> There may not be obvious soring, but what about the mechanical aids?
Hi Judy,
It seems people only associate gait manipulation with the extreme:
BigLick soring practices of using caustic agents directly to the horses'
legs and/or hooves. However, long before the TWH Big Lick industry got to
that point, they began with more subtle methods. . . . . The point is,
they started manipulating gait, which didn't seem "so bad" or perhaps wasn't
even recognized as such -- maybe someone thought they were "balancing" or
improving a horse's gait. . . But it was a slippery slope, and down they
went from there.
I think it is incredibly smug, (naive?) or arrogant to think this will not
happen to the Icelandic breed when already there are weighted quarter and
bell boots being offered under the guise of protection. Why would boots
"used for protection" need to come in such an array of weights??? Does
more weight = more protection? I wouldn't think so . . . But more weight
DOES change a horses' way of traveling and/or it's animation. And it's
been advocated for eons that one of the ways to cure a pacy horse is to put
heavier shoes on the front than the back. Adding and changing the weight
on each leg IS mechanical manipulation. And it's worrisome where this
course will take the breed. Already, the standard in the Icelandic show
ring is the horse who lifts his knees in a 90 or more degree angle.
Ten, fifteen years ago, you didn't see this so much. Now, it's common.
What will be done to get more, more more so as to stand out from the crowd?
Also, just as an aside: I was at an all-gaited breed horse show,
sponsored by two different gaited horse clubs that had a DQP* . All
horses, I think with the exception of the Peruvian Pasos, had to be
inspected, including the 10 Icelandics or so that were present, before and
after a class if you placed. This was about 6-7 years ago. It's
interesting to me the FOSH apparently does not require this of the
Icelandics participating in their shows now.
-- Renee M. in Michigan
*DQP stands for :"Designated Qualified Person", which is someone who is sent
from the US Dept. of Ag
to inspect and enforce the Horse Protection Act at horseshows)
