APHIS Factsheet

Animal Care September 2009

The Horse Protection 

Act

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

enforces the Horse Protection Act (HPA). The HPA 

is a Federal law that prohibits horses subjected to 

a practice called soring from participating in shows, 

sales, exhibitions, or auctions. The HPA also prohibits 

drivers from transporting sored horses to or from any 

of these events. APHIS works actively with the horse 

industry to protect against such abuse and ensure that 

only sound and healthy horses participate in shows. 

Our ultimate goal is to end this inhumane practice 

completely. 

The Practice of Soring Horses

Soring is a cruel and abusive practice used to accentuate a horse’s gait. It may be accomplished by irritating 

or blistering a horse’s forelegs through the injection or 

application of chemicals or mechanical irritants. Sored 

horses sometimes develop permanent scars in the 

pastern area due to the use of these painful chemicals. The accentuated gait may also be accomplished 

using inhumane hoof trimming or pressure-shoeing 

techniques. When it walks, a sored horse responds by 

quickly lifting its front legs to relieve the pain. 

 In the 1950s, horse owners and trainers who 

wanted to improve their horses’ chances to win at 

shows used soring as an unfair shortcut to more 

conventional training methods. Because sored horses 

gained a competitive edge, the practice became popular and widespread in the 1960s. Public outcry over 

this abusive practice led to the Horse Protection Act, 

which was passed in 1970 and amended in 1976.

 The HPA ensures that responsible horse owners 

and trainers will not face unfair competition from those 

who sore their horses and that the horses will not be 

subjected to the abusive practice of soring.

 Although the HPA covers all horse breeds, 

Tennessee walking horses, racking horses, and other 

high-stepping breeds are the most frequent victims of 

soring.

Preventing Sored Horses from Being Exhibited 

and Sold

Responsibility for preventing sored horses from being 

exhibited, shown, or sold rests with the managers of 

these events and with horse owners, trainers, riders, 

and sellers. Owners and trainers may benefi t if a 

horse wins a show or sells for a high price and therefore may have the greatest incentive to sore a horse. 

Managers, however, have the major legal responsibility 

to exclude or disqualify sored horses at their shows, 

sales, auctions, or exhibitions.

 To facilitate enforcement of the HPA, APHIS 

established the Designated Qualifi ed Person (DQP) 

program. DQPs are USDA-accredited veterinarians 

with equine experience, or they are farriers, horse 

trainers, or other knowledgeable horsemen who have 

been formally trained and licensed by USDA-certifi ed 

horse industry organizations or associations. DQPs 

are hired by the managers of a show or sale to ensure 

that sored horses are not allowed in the ring.

The Responsibility of the DQPs

DQPs are responsible for physically inspecting every 

Tennessee walking horse and racking horse before 

they may be shown, exhibited, or sold. They must 

report any horses that do not meet Federal regulations under the HPA to show management. It is show 

management’s legal responsibility to disqualify sored 

horses before awarding prizes and before customers 

view horses at sales or auctions.

APHIS’ Role in Monitoring the DQP Program

APHIS inspection teams attend some horse events to 

conduct unannounced inspections. An APHIS inspection team may include veterinary medical officers 

(VMOs), animal care inspectors, and investigators. 

Our personnel have extensive experience in the care 

and handling of animals. The VMOs observe horses 

during a show and may examine any horse for signs of 

soring or other violations of Federal regulations. The 

VMOs also evaluate DQPs’ inspection procedures. A 

DQP may have his or her license canceled if his or her 

inspection procedures do not meet HPA standards. 

Signs of Soring

The examination for soring consists of three 

components: 

• An evaluation of the horse’s movement,

• Observation of the horse’s appearance during 

inspection 

• Physical examination of the horse’s forelegs from 

the knee to the hoof

 Particular attention is paid to the area of the coronet band, the anterior pastern areas, the “pocket” of 

the posterior pastern area, and the bulb of the heel; 

these are all favorite places for chemical soring. 
United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, 

national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital 

status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, 

genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part 

of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance 

program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons 

with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) 

should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice 

and TDD). To fi le a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, 

Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W. , 

Washington , D.C. 20250–9410 , or call (800) 795–3272 (voice) or 

(202) 720–6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and 

employer. 

If sored, the horse may exhibit abnormal tissue damage, swelling, pain, abrasions, or oozing of blood or 

serum. Inspectors also measure for proper shoeing 

conformations and look for training devices that are 

too heavy or improperly applied. Heavy, rigid devices 

banging on the pastern during repeated workouts can 

cause soring.

Technologies to Detect Soring

In addition to the three-part examination to detect 

soring, technological methods such as thermography 

and chemical testing are also used. Thermography is 

a technology that can identify abnormalities by measuring the surface temperature of objects, including 

a horse’s legs. Infrared or thermal cameras produce 

thermographic images in which cooler areas appear 

blue, purple, or green, while warmer areas appear yellow, red, or orange. Thermographic images can show 

areas that are excessively warm or cool, both of which 

may reveal an abnormality indicative of soring.

 Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry is a 

testing procedure used to identify the composition of 

chemical mixtures, sometimes applied to sore horses’ 

legs. Horses can be sored by applying or injecting 

chemicals to the forelegs causing burning, blistering, 

or irritation. Samples are collected at shows and sent 

to USDA-certifi ed laboratories where they are tested to 

identify if any chemicals were used. 

 Because the methods used to sore horses have 

become more sophisticated over the years, the use of 

new technological methods—such as gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and thermography—are vital 

during HPA inspections. 

Penalties for Violators

Criminal or civil charges can be brought against violators of the HPA. If convicted, criminal violators can 

spend up to 2 years in prison and receive penalties 

of up to $5,000. Civil complaints, imposed through 

administrative procedures, can result in disqualifi cations of 1 or more years and penalties of up to $2,200 

or more per violation. Disqualifi ed persons may only 

attend horse events as spectators. They are not 

allowed to participate in any other fashion.

Additional Information:

For more information, please visit the APHIS Web 

page at www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/hp, or 

send an e-mail to ace@aphis.usda.gov. You can also 

contact the agency at: 

USDA, APHIS, Animal Care 

4700 River Road, Unit 84

Riverdale, MD 20737-1234 

Telephone: (301) 734-7833

Fax: (301) 734-4978