The Tennessee Walking Horse industry expects to challenge Horse Protection Act amendments that target the soring of show horses.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced the amendments in late April. The changes will fundamentally change Tennessee Walking Horse shows and how mounts are shod. Often considered the smoothest ride, Tennessee Walking Horses have a naturally high, four-beat running walk that’s coveted in show rings. Soring is the intentional application of substances or devices to horses’ limbs to inflict pain to exaggerate the high-stepping gait, known as The Big Lick.

Jeffrey Howard, publisher of The Walking Horse Report, writes in mid-May that The Torridon Group, a Washington, D.C.-based legal and consulting firm, is representing the industry and plans to file suit “in a district court this summer.”

“We have a very strong set of data and facts to push back on many of the challenges being brought against us,” Howard writes. “It is clear that we don’t see eye-to-eye with the USDA on several issues, but this process will provide us clarity as to whose position is correct and how we move forward.”

The rule was published May 8, 2024, in the Federal Register. While the rule largely takes effect Feb. 1, 2025, horse protection inspectors must be trained by March 2, 2025.

“Despite the radical views and statements of many in the animal rights movement, the industry…