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BIG LICK TENNESSEE WALKING HORSES
The
greatest freak show on earth
Cruelty....
Suffering.....Agony.....Injustice
WHEN WILL THIS
STOP??????
Click to Expand
2009
Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration Show - The largest
number of cruelty violations on record - EVER
*CLICK
HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO*
The Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration
Show is
NOTHING TO CELEBRATE!
Quote from the
Celebration website:
"The Tennessee Walking Horse National
Celebration® is heralded as the "World's Greatest Horse
Show" and has over 4,000 entries and gives away more
than $650,000.00 in prizes and awards and is 11 days and
nights of action packed and heated
competition.
The Celebration® offers corporate
sponsors marketing opportunities and corporate
entertainment with different levels of sponsorship
starting at $6,500.00 for a Championship Class to
$250,000.00 for a Title sponsorship."
How will the abuse ever be eliminated with so
much prize money involved? IT WON'T.
If the good
ole' boys in the South do this because it's fun, and
they love the horses, then take away ALL the prize money
and let them do it for the pure thrill of the ride. I'd
bet my bank account the industry would be desolate and
abandoned within a year.
No prize money = no
more big lick = no more abuse. PERIOD.
The arena is dark, and the air
is hot. Hints of delicious food mixed with pungent night
air beckons your nose. A sense of camaraderie and
unified purpose tickles the senses. The crowd sucks deep
breaths of anticipation and thousands of onlookers scoot
to the edge of their seats. Somewhere overhead a
microphone crackles and jostles the mass to life.
Spotlights shine from above and through the in-gate
charges the one thing they’ve all gathered here to see…
a creature of magnificence and power substantial enough
to rival the seven wonders. The sight of him is stunning
and makes the spine shiver. Sixteen hands of sheer
power, with a coat as fresh spun silk. His muscles
ripple as the huge black body charges down the rail. The
silent air is split with roars from the crowd. Bright
red ribbons in a marriage of black mane, flow like
streams of red wine. Hoofbeats pound the earth and every
footfall vibrates the seat beneath you. His magnificence
charges forward as a warrior on a battle march. Chest
muscles bulge and sweat beads up on that liquid black
coat. As he rages past your seat you look into the
whites of his eyes glowing like diamonds and the
nostrils flaring red and hot. You will never forget the
sound of his rattling breath as his body strains beneath
the load. You are breathless as you behold the sheer
power and magnitude of this animal. For a single moment,
time stands still, and you know that you have beheld the
glory and power of the most magnificent creature on
earth. Your soul is shaken to its very core and you can
never forget the awesome presence of the Big Lick
horse.
When the awe passes I ask you to look
harder my friend. Did you see anything else? Did you see
the chains, the pads, the poultices and wraps? Did you
see the plastic and turnbuckles and liniment? Did you
see the blinders and bungee cords? Do you see the bits
with frightening shanks? How about the pain, can you see
the pain in the horse’s eyes? I can. And so can you if
you’ll only look a little harder.
Just what is the Big Lick
Walking Horse? The Big
Lick horse (also called the Shod Performance horse) is a
Tennessee Walking Horse which moves in an extreme and
dramatic way. His front legs maintain a level of extreme
activity while the hindquarters step deep under the body
with a huge overreach. You might think this doesn’t
sound so bad! Lots of gaited horses move dramatically
with high knee action. Unfortunately, this isn’t the end
of the story.
The signature trait of Big Lick
horses is the padding and chains on the front feet.
Layers of leather, rubber or plastic pads are nailed
together to elevate the forehand of the horse and
encourage more animation while gaiting. This arrangement
of pads is sometimes known as stacks, and they can range
from a couple of inches in height up to 5 ½ inches and
in some cases, more. The horse’s toe is usually
encouraged to grow very long, while the heels are kept
under-run and contracted. This unbalanced foot is then
fitted with stacks and the horse’s natural balance and
leg conformation are severely compromised. Add to this
the various mixes and concoctions of chemical and
mechanical soring agents and you have a potentially
dangerous situation for the horse
involved.
The Method to the
Madness
Soring can be
accomplished either chemically or mechanically.
Mechanical soring consists of actions such as
positioning shoe nails in the sensitive laminae of the
foot, concealing golf ball halves between the sole of
the foot and the stacks, and even placing bits of glass
or metal between the stacks and the sole of the foot. In
some cases the horse is “road foundered” which means he
is worked long and hard on unforgiving asphalt or
gravel.
Chemical soring is more complex and
difficult to detect. Agents such as Allyl
isothicocyanate (mustard oil), is an extremely
carcinogenic, kissing cousin to the poisonous mustard
gas used during WWI, and quite possibly the most popular
soring agent used because of its dramatic results. It is
easily absorbed into the skin and causes extreme
discomfort to the horse. Crotonaldehyde (Croton) oil is
an very toxic, hazardous chemical which is known to
cause 1st and 2nd degree burns to the skin. Croton oil
is absorbed deep into the tissues of the foot and leg
and causes inflammation to the sensitive tissue
surrounding the bones of the feet and legs. It is often
diluted with other chemicals such as kerosene. Diesel
fuel is also a popular chemical for mixing with other,
much stronger, agents. Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) is used
on the skin to open up the pores and encourage greater
absorption of the soring chemicals.
Diesel fuel
is another common substance found in big lick barns.
Chains are soaked in diesel fuel to remove the gunk of
"work grease" which is some type of petroleum base mixed
with Kopertox. As we know, diesel fuel is oily and
leaves a residue. These chains covered in residue are
used on the legs, which further contributes to
irritation. Some people believe that diesel fuel is used
directly on the skin as well.
Salicylic Acid is a
common ingredient in over the counter acne medications,
but in the world of the big lick horse, it is used to
remove scars from the horse's legs which are caused by
chains and chemical soring. I read a thread on a popular
Tennessee Walking Horse board giving detailed
instructions on how to apply Salicylic Acid underneath
sweat wraps the last few weeks before a big show to
"clean the legs up." That thread was removed to the
password protected archives shortly after it was
created. I assume that is to keep it available only to
those paid subscribers and away from the eyes of
outsiders.
Don’t let the towering stance of a 15,
or 16 hand horse fool you; the skin and tissue of a
horse’s legs are very sensitive and delicate. This area
of the horse is particularly susceptible to fungi and
bacterial infections during times of dampness or wet
weather. Studies at the University of Australia have
also proven that the tissue on the cannon area of the
horse’s legs is substantially more receptive to chemical
absorption than many other areas of the body.
For
generations, the Big Lick horse has been a main staple
of the Southern states. This breed of horse is used as a
mascot at sports events, high schools, and is a
universal symbol of Tennessee. Having grown up in
Tennessee, I rode at a Big Lick barn for one summer.
Though the barn I was associated with did not endorse
chemical soring, the care of the feet and legs was
terrifying. In a typical big lick program, legs are
wrapped in plastic wrap and sweated with a mixture of
petroleum and Koppertox to "toughen the skin." Horses
are trained in heavy (10 ounces +) chains which scar and
callouse the skin if it isn't toughened up first.
Salicylic acid is then used to remove scarring and
calluses before shows. Horses are rarely allowed turnout
because of the shoeing packages. Some are fed overdoses
of grain and molasses to keep them hot for the ring.
Training methods include working horses with the
legs tied together with surgical tubing (called
stretchies or bungees), working the horse in full cup
blinders to encourage them to "feel" the air with the
front legs, spurring them in the flanks with long
shanked spurs to encourage more action, and using a sort
of gag device attached to the saddle which forces the
head up in the air, and therefore, forces weight on the
hindquarters, achieving the "crawling spider" look which
is so popular.
They don't
all do it
Only to be fair,
some big lick barns do NOT use barbaric methods of
training, do not sore, and do try to give the horse a
more natural lifestyle. Some of them are turned out
daily, hand grazed, and thoroughly loved. Their shoes
are pulled when not showing, and they have a fairly
normal life. These owners and trainers buy horses bred
from champion lines, they spend years training, and they
treat the horse as a respected athlete. Even so, knowing
what we know about equine distal limb function, and
anatomy, the shoes and pads alone are enough to cause
tremdendous concern.
Government Involvement
Many horse people don't know this, but
the United States Government is directly involved in the
monitoring of Tennessee Walking Horses because the abuse
is so rampant. All TWH shows must have Designated
Qualified Persons (DQPs) to inspect every horse before
every class and eliminate those showing signs of soring.
The problem is that many of the DQPs are competitors and
advocators of the big lick horse themselves. There is an
obvious conflict of interest, and essentially you have
the fox guarding the hen house. For this reason, the
USDA monitors the DQP program and appoints Veterinary
Medical Officers (VMOs) to oversee high publicity shows.
In 2006, the World Grand Championship class at the
National Celebration Show was cancelled because 7 of the
10 horses presented could not pass a governmental
inspection. This rocked the big lick world, because this
is the single most important event in the world of the
big lick horse, owner, and trainer. Many of us see this
as the final breaking point and only hope that the
public outcry will be a slap in the face to those
abusing these horses.
Sound supporters, such as
myself, feel that the system is too lax, and allows too
many horses to pass inspection that show obvious
scarring and signs of abuse. The scar rules are so
difficult to interpret that many times horses are passed
through inspection just to avoid a conflict. The horse's
legs can be deformed and growing wavy hair due to
permanent folical damage, and still pass
inspection.
I was once told on a public bulletin
board by a long-time big lick competitor: "If the
government shows up, I just pack up my trailer and
leave." When I questioned her about WHY, her answer was
"Because I don't need the government disrespecting me."
There are plenty of reports of showgrounds that empty
out when the VMO shows up. They're happy to be inspected
by the DQP, because the DQPs are often on their side!
But you get the USDA involved with their VMOs and
everybody gets scared. Flip on the lights and the
cockroaches run.
"Sniffer" technology is
relatively new. It is a machine that has the ability to
detect the smell of foreign substances on the horse's
legs. Trainers and owners complain because compounds
such as fly spray and show sheen are detected as an
ilegal foreign substance. Some of us feel this is a GOOD
thing because as it gets tougher to sore with
traditional chemicals, who knows what other common
irritants can be used.
Soring is not the ONLY
Problem! As despicable as
soring is, unfortunately it is only one frame in the
nightmare. The performance TWH industry is notorious for
questionable training tactics, bad riding, and abuse in
all forms. Even when a horse has not been sored by
mechanical or chemical applications, the shoes and
stacks themselves, the chains on the legs, the bits, the
horrible equitation, the denial of turnout time, the
appliation of pressure shoeing on "lite shod" horses,
the tail sets - all of it combines to make life very
painful and miserable for the animals
involved.
Big lick horses are sometimes worked in
blinders to encourage them to "feel the air" with their
front legs. Trainers believe that just as person lacking
vision will use their arms to keep from running into
walls, and to feel their surroundings, horses will do
the same, thereby exagerating the dramatic movement even
more. (I don't believe the horse in the photo though is
a big lick horse, because they are not typically ridden
in a double rein.) They're also worked with bungee cords
(or surgical tubing) tying their legs together, which
forces them to use extreme strength to take a stride.
I've never figured out why, but most big lick riders are
very tall/large men who should be mounted on much larger
horses. They sit over the horse's loins, and their rowel
spurs jab the horse in the flanks every stride.
And the infamous green goo..........the green
color you see on walking horse legs is Kopertox (the
common thrush treatment.) Kopertox is used combined with
petroleum jelly to create what is known as "work
grease." No one can quite agree on what "work grease"
actually DOES or what it's FOR, but the explanations I
have been given are this: (1) The horses sometimes hit
themselves while working at gait, and the Kopertox is
there as a preventative to guard against infection in
these cuts. The petroleum is used as a lubricant so the
chains will slide up and down the fetlock. And (2) The
Kopertox causes mild irritation and increased
sensitivity of the skin, which increases the discomfort
of the chains and creates more action up front.
This "work grease" is always used underneath
plastic wrap to intensify the effect.
 
Above:
"Work Grease" under plastic wrap and chains, and
training shackles used to build muscle in the forehand.
Links Below: Blinders are used to make a horse
"feel the air" and improve the big lick gait. Most
people would think it is deplorable and abusive to blind
a horse for riding, but this is common practice in big
lick world. The second link: A horse decked out in his
standing wraps and tail set. Horses live in stalls with
these devices in place which are undoubtedly irritating
and uncomfortable. The tail is an extension of the spine
which is meant to hang down from the dock. The tail set
forces the bones up into the air, and when combined with
severed ligaments, the tail can be trained to rise up
from the dock before falling. The problem is that the
training does not last and the horse has to continually
wear the tail set throughout the entire showing
career.
LINKS (Click):
1. Blinders
sold by National Bridle Shop under their Training
section (NOTE: National Bridle Shop does not support the
abuse of Tennessee Walking Horses. They support the
sound and happy horse. They sell this blinder hood
because it represents many different useful purposes.
However, the hood is used by Big Lick trainers to make
the horse "feel the air" while being
ridden)
2. Tail
set sold by Bedford Tack
 
Photo Credits: Dr. Steven O'Grady and
Lessiter Publications
But what about Lite Shod
Horses? Even "Lite Shod"
horses wear shoes that weigh several pounds, and cover
the entire sole. The shoes are not seated out to relieve
sole pressure - in fact sole pressure is DESIRED. It
causes pain, inflammation and bruising which further
exagerates the horse's gait. Golf ball halves, nails,
metal, and glass have all been found between the shoe
and the sole in an attempt to increase pain.
 
Photo Credits Left to Right:
Dr. Steven O'Grady, and USDA
Pressure Shoeing
Device
This device
was presented by a southeast farrier in reference to
pressure shoeing. Although he agrees there has been huge
changes in the gaited horse community since the
government has stepped in he encourages any farrier who
finds something of this nature to seek the proper
authorities. Furthermore he also notes any farrier who
would take part in anything to cause even unjustified
minor pain to horses should not be allowed to practice
hoof care. He also feels the gaited horse community
should not be judged by a few bad apples in the bunch.
There are many law abiding and upstanding gaited horse
farms that do not practice this type of
foolishness.
A Look at BITS . . .
The bit on the left is a Big Lick
walking horse bit and it boasts a whopping 12 1/2" shank
length, with double twisted wire mouthpiece. It can be
purchased for a mere $34.95. Pardon me for saying so
folks, but a torture device THIS severe should carry a
price tag equally severe. At least that way it would
keep it out of the hands of the newbies, and the
backyard idiots just looking to beat up on a little 2
year old colt. The second bit can be ordered with a
double twisted wire mouth and 12" shanks from Grissom
Bits. You can even order it with a nylon rope mouthpiece
so if that little colt gives you a hard time, you can
just light him up with a good rope burn across the
tongue. That should whip that sucker into shape in no
time! And the grand finale is the third one - The
description on this bit says "This bit has a 12" shank
length with a longer purchase that is curved to enhance
leverage." Ahhhh, yes....because we all know that 12" of
shank length is not sufficient leverage. I don't think
we can "quite" brake the jaw bone in half yet, so lets
enhance that leverage!
  
CANTER - A gait of cruelty . .
.
At what point does the natural gait of
"canter" become abuse? When the horse is shod and bitted
for big lick performance..........The horse struggles to
get off the ground while the rider yanks on the reins
with every stride. The weight of the shoes combined with
the momentum of the gait causes the limbs to hyperflex
and suffer extreme exertion. The horse becomes hollow
through the body and is forced to throw their head up
and back to get their shoulders airborne. This is often
assisted by the rider giving a hefty yank on the rein
that corresponds with the limb coming off the ground.
Watching videos is the best way to get a feel for this.
The rider alternately yanks the left and right rein,
which causes the horse to throw the head and neck up
higher.
Lets face it, nothing we do with our
horses is naturally what they would do in the wild, but
cantering the big lick horse crosses the line of
unnatural and moves easily into the cruelty and abuse
category. If big lick performance can't be banned, at
least the cantering of these horses should
be.
The horses labor, pant, and break out in a
lathered sweat after only a few minutes of work. These
horses are in agony and the terror in their eyes is
proof.
I have literally watched hundreds of
hours of both video coverage and live performances of
these horses in the show ring and can count on one hand
the number of times I've seen a rider pet a horse on the
neck, or give the horse a pat or ANY kind of reassurance
or praise. If the rider pauses for a moment to do
anything, it is to reach up and check that the curb
chain is tight (usually by grasping the tail of it and
administering a swift jerk, to which the horse responds
by throwing the head up), to switch the whip from one
hand to the other, or to readjust their own top hat or
clothing. Two videos show a horse stumbling badly (in
one video the horse actually fell down.) In both cases,
the rider simply gets the horse collected back up, and
spurs them on down the rail. Ordinarily, when a horse
falls down during competition, it is customary for the
rider to excuse themself from the ring to check the
horse over for injury and to determine the cause of the
fall. The lack of care and compassion for the horse in
the Tennessee Walking Horse show ring is shameful and
disgusting.
This
horse was struggling badly during the canter. Notice the
grotesque angle of the left hind leg. This horse was
flailing all over the place, stumbled a couple of times,
and was severely laboring under the heavy handed rider.
At one point the rider reached up and jerked on the tail
end of the curb chain, then stood up in the stirrups and
plunked back down on the horse's back so hard that he
dipped his back to get away from the pressure. The rider
flipped the tails of his coat a couple times, spurred
the horse on, and finished it off with a few hard jerks
on the horse's bit as they sped off down the
rail.
VIDEOS:
Performance
TN Walking Horse in Blinders
Big
Lick Walking Horse Video
Big
Lick Walking Horse Video of Hocks
Big
Lick Horses - See It Through My Eyes: Big lick
abuse
Big
Lick Horse - CANTERING video. (And this is one of the
better riders I've seen. The really nasty "good ole
boys" offer the horse no mercy at this gait. At least
this woman seems to have a shred of compassion and
tact.)
It is important to understand
the gravity of the big lick situation. Some supporters
of the sound horse have been issued death threats, had
their barns burned down, and threatened with lawsuits by
the "good ole' boys." One particular flat shod
competitor required police protection at the Celebration
Show back in 1999. Big Lick isn't just a hobby, a
discipline, or a way to have fun with your horse. It's
big money business. For this reason, the photos below
have been cropped to show only feet. It's unfortunate
that I had to crop them, because the real shock is the
look in the horses' eyes. In almost every photo, the
eyes are rolled back white, mouth gaping open against a
10" shanked bit. The overall picture is terrifying. As
you can see in these photos, there is much more wrong
than just the shoeing. The bit shanks which are out of
control, the size of the riders on 2 year old babies,
the length of the rowelled spurs, chains banging the
legs every stride, the wavy, permanently damaged hair on
the fetlocks and cannon bones, the complete lack of
concern for the comfort and happiness of the
horse...
Even the babies are in big
trouble:
And once they grow up a little,
their hooves will look like this:
  
  
  
  
  
A
note of interest: Most of the photos above are of 2 and
3 year old horses.
For comparison, this is what a
NORMAL/HEALTHY Tennessee Walking Horse hoof
looks
like. This is a TWH I trimmed.
What do we do about
it?
Having the knowledge we do about the
biomechanical and physiological function of the equine
distal limb, it is impossible to ignore the grotesque
methods by which Tennessee Walking Horses are shod,
trained, and maintained. But what can we do about it?
There is plenty! Visit the following:
LINKS:
USDA
- Horse Protection Act
Friends of Sound Horses
(FOSH)
Equus
Special Report - Why Soring Persists
The Sound
Horse Conference - TONS of great info
here!
Photo
of a stacked hoof sheared off a horse
Silver Phoenix
Ranch - Promoting Sound and Natural TWHs!
Lessiter
Publications - Radiographs of stacks showing all the
nails and bands
A
look at how World Grand Champions have changed from
beautiful horses into crawling spiders.
For The TN Walking Horse Blog - first hand
accounts of the terror and pain these horses
suffer.
If you are as outraged about this as I am, I
encourage you to contact the Mayor of Shelbyville,
Tennessee directly and tell him you want padded horses
eliminated from the Celebration Show. Also contact FOSH,
join the group, and support the sound horse movement.
Take every opportunity possible to speak out against
this abuse being committed in our own backyards.
So with that, I ask
you:
Who will cry for the horses? Who will fight for
their cause? Who will ease their suffering? Who will not
sleep sound on their pillow until this barbaric torture
is stopped? If we don't, THEN WHO WILL??????
FIGHT FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NO
VOICE
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