Soring. For it, or against it?

I'm kinda curious on why animal control isn't getting ahold of the TWHBEA?

The whole soring and Big Lick is a cruel practice. It has been proven, etc. So why can't animal control shoot in and sue the association for provoking animal abuse?

Can someone enlighten me about that?

Because Animal Control has limited funds and are severely understaffed.

If you take away horse shows, you will lose the driving force of the the horse industry. You take away horse industry, you take away Virginia's number one industry.

My mare is registered in the TWBEA

See, I just flat disagree that if you take away shows you kill the horse industry. I know far more people who only pleasure ride than I know who show. Yes, it will impact the industry but I don't think it will kill it off.

I agree. I personally don't know a single person who currently shows. My friends and I all trail ride.

What I do think it will do is take the MONEY out of the horse industry.

Showing (and breeding horses that show well) is where the money is at. But in some ways that's a bad thing. For example, people who breed show horses can totally effect a breed and change it into something that is not even a very useable horse anymore. (Thinking stock type halter horses here, and horses bred to be showy and not usable outside a ring).

For example, I 've heard it said that the big-lick industry is breeding for horses that pace because it is easier to convert into the "lick." While the running walk, which is what the breed used to be known for, is being bred out. I don't know how true that is, but that is what other members of the forum have expressed in the past. How sad is that? In my opinion show people don't always take the horse's best interest into consideration. And what shows well is what drives breeding.

So while showing and breeding for show horses is where the money is at, not everyone is into showing and it can even degrade the gene pool of quality horses. (Like HYPP for example, if it were not for showing, nobody would desire a horse with HYPP). That's why I don't believe papers are everything. The people breeding show horses are not always looking out for the best interest of the breed.

They haven't stepped in on big lick for the same reason they haven't stepped in and stopped racing. Deciding what is cruelty is a slippery slope and it's difficult to prove ALL big lick is cruel - if there really are people doing big lick without soring (unlikely) it's no different then calling racing cruel because horses break down. If you decide that is cruel, what's next? Banning Dressage beause of rollkur? Banning eventing because of accidents? Banning reining because of blown hocks?

Unfortunately, we have to just keep the pressure on that they'll convict, punish and bar so many people from big lick that the industry dies on it's own.
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I don't think shows should be done away with, but the common people (you and I) need to make it known to the breed associations that we want a horse to show its natural side, not conform to some ideal that a very few want to see....


Scratch that, I forgot this is the new America, land of few voices changes things and the masses just follow blindly...

But anyway the breed associations need to hear lots of e-mails, not just petitions and they need to be put to direct people not some general e-mail, but CC the e-mail to the general ones too

absolutely. You take money out of the industry, and the industry suffers or fails.

Since horses is Virginias number one industry, imagine the domino effect on the the commonwealth. Which trickles down to all aspects of the horse world here in VA. And even those that are not horse related. I.e. Restaurants, motels, gas stations, souveniers,....plus shows are a motivating force in spreading the interest in horses. Which adds to the economy. I see the reasoning in that shows (can/may be) a negative thing for horses and breeding. I don't agree that its as detrimental as it seems some say it is. But I don't think its wise to ruin an economy and so many peoples livelyhood. If you do away with the number one industry, the outcome can be catastrophic.

Not sure where in VA you are, but what I see there are primarily NOT TWH folks. You must be somewhere out of the main stream in Va. All I see are eventers, H/J and dressage. I would be very surprised if 99% of the state would care if Big lick was totally outlawed in the state....and that same number probably have no idea (even the horse folks!) what it is.

You hit the nail on the head with that one, Tim! I know EXACTLY what you mean and that is why politicians has stripped away everyone's rights for the most part...because the majority of the population has become so blind and gullible. I call them Sheeple....