 of trainer Jackie McConnell soring a horse in his Collierville, Tenn., stable, which led to a conviction on federal charges and national attention to the problem of soring.

“The public will be allowed to judge for itself whether Jackie McConnell was one bad apple, Larry Wheelon was another, or — with all the trainers with all their Horse Protection Act violations — if the whole barrel is bad apples,” Dane said.

ARTICLES - "Why do facts not matter to some people?"

After a...well, let's call it "lively" discussion concerning a young man who supports people who sore horses and the BL and the fact that he called me the C-word (among other things) because I am against soring and the Big Lick, I realized how true this article really is.

This is an article from Quora, which you might have to be a member of to read it.  So I've copied and pasted it below.  (My apologies to Quora).  Click here for the link to the article.

As I was having this "discussion" with this young man, he would say things like the PAST Act is going to eliminate all horse shoes, even keg shoes.  I posted the letter from Reps Cohen and Whitfield stating that it would not eliminate all horse shoes.  Click here for the letter.  He ignored it.

He then stated that the Auburn Study said that pads actually protect the horses.  I posted the Auburn Study cover letter that explained how the vets in the Auburn Study said that stacks actually caused more instances of laminitis, contracted heels, thrush, and other problems.  Click here for the cover letter.  He ignored it.

At one point in the "discussion," the young man claimed he never called one of the other people in the discussion names.  I then copied and pasted his posts for him where he called the guy a liar, a deceiver, and some other choice words.  He ignored it.

He kept pointing out how there's abuse in other breeds.  We said stay on topic--the HPA is the ONLY federal law against a specific type of abuse against horses.  When people are ready to pass a law stating that X abuse in X discipline is illegal, then we'll jump on that that bandwagon.  He ignored it.

He started talking about ear cropped and tail docking in dogs, and basically said, "You are okay with that, right?"  I said quite frankly, no, and what does that have to do with anything?  We're talking about horses, not dogs.  He ignored it.

I could go on and on, but this kid was clearly just not getting it and not believing the facts we were presenting him.  So the below article really explains why this phenomenon happens.  It's pretty incredible.  It also explains why we need to keep at our Congresspersons to get them to sign on to the PAST Act and to make it an amendment to the HPA.  These people who support the BL and soring aren't going to change their minds because they're not willing to do so.  Some will, of course, and some certainly have.  But it's not enough.  So instead, we need to focus on the lawmakers and people who can make a change rather than expecting a change to come from within.

I will have more information on who to contact soon, and I am still transcribing the hearing.  But keep calling, faxing and emailing.  The Lickers will be in DC with their "facts" on December 10, so get your information in before then!  Stay tuned!

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Quora Article Link

Question: Why do facts not matter to some people?
I understand that when people have already made up their mind in certain regards, facts only bolster their opinions in believing their delusions. Why is this? Also does anyone have any articles related to this principle?

Answer from Adam Mordecai
Facts do matter to most people. They just aren't trained or taught how to hear them, because psychologically speaking, they are protecting themselves.

Linked articles:
In Politics, Sometimes The Facts Don't Matter
How Facts Backfire

"Facts don’t necessarily have the power to change our minds. In fact, quite the opposite. In a series of studies in 2005 and 2006, researchers at the University of Michigan found that when misinformed people, particularly political partisans, were exposed to corrected facts in news stories, they rarely changed their minds. In fact, they often became even more strongly set in their beliefs. Facts, they found, were not curing misinformation. Like an underpowered antibiotic, facts could actually make misinformation even stronger."

Anyone strongly devoted to a set of ideas or beliefs generally comes to them over a long period of time. Think of their brain as a dam. If the dam starts to crack, it deteriorates. If the dam breaks, then they have to question everything they've learned and known to be completely true for the last x years.

That means their friends, everything they've read, everything their parents taught them, everything their culture taught them could be a lie.

With that math, you have two choices:
1) ignore the one fact in front of you, or
2) accept it and question every belief you've ever had about everything you know.

#2 is too large a leap for the majority of people.

If it's something innocuous, they can hear you, but if you provide evidence of something that would make them question their entire belief system, their defense mechanisms kick in. Or if they face their reality, thanks to being exposed physically to the truth, rather than you sharing some stats, this can happen:

Facts are cold, impersonal details that have no connection to that person's reality. In order for them to really hear you, they need to personally connect to it. Thus, you have Nancy Reagan supporting stem cell research, and Rush Limbaugh supporting drug rehabilitation and Dick Cheney being okay with gay people. Until a person personally experiences something to counter what they believe, they will ignore the facts and trust everything they've already been taught.

The good news is, if you become adept at connecting to people personally, they'll be more inclined to ease off their shutdown switch and hear you. Problem is, you have to do it one person at a time.

I heard an amazing story recently about a group of immigration rights activists who were marching on Washington, walking from Florida. Along the way they participated in town halls. At a town hall in SC, an old white guy got up, and started yelling at them, accusing them of murdering his wife, because they were using all the medical resources that would otherwise have gone to his wife and the organ transplant she needed. Fox News had told him all about it.

Rather than responding with facts like "immigrants don't use any resources unless they are on the verge of death, for fear of being caught and deported," the activist, Juan, told the story of how 23 members of his Colombian upper middle class family sought political asylum in the US to protect them from being assassinated, how they were rejected, and how they went underground to save their lives, and went from being doctors and lawyers to janitors and maids. They went from having a bunch of homes for their extended families, to all living under one roof in a small two-bedroom house. They were then slowly deported one by one, starting with Juan's mother, until all that was left was Juan, his mentally handicapped sister, and his dad. Juan got into college, and then his dad and sister got deported.

After he had made a personal connection about losing family with the old white guy, then he shared all the facts.

The old man ended up crying and hugging Juan, apologized for not understanding the truth, and wished them well on their journey, stating that he would be more careful about what he believes from now on.

[Broken link here]

If an old white guy in SC and an immigration activist can hug and break bread, then facts can matter. You just have to make a personal connection first to get people to open up and listen.

And then stop them from watching any TV news ever again, so they don't get the wrong impression.

NEWS and ARTICLES - WOW. Reporters Everywhere Are Weighing In on the PAST Act

Seriously.  Just WOW.

Here's a list of amazing articles that are popping up all over the place concerning the PAST Act.  I'm not going to copy and paste here, just give a list of the articles.

What amazes me is that many of these people are not horse owners, and even they can see the logic behind the bill and are all for passing it.  Of course, the Industry wants to make you think that if you don't own a horse, you don't know what you're talking about, especially if you don't own a Big Lick horses.  Well la-dee-da.

Look folks: abuse is abuse is abuse.  The PAST Act removes the tools that have been used to abuse horses for the past 43+ years.  That's it.  The Industry continues to claim that they can take care of it.  I would think that if you really wanted to take care of it, you would've done it 43 years ago when the HPA was introduced.  FOSH, NWHA and IWHA have all proven they can have sound horse shows with zero violations at every show.  Why can't the Industry do it?  Well...we all know the answer to that.

So, lots of reading for the weekend in between running around and getting ready for next week's holiday (in America).  Enjoy!

Also, as a bonus, we ask that you PLEASE SIGN the below petition!  We need all the help we can get!  Feel free to share this as well!

House of Representatives, Senate: Recognize that sponsorship and passage of the PAST Act, an amendment to the Horse Protection Act, will help to create value in the Tennessee Walking Horse and economic advantages to its industry.

Fact-Checking Knoxville’s ABC News affiliate: Tennessee Walking Horses
Adam McCauley, his personal blog, November 22, 2013

Marsha Blackburn, Horse Soring and HB1518
Blackburn Sides With Animal Abusers
John M Disque, East TN News, 11/21/2013

Roy Exum: Horseman’s Leap Of Faith
Roy Exum, The Chattanoogan, Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Lawmakers silent on horse bill
Opinion piece, The Tennessean, Nov. 19, 2013

This Man Refuses To Be Intimidated By Threat After Testifying On Horse Abuse
Christina Wilkie, The Huffington Post, 11/19/2013

Roy Exum: Rep. Blackburn Draws Fury
Roy Exum, The Chattanoogan, Monday, November 18, 2013

Marsha Blackburn's Cold, Cold Heart
Leslie Parsley, Parsley's Pics, Sunday, November 17, 2013

Why This Congresswoman Opposes Effort To End Horrifying Horse Abuse
Christina Wilkie, The Huffington Post, 11/16/2013

Horse soring is subject of vigorous D.C. debate
Paul C. Barton, The Tennesseesan, Nov 14, 2013

Postmortem: Abuse in Tennessee Walking Horse community
Adam McCauley, his pesonal blog, November 13, 2013

Lawmakers Clash Over Championship Horse Abuse Bill
Megan Chuchmach and Shushannah Walshe, ABC News, Nov 13, 2013

Congress scrutinizes show-horse industry practice of ‘soring’
Ali Watkins, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Charlotte Observer, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013

Tennessee horse country tries to fight off persistent abuse allegations
Adam McCauley, Aljazeera America, November 9, 2013

NEWS and ARTICLES - Visit Billy Go Boy for LOTS of Links; Something Important to Think About

The articles about the hearing are pouring in, and Billy Go Boy has done the hard work for me!  Thanks, BGB!

Click here for BGB's website

However, I do want to point out one very upsetting article.

This Man Refuses To Be Intimidated By Threat After Testifying On Horse Abuse

Marty Irby, our new champion for the TWH who has experienced soring his entire life first hand, contacted the police about a horribly threatening text message sent to him on his phone.  Read the article for more.

Marty testified at the hearing on November 13, explaining about his own experience within a lifetime of dealing with soring.  Since coming out against soring and working so hard to help end it, Marty's wife has left him, his parents won't speak to him, an entire industry has sent him death threats.  He has had to move out of Tennessee to keep himself safe. 

Here's the comment posted on the above article by his father, Ty Irby.

Here is a picture and two videos Ty Irby posted on his Facebook page.  These were taken BEFORE Marty decided to leave the industry.  (You can click the photos to make them larger to see the comments.)

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*****

(I should probably point out that a lot of those within the TWH industry believe that Marty is being paid by the HSUS to do this.  Believe me, he is not.  But they're going to spread whatever lies they want to try to justify that making money off of abusing animals is okay.  And never mind that Marsha Blackburn was paid $70,000 by the BL industry to fight to stop the PAST Act...)

Please note: I AM NOT ENDORSING GOING ON IRBY'S PAGE TO FLAME HIM.  I discourage such actions because it gets us nowhere.  People like Ty are not going to be convinced to make changes based on nasty comments on his page.  These have been taken as screenshots from Facebook, and readers can make their own decisions about what's been posted here.

The reason I post this is so people can see how the people within the TWH industry react when "one of their own" makes the choice to admit they've done wrong and they need to help stop it.  In my opinion, it's clear that money and fame are more important than family values and ethics.  And in my opinion, it's also proof that those who abuse animals or who support animal abuse have no problem projected that abuse on their fellow human beings.

NEWS and ARTICLES - TWHBEA Continues to Stick Their Heads in the Sand, But the Sound Horse is Still Winning!

As we move forward in the Sound Horse March, we need to keep pushing TWHBEA to GO SOUND.

Currently, they have denied posting the results of the PAST Act poll that Pat Stout put together.  They won't put it on their website, nor the Facebook page.  Here's the exchange between Clant Seay, Pat's lawyer, and TWHBEA, via the Billy Go Boy website.

Before the exchange, I suggest to EVERYONE that you go onto TWHBEA's Facebook page and post the results yourself!  TWHBEA needs to understand that those of us who are members are tired of their denial and childishness.  Whether they like it or not, their reign over this breed has got to end.  Remember: 26% voted on the poll, while 35% voted on the BOD election.  The membership IS speaking out!  Our fight is through our voices, and our voices are for the horse!

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THE REQUEST
October 17, 2013

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Executive Committee,

Yesterday morning I reached out to TWHBEA Executive Director Tracy Boyd and requested permission for my client Pat Stout to be allowed to publish Greg Cook’s letter certifying the results of the HR 1518/S.1406 Poll in which 26% of the TWHBEA membership expressed themselves regarding their view on the pending legislation along with her Statement regarding same.

I asked for a reply from Rob Cornelius who has temporarily taken over for former President Loyd Black by 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 16, 2013.

When I did not receive one, I placed my requests in writing:
———————————
Oct. 16, 2013 – 2:15 pm
Tracy,

This will follow up our telephone conversation of this morning when I relayed my client Pat Stout’s requests that she be allowed to publish Greg Cook, CPA certified tabulation of the HR 1518/S, 1406 Poll results on the TWHBEA website and TWHBEA Facebook page, along with her Statement concerning same. You advised that you would consult with Sr. VP Rob Cornelius and I asked that you please let me know by 2:00 p.m cdst one way or the other regarding my client’s request. I please need an answer with regard to my client Pat Stout’s request.

Thanks,
Clant M. Seay,
Attorney for Pat Stout
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When I appeared with my client Pat Stout before you on September 27, 2013, and she took the heat from you and that assembled “lynch mob”, she explained the Poll, and I explained the Poll, and she was asked by Mr.Black and Mr. Cornelius and practically each one of you what would happen to the results of the Poll, and she told each of you that TWHBEA would be provided the Results when she obtained them. She obtained the Results yesterday, and has she has fulfilled her pledge. You allowed her to post on the Facebook Page about the Polling Initiative following the September 27, 2013 EC meeting. I do not understand your hesitation now in acceding to her reasonable requests.

May I please remind you that there are many people paying attention to what you do – in the United States and around the world. Donna Benefield reminded you at the TWHBEA meeting of that scrutiny, and I want to again share with you Ms Benefield’s words:

http://www.walkinghorseclubky.com/donna-benefield-speaks-to-t-w-h-b-e-a/

I also want to share with you the letter Ms Benefield wrote to you:

———————–
Donna Benefield – TWHBEA MemberSeptember 24, 2013
TWHBEA – Attn: Executive Committee
P.O. Box 286
Lewisburg, TN 37091-0286
Re: Whitefield Amendment HR 1518/S.1406

Dear Elected Members of the Executive Committee:

First, I would like to commend our Vice-President of Horse Shows, Pat Stout for stepping up to poll the TWHBEA Membership in regard to the P.A.S.T. Act. Finally someone is allowing the general membership of TWHBEA to have a voice, and be counted, regarding the future of this breed.

Mrs. Stout’s willingness to utilize her own resources, and find a donor to help fund this poll, are true examples of putting the horse first, above herself. Secondly, I want to thank and commend Past President and Executive Director Tracy Boyd for leading the charge in unwavering form to support the P.A.S.T. Act in May. Tracy, you have proven to me you are a true leader, and please know you will be remembered for taking the largest step towards truly sound Tennessee Walking Horses that TWHBEA has ever made in its seventy-eight year history. I have waited over thirty years to see these events unfold.

Executive Committee members Denise Bader-Keyser, Linda Montgomery, Caroline Hoffman, Rick Weis, & Joyce Moyer should be honored, and recognized for their leadership, courage, and love of this horse, in having made tremendous sacrifices to stand up, stand strong, and vote to support the P.A.S.T. Act at the May meeting. In addition, I thank Mrs. Moyer for her exemplary display of strength and backbone in making the motion to support the P.A.S.T. Act. You are all heroes to thousands upon thousands of TWHBEA Members, sound horse advocates, veterinarians, and many others involved in the mainstream equine world. Having been in personal contact with many of the top professional equine organizations in the United States, I assure you, they recognize your bravery as well. You, as elected representatives, have set an example other directors should follow.

I would also like to commend and recognize Dr. Kasey Kesselring for stepping down from his position as International Director from Florida because of his pending federal H.P.A. violation case. This is an example of an honorable gentleman who recognizes the conflict of interest, and potential dishonor that could have soiled the name of our great association had he remained. Unfortunately, Vice-President of Training, Wayne Dean, and Member-At-Large of Bylaws, David Mullis, have refused to step down during their own pending U.S.D.A./H.P.A. federal cases. This is a classic example of why our breed has no credibility and has become an equine pariah around the globe. The disgrace these two individuals have brought upon TWHBEA, has tarnished the association and the breed’s name even further. As a longtime member of this association, and in the best interest of TWHBEA, and its future, I ask the Executive Committee, demand their immediate resignations.

Although I know little about our newly appointed President, Buster Black, I have been informed that he has a major concern with TWHBEA having a voice in the single most important issue that the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ & Exhibitors’ Association has ever faced. It appears Mr. Black intends to remain a typical politician, and I have heard his “first rule of politics” is “never say what you are doing, and never do what you are saying.” I hope this does not prove to be true with the issue of H.R. 1518/S. 1406. If this is the case, he will be disallowing the membership their right to serve our horse, our association, and truly have a voice.

Mr. Black, please allow the membership to have their say.

I speak with personal knowledge that this breed has had numerous opportunities over many years to reform. For decades this breed has wanted to regulate soring rather than eradicate it. Unfortunately, it has become a reality that reform is not in the make-up of many people fighting this issue of abuse.

When many other organizations including your own lobbying firm, the American Horse Council, the American Veterinary Medical Association (the largest veterinary medical organization in the world), the American Association of Equine Practitioners (the very organization the sore side has liberally utilized the name of in the past), the United States Equestrian Federation (previously the American Horse Show Association), and most of the other equine breed organizations in the United States recognize the plague upon this breed, and endorse the Whitfield Amendment, it is time TWHBEA lead the charge in its own fate.

Respectfully,

Donna Benefield
TWHBEA Member

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Ladies and Gentlemen of the Executive Committee,

I will wait no longer than 11:00 a.m. cdst today to hear your decision if you are or are not going to allow Pat Stout to publish Mr. Cook’s certified tabulated results of the poll in which 26% of the members of TWHBEA, 1,795 members, said “YES” or “NO” on the HR 1518/S. 1406 legislation, and her Statement regarding same.

If I do not hear from you affirmatively on this matter by the time I have stated, then on her behalf, I will release the Poll Results to the media and interested parties. I hope you will show leadership regarding this important matter and allow the HR 1518/S.1406 Poll Results to be posted on the TWHBEA website and Facebook page along with Pat Stout’s Statement.
Respectfully,

Clant M. Seay, Attorney for Pat Stout

THE DENIAL
From: Tracy Boyd <tboyd319@yahoo.com>
To: cmseaylaw <cmseaylaw@aol.com>
Cc: Rob Cornelius <rtcbwc@yahoo.com>
Subject: Poll
Date: Thu, Oct 17, 2013 12:52 pm

Dear Clant,

The TWHBEA Executive Committee is not in favor of publishing the poll results on the Association’s website or its Facebook page.

Thanks,
Tracy

**********

Unfortunately, I think Tracy was put up to saying this--I can imagine he would've wanted the poll results to be posted.

Now the word definitely is getting out there.  Check out this article by the The Times Free Press:  Walking horse poll pans use of pads

And Roy Exum, friend to the horse and HSUS award winner, also talked about it:  Roy Exum: Landslide Horse Poll Pleases Stout

And in even more good news, we are up to 204 cosponsors of the PAST Act!  Only 217 cosponsors are needed to get it to the floor, and only 240 votes are needed to pass it!  This is AMAZING...we are looking at real progress!  I found out that the folks in DC absolutely are not saying they represent TWHBEA, so of course that is a clear rumor that can be squashed.

And even more good news: a very large show known as the Belfast had minimal attendance--very few horses and the stands were next to empty.  Normally this show attracts a lot of people to come watch.  AND a Sale of Champions that is supposed to go on this weekend has also be canceled!  The general public is speaking loud and clear with their lack of attendance and pocketbooks!

I am continually amazed at the power of the people.  We're doing it in TWHBEA, we're doing it at the shows, Coming together like this for a cause to end this nightmare is truly something to behold.  We must keep up the good work.  We are making huge strides, and we can do this!  Keep the pressure on, and let's end this nightmare!