As the controversial American Farriers Journal series on the soring and pressure-shoeing situation wraps up in this issue, it’s a good time to reflect on several recent developments aimed at ending this illegal practice.

As we expected, we’ve had different responses from farriers, veterinarians, owners, trainers and industry leaders. Some applauded us for bringing this deplorable foot and leg situation to the attention of AFJ readers. They said it took courage on the part of our editors to do this series, while a few folks didn’t think we had any business drawing attention to the situation. Even so, a few trainers, owners and industry leaders maintained soring no longer occurs.

The purpose was to alert AFJ readers to the soring situation and to outline what’s being done to solve the problem. We did this by laying out the concerns, demonstrating how the illegal techniques are used, reporting new developments and now wrapping up with a look at how sophisticated equipment may be used to spot soring and pressure shoeing concerns in the future.

Cracking Down On Soring

In late October, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) voted to prevent owners with federal horse show infractions, such as soring, from benefiting from the state breeders’ fund.

“With this action, the KHRC has again demonstrated its commitment to the humane treatment of horses,” says Lisa Underwood, KHRC executive director. “The commission clearly recognized that soring is an inhumane practice that should not be tolerated or rewarded.”

Different Attitude

At this year’s Tennessee…