What Is Horse Soring? How It Works and What the Law Says

Horse soring is the deliberate use of pain on a horse's legs to change how it moves in the show ring. The American Veterinary Medical Association calls it "the unethical and illegal practice of deliberately inflicting pain to exaggerate the leg motion of horses to gain an unfair advantage in the show ring." The high, chest-level stride it produces is known as the "big lick." Federal law prohibits showing, selling, auctioning, exhibiting, or transporting a sored horse.

What Is Horse Soring?

Horses, from Thoroughbreds to Friesians, are trained to carry riders and to perform. Handling them follows ordinary routines such as tacking up. Soring is something else. It is done to a horse on purpose, and its aim is an exaggerated way of moving.

The United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) says the practice of soring horses "is aimed at producing an exaggerated show gait for competition." It describes soring as the use of a chemical, a mechanical agent, or a practice on a horse's limb "that can cause or be expected to cause the horse to suffer physical pain or distress when moving."

The federal regulations at 9 CFR 11.1 define a sore horse in four parts. The first three are an irritating or blistering agent applied to any limb, a burn, cut, or laceration inflicted on any limb, and a tack, nail, screw, or chemical agent injected into or used on any limb. The fourth covers any other substance, device, or practice that causes a horse to suffer, or can reasonably be expected to cause it to suffer, "physical pain or distress, inflammation, or lameness when walking, trotting, or otherwise moving."

How Are Horses Sored?

A 2012 AVMA paper said soring "is done by irritating or blistering the horse’s forelegs through the injection or application of chemical irritants or painful mechanical devices."

Of chemical soring, the AVMA says it "involves the application of a caustic chemical to the hair and skin of the horse's lower leg, then covering the leg with plastic and a leg wrap for several days." The chemicals it lists include "kerosene, diesel, croton oil, GoJo hand cleaner, WD40 oil and mustard oil." The AVMA adds that once the chemicals have made the skin very sensitive, "action devices" placed around the pastern slide up and down as the horse moves, which irritates the areas that are already painful.

The federal regulations define an action device as "any boot, collar, chain, roller, or other device which encircles or is placed upon the lower extremity of the leg of a horse in such a manner that it can either rotate around the leg, or slide up and down the leg so as to cause friction, or which can strike the hoof, coronet band or fetlock joint."

The AVMA says mechanical or physical soring "involves trimming the hoof or applying devices that cause the horse's hooves to be painful and force the horse to pick up its feet faster and higher." Its list of methods includes grinding down the sole of the hoof, making the hoof wall shorter than the sole, inserting hard objects between the shoe or pad and the sole, and over-tightening the metal bands that wrap around the hoof.

Which Horses and Shows Are Involved?

The Federal Register says soring "has been used almost exclusively in the training of certain Tennessee Walking Horses and racking horses to induce pain, resulting in an exaggerated gait that is valued in the show ring." The AVMA says "Tennessee Walking Horses commonly suffer from the practice of soring" and names Racking Horses, Spotted Saddle Horses, Rocky Mountain Horses, and Missouri Fox-Trotters as other gaited breeds that may also suffer from it.

APHIS says it focuses its enforcement "on Tennessee Walking Horse and racking horse shows, particularly Performance division events in which horses wear the tall pads and action devices and practice the “big lick.”" The same Federal Register document says the Horse Protection Act's prohibition against sored horses "extends to events involving all horse breeds."

Signs of Soring

The AVMA puts it this way: "The first indication of soring may be the horse's posture." A horse with front foot or leg pain "often lay down more than usual; may be unwilling to move," or it may take a "standing in a bucket" pose, with its hind legs pulled closely together and positioned more forward than normal to take weight off the painful front legs. The AVMA also says sore horses "may also move forward very slowly with short, choppy strides."

On a physical exam, the AVMA calls inspection of the lower limb, especially the coronet band, the heel bulbs, and the front and back of the pastern, "the key portion of detecting soring." If a horse has been chemically sored, it says the skin may be swollen, painful, or abraded, and the hair on the lower front legs may be wavy, rippled, or curly.

How Inspections Work

APHIS says the Horse Protection Act "gives the management of a horse show or sale the statutory responsibility of identifying sored horses and preventing them from participating in these events." Management may appoint a Designated Qualified Person, or DQP, which the regulations define as a person licensed by a horse industry organization with a USDA-certified DQP program, who may be appointed "to detect or diagnose horses which are sore or to otherwise inspect horses and any records pertaining to such horses." APHIS says the DQP program was established by regulations published in the Federal Register in 1979.

The regulations say an inspection "may include, but is not limited to, visual examination of a horse and records, actual physical examination of a horse including touching, rubbing, palpating and observation of vital signs, and the use of any diagnostic device or instrument." The AVMA says APHIS "conducts unannounced inspections at horse events where soring may occur."

The AVMA lists tools used in inspections: thermographic images taken with a thermal or infrared camera, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to identify chemical mixtures applied to the legs, and blood and saliva tests "to detect drugs used to mask pain." It also lists ways people try to avoid detection, including numbing agents, which it says mask pain during inspection but wear off by show or exhibition time, and horse switching, which means a substitute horse is provided for inspection under false paperwork and the sored horse is then shown in the ring.

Is Soring Illegal?

Yes. The federal Horse Protection Act (HPA) was passed by Congress in 1970. APHIS says it "prohibits the showing, sale, auction, exhibition, or transport of sored horses," and that "Congress found and declared that the soring of horses is cruel and inhumane, and that sored horses, when shown or exhibited, compete unfairly with horses that are not sore." The AVMA says the Act "made soring illegal, punishable by fines and imprisonment."

The Federal Register says Congress amended the Act in 1976 to allow, but not require, the management of a show, exhibition, sale, or auction to appoint persons qualified to inspect horses for soreness. The regulation at 9 CFR 11.2 says no chain, boot, roller, collar, action device, "nor any other device, method, practice, or substance shall be used with respect to any horse at any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction if such use causes or can reasonably be expected to cause such horse to be sore."

Where the Federal Rules Stand

APHIS published a final rule titled "Horse Protection Amendments" in the Federal Register on May 8, 2024. A Federal Register rule published on January 28, 2026 says the amendments to 9 CFR 11.1 through 11.18 "are further delayed until December 31, 2026."

That January 2026 document also reports a January 31, 2025 decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. It says the Court "held that APHIS had exceeded its statutory authority in the 2024 Horse Protection final rule by issuing a blanket prohibition of the use of pads, action devices, and substances on Tennessee Walking Horses and racking horses." It says the Court granted a preliminary injunction on August 19, 2025, that APHIS was unable to enforce several provisions of the existing regulations against the named plaintiffs, and that, "to be consistent," APHIS chose "not to enforce these same provisions industry-wide."

How to Report Soring

The AVMA says to report soring to the USDA, including soring at barns or shows and "outlaw shows" organized without licensed inspections. If you suspect or know that a horse has been sored, that is the place to start. Please report abuse of horses to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The American Veterinary Medical Association has condemned the practice of soring and publishes a background paper on it. People who care for horses every day can find general guidance in this horse care guide.

Show your love for these amazing creatures by being informed and supporting horse rescue groups. You can also go the extra mile and purchase some of the horse lover t-shirts available in our site.

FAQ

What is the big lick?

The AVMA says: "The chest-high stride achieved by soring is known in the industry as the “big lick”."

Does the Horse Protection Act cover breeds other than Tennessee Walking Horses?

Yes. The Federal Register says the Act's prohibition against sored horses taking part in shows, exhibitions, sales, and auctions "extends to events involving all horse breeds," even though soring has been used almost exclusively in the training of certain Tennessee Walking Horses and racking horses.

How many action devices are allowed on a leg?

One. The regulation at 9 CFR 11.2 lists "More than one action device on any one limb of a horse" among the prohibited items. The AVMA adds that the device must be made of lignum vitae (hardwood), aluminum, or stainless steel, with smooth rollers of uniform size, and must not weigh more than 6 ounces.

Does a vet's treatment of a horse's leg count as soring?

No. The definition of a sore horse in 9 CFR 11.1 says the term "does not include such an application, infliction, injection, use, or practice in connection with the therapeutic treatment of a horse by or under the supervision of a person licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the State in which such treatment was given."

Sources

• USDA APHIS, Horse Protection Act and its Administration (archived copy)
• American Veterinary Medical Association, Soring in Horses (archived copy)
• eCFR, 9 CFR 11.1 Definitions
• eCFR, 9 CFR 11.2 Prohibitions concerning exhibitors
• Federal Register, Horse Protection Amendments; Further Postponement of Regulations (January 28, 2026)
• Federal Register, Horse Protection Amendments (May 8, 2024)