Tennessee Soring Case Expands
- Topics: Article, Soring Gaited Horses
The soring case involving Tennessee Walking Horse trainer Larry Wheelon expanded with the arrests of two men who allegedly worked with sored horses at Wheelon’s training barn in Maryville, Tenn.
Soring is the deliberate injury to a horse’s feet and legs to achieve an exaggerated high-stepping gait. On the federal level, the Horse Protection Act forbids soring; the practice is also unlawful under Tennessee animal cruelty statutes.
Earlier this year, a visitor to Wheelon Stables complained about the condition of the horses there. On April 18, acting on a warrant, investigators from the USDA, along with Blount County Society for the Prevention to Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Blount County Sheriff’s Department personnel, examined the barn and the horses inside. Authorities determined that all of the examined animals were apparently sore; the allegedly sore horses were removed to an undisclosed location for rehabilitative treatment.
Law enforcement authorities subsequently arrested Wheelon and charged him with felony animal cruelty. He is free on bond
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