On this day in vegan history · December 9, 1970
Nixon Signs the Horse Protection Act
For decades, show horses had chemicals painted onto their legs so pain would force a fancier gait; in 1970 that finally became a federal crime.
The facts
- Date signed
- December 9, 1970
- Signed by
- President Richard Nixon
- Codified as
- 15 U.S.C. §§ 1821–1831
- Maximum penalty
- Fines up to $50,000 and up to five years in prison
On December 9, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the Horse Protection Act, making it a federal crime to show, sell, auction, or transport a horse that had been sored. Soring means applying irritants, blistering agents, or devices to a horse's front legs so that stepping hurts, forcing the exaggerated high-stepping gait prized in some show rings. The bill grew out of legislation Senator Joseph Tydings had sponsored the year before. The practice showed up most in the Tennessee Walking Horse show circuit, though the law covers every breed, and enforcement was handed to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
In their words
The day in the words of the people who were there. Every quote is verbatim, and every source links out so you can check it.
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Soring is the practice of applying irritants or blistering agents to the front feet or forelegs of a horse, making it pick its feet up higher in an exaggerated manner that creates the movement or "action" desired in the show ring.
Wikipedia, "Horse Protection Act of 1970"
Source: Wikipedia -
In 1969, Senator Joseph Tydings sponsored legislation to prohibit soring, leading to the passing of the Horse Protection Act in 1970.
Wikipedia, "Horse Protection Act of 1970"
Source: Wikipedia
Why it still matters
It was one of the first federal laws to say plainly that inflicting pain on an animal to make it perform is not a private training choice but a crime, and soring enforcement fights continue in Congress to this day.
Sources
This history is still being written.
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