An undercover video shows horses being struck with sticks and subjected to "soring," an illegal process in which chemicals are placed on their lower legs in an effort to induce the signature Tennessee Walking Horse high-stepping gait. The graphic video shows trainer Jackie L. McConnell of Whitter Stables of Collierville, Tennessee, and others subjecting show horses to practices that were banned 40 years ago.
One image shows a writhing horse being subjected to a whip at McConnell's barn. Another receives a shock to the head. The video, made by a Humane Society of the United States investigator, was first featured Wednesday on the ABC News program "Nightline." It has raised questions of how pervasive the training techniques are despite recent prosecutions and investigations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which enforces the Horse Protection Act. "There obviously is a huge problem," said Jonathan Lovvorn, senior vice president for litigation and investigations with the Humane Society. "In the competition to get this unnatural gait, trainers are using banned substances to cheat."
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