{"id":48002,"date":"2015-08-25T18:02:52","date_gmt":"2015-08-25T22:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breaking911.com\/?p=48002"},"modified":"2015-08-25T18:04:16","modified_gmt":"2015-08-25T22:04:16","slug":"breaking-undercover-investigation-reveals-shocking-tennessee-walking-horse-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breaking911.com\/breaking-undercover-investigation-reveals-shocking-tennessee-walking-horse-abuse\/","title":{"rendered":"Undercover Investigation Reveals Shocking Tennessee Walking Horse Abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Humane Society &#8212; (Press\u00a0Release) &#8212; For the second time in four years, an undercover investigator with The Humane Society of the United States has documented trainers and grooms cruelly \u201csoring\u201d Tennessee walking horses to create an exaggerated and unnatural gait known as the \u201cbig lick.\u201d This time, <a href=\"https:\/\/breaking911.com\/horse-dies-after-being-sexually-assaulted\/\">the investigatio<\/a>n focused on ThorSport Farm in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, which is well-known and highly regarded within the big lick show world.\u00a0Our investigation documented that several horses slated to compete in this year\u2019s Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration have been illegally sored,\u00a0which could\u00a0give them an advantage at the industry\u2019s high-profile showcase <a href=\"http:\/\/Horse Dies After Being Sexually Assaulted\">event starting<\/a> Wednesday in Shelbyville, Tennessee.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/breaking911.com\/horse-dies-after-being-sexually-assaulted\/\">READ THIS: &#8216;Horse Dies After Being Sexually Assaulted&#8217;<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>During the investigation, more than 60 wrapping samples were taken directly from horses whose legs had been slathered with caustic chemicals and wrapped tightly to cook the chemicals into their flesh and cause extreme pain. All <a href=\"https:\/\/breaking911.com\/horse-dies-after-being-sexually-assaulted\/\">samples tested positive<\/a> for substances that have been banned from use in the show ring by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of its enforcement of the Horse Protection Act.<\/p>\n<p>Keith Dane, vice president of equine protection for The HSUS, said: \u201cThis investigation proves that the practice of soring is alive and well in the heart of Tennessee walking horse country, and that some top trainers and owners in the industry are complicit in the abuse. The pain and suffering our investigator documented inside ThorSport Farm is nauseating, and unfortunately continues unabated despite the industry\u2019s persistent, false claims that it has cleaned up its act. Congress must recognize the need to pass legislation that will finally protect these majestic, gentle animals and give them a fighting chance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>ThorSport Farm is well-known and highly regarded within the Big Lick show world, but its trainers Chad Williams, Aaron Self and Robert Cortner, have histories of being cited for violating the law by presenting sored horses at shows. Allison Thorson, daughter of ThorSport Farm owners Duke and Rhonda Thorson, also has past Horse Protection Act citations, and during the investigation, wrapping samples from her horses tested positive for several prohibited substances.<\/p>\n<p>Wrapping samples taken from two former Grand Champions trained at ThorSport and expected to be exhibited at the Celebration\u2014He\u2019s Vida Blue and The Golden Sovereign\u2014also tested positive for numerous illegal substances. All evidence collected in the investigation was turned over to Rutherford County Sheriff\u2019s Office. The HSUS has offered to provide assistance with the collection of evidence and handling of horses during the execution of a search warrant, and to provide transportation and care for any horses seized.<\/p>\n<p>The HSUS is urging Congress to pass the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act (H.R. 3268\/S. 1121), which would bolster the Horse Protection Act by finally putting an end to the corrupt, ineffective system of industry self-regulation, banning the tall stacks and chains that are an integral part of the soring process, and strengthening penalties for violations of the law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Humane Society &#8212; (Press\u00a0Release) &#8212; For the second time in four years, an undercover investigator with The Humane Society of the United States has documented trainers and grooms cruelly \u201csoring\u201d Tennessee walking horses to create an exaggerated and unnatural gait known as the \u201cbig lick.\u201d This time, the investigation focused on ThorSport Farm in Murfreesboro, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5409,"featured_media":48003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[37,23],"tags":[2342,2343,2344],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Undercover Investigation Reveals Shocking Tennessee Walking Horse Abuse - Breaking911<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breaking911.com\/breaking-undercover-investigation-reveals-shocking-tennessee-walking-horse-abuse\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Undercover Investigation Reveals Shocking Tennessee Walking Horse Abuse - Breaking911\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Humane Society &#8212; (Press\u00a0Release) &#8212; For the second time in four years, an undercover investigator with The Humane Society of the United States has documented trainers and grooms cruelly \u201csoring\u201d Tennessee walking horses to create an exaggerated and unnatural gait known as the \u201cbig lick.\u201d This time, the investigation focused on ThorSport Farm in Murfreesboro, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breaking911.com\/breaking-undercover-investigation-reveals-shocking-tennessee-walking-horse-abuse\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking911\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Breaking911\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-08-25T22:02:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-08-25T22:04:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/breaking911.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/tn-soring-investigation-2015.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"270\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"224\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"T. 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