Protecting Horses from Soring Act of 2025

Key Points

• This bill changes how the government protects show horses from a painful practice called soring. Soring involves hurting a horse's legs or hooves to make them pick up their feet higher during shows. The bill creates a new group called the Horse Industry Organization to oversee all inspections at horse shows and auctions.
• Owners and trainers of Tennessee Walking Horses, Spotted Saddle horses, and Racking horses would be most affected. If an inspector finds a horse has been sored, the horse cannot compete for at least 30 days. If it happens again, the horse is banned from shows for at least 90 days.
• Inspections must now use objective, scientific methods like blood tests and skin swabs. These tests must be proven to work and accepted by veterinarians. This is meant to replace older, less reliable ways of checking horses for pain or illegal chemicals.
• A new nine-person board will run the organization. Members will be chosen by agriculture officials from Tennessee and Kentucky, along with industry representatives. This board will hire experts to make sure the testing is fair and follows the law.
• To keep things fair, the bill requires that inspectors have no personal or financial ties to the horse industry. This means they cannot work for horse owners or trainers, and their family members cannot be involved in the business either.

Impact Analysis

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