MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) – Three Rutherford County based Tennessee Walking Horse trainers and a stable owner are being accused of soring horses by the Humane Society of The United States.
During a conference call Tuesday morning, Humane Society officials revealed the findings of an undercover operation targeting Thorsport Farm on Barfield Crescent Road southwest of Murfreesboro.
The Society says that Thorsport trainers Chad Williams, Aaron Self and Robert Cortner are Illegally soring horses with the knowledge of stable owner Duke Thorson.
The Society says it has proof that the trainers are applying illegal caustic chemicals to the horses legs to force the animals to lift their legs unnaturally high in what is often called the “big lick” gait.
Michael Blackwell is the former dean of the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and current Humane Society chief veterinary officer.
“As a veterinarian, as a Tennessean, it is not only embarrassing, but it is extremely corrupt and abusive if one is intentionally inflicting pain in order to change the gait of an animal that has essentially been crippled.”
The Humane Society says it has turned over evidence against ThorSport Farm and its trainers to state and local authorities for possible prosecution.
Stable owner Duke Thorson released a statement Tuesday saying the farm operates within the rules and does not engage in soring. He says the videos show ordinary leg care.
The Walking Horse industry's largest annual gathering, the Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration, is set to begin Wednesday in Shelbyville.
A similar undercover operation conducted by the Humane Society in 2012 resulted in the arrest and prosecution of veteran Tennessee Walking Horse trainer Jackie McConnel.
Would you like to review photos and video the Society says were gathered by its undercover investigator?