The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced on Friday (April 14) the use of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to enforce the Horse Protection Act (HPA). The method will detect horses that have been subjected to soring.

Since 2004, APHIS’ animal care program has held public meetings and informed horse industry organizations regarding the implementation of GC/MS technologies. USDA officials say this tool will aid APHIS’ efforts to detect the practice of soring, a cruel and inhumane practice used to accentuate a horse’s gait. Soring may be accomplished by irritating or blistering a horse’s forelegs through the injection or application of chemicals, mechanical devices, cuts, lacerations or burns.

APHIS’ animal care program is responsible for enforcing the HPA. The HPA is a federal law that prohibits horses that have been subjected to soring from participating in auctions, exhibitions, sales, or shows. The HPA also prohibits the transportation of sored horses to or from any of these events.

GC/MS is a testing technique used to identify the composition of chemical mixtures, which are sometimes applied to horses’ legs. APHIS collects the samples at shows and sends them to USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, where testing is conducted to identify any chemicals in the samples. GC/MS can detect minute amounts of substances. Prior to GC/MS analytical techniques, foreign substances were detected by sight or smell