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Tennessee Walking Horse

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Tennessee Walking Horse
A flat shod Tennessee Walking Horse
Other namesTennessee Walking Horse
Walking horse
Country of originTennessee, USA
Traits
Distinguishing featuresUnique "Running Walk," Tall, long neck; calm disposition; long, straight head
Breed standards

The Tennessee Walker or Tennessee Walking Horse is a breed of riding horse. The breed was originally bred in the Southern United States to carry the owners of plantations around their lands.[1] They are known for their unique four-beat "running walk." The breed is rarely seen in any of the sport horse disciplines; however, they are popular in trail riding because of their smooth gaits, stamina and easy temper. They are also seen in Western riding disciplines and in harness.

Breed characteristics

The Tennessee Walking Horse has a reputation for having a calm disposition and naturally smooth riding gaits. It is a calm and easygoing breed, typically easy to train. While the horses are famous for flashy movement, they are quite hardy, popular for trail and pleasure riding as well as show.

Tennessee Walking Horse exhibiting the typical long neck, sloping shoulder, and correct head

In conformation, the Tennessee Walker is a tall horse with a long neck and sloping shoulder. The head is traditionally large but refined in bone, with small well-placed ears. The horse has a fairly short back, short strong coupling, and an elongated stride. In the show arena, Tennessee Walkers are known for their running walk and are usually shown with long, unbraided manes and tails.[2]

Common colors include black, chestnut, sorrel, and bay. Some may also show characteristics of the champagne gene; other colors patterns such as roan and pinto are common. Recently, the breed registry began to recognize the sabino pattern, and it must be noted that many horses registered in the past as roans were, in some cases, sabinos. Tennessee Walkers are generally 15 to 17 hands (60 to 68 inches, 152 to 173 cm) tall, but can range from 13.2 to 17.2 hands (54 to 70 inches, 137 to 178 cm) Weight is generally between 900 and 1,200 pounds (410 and 540 kg).

History

The Tennessee Walker originated from the Narragansett Pacer and the Canadian Pacer in the late 18th century, when these two breeds were blended by Tennessee breeders who were looking for a horse that could be ridden all day over the varied terrain of their plantations. Confederate Pacer and Union Trotter blood was added during the Civil War, creating the sturdy Southern Plantation Horse (aka the Tennessee Pacer). Breeders later added Thoroughbred, Standardbred, Morgan, and American Saddlebred blood to refine and add stamina to their gaited horse.

In 1885, Black Allen (later known as Allan F-1) was born. By the stallion Allendorf (from the Hambletonian family of Standardbreds) and out of a Morgan mare named Maggie Marshall, he became the foundation sire of the Tennessee Walking Horse breed.

The breed became popular due to its smooth gaits and incredible stamina. It was common for farmers to hold match races with their Tennessee Walkers, which they also used for plowing fields. Even after the coming of the automobile, many Tennessee communities kept their Tennessee Walkers to manage the poor roads of the area. Tennessee Walking Horses began to gain a reputations as a showy animals, and breeders sought bloodlines to produce refined, intelligent, flashy horses.

The registry was formed in 1935. The stud book was closed in 1947, so since that date every Tennessee Walker must have both parents registered to be eligible for registration themselves.

Cultural references

  • The Tennessee Walking Horse is the official state horse of the U.S. state of Tennessee.
  • The town of Shelbyville, Tennessee promotes itself as the "Walking Horse Capital of the World," as it hosts the annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, a ten-day exhibition that draws over 30,000 breeders, exhibitors, and spectators from across the country.
  • Driving through Tennessee, one is bound to see one or more billboards advertising nearby TWH exhibitions or pleasure riding areas.

Uses

The Tennessee Walker is used for horse show events, particularly under saddle seat-style English riding equipment, but is also a very popular trail riding horse, both in Western riding equipment as well as English. The breed is a popular parade horse, and has been used in television, movies and other performing events. For example, the Lone Ranger's horse "Silver" was at times played by a Tennessee Walker, "Trigger, Jr.," the successor to the original Trigger made famous by Roy Rogers which was also a Tennessee Walker. The position of mascot of the University of Southern California Trojans, Traveler, was once held by a horse of Tennessee Walker bloodlines.

Showing

A "flat shod" Tennessee Walker performing the Running Walk

Tennessee Walking Horses are known for their ambling gaits: the running walk, the flat walk, and for their gentle, "rocking horse" canter. Although many members of the breed can perform other gaits, including the trot, fox trot, rack, stepping pace, and single foot, these gaits are typically penalized in breed shows since they are not considered "correct" gaits for a Tennessee Walking Horse. The running walk is the most famous gait, with speeds from 10–20 km/h (6-12 mph). As the speed increases, the horse's rear foot overstrides the front print 15–45 cm (6–18 in). The greater the overstride, the better a "walker" the horse is said to be. The horse nods its head in both the running and the flat walk, the ears swinging with the gait. Some Walkers even click their teeth with the gait.

There are two main categories of competition: performance horses and flat shod, differentiated primarily by the size and weight of the shoes being worn.

  • Flat shod horses are further divided into trail, country, light shod, and plantation pleasure divisions, and are judged on way of going, which includes head nod, overstride and front animation. The country and trail pleasure classes have the least animation, the plantation horses the most, with the plantation horses typically wearing a heavier shoe. Flat shod horses are not allowed to use pads, action devices, or tail braces.
  • Performance horses exhibit a very flashy and animated running walk, often referred to as "big lick." They appear to sit back on their hindquarters, lifting their forelegs high off the ground with each step. Horses and riders show in saddle seat attire and tack. Horses are shod in double and triple-nailed pads. These pads, along with lightweight chains around the fetlock, accentuate the gaits, making them more animated.
  • Walking Horses are more commonly being used in long distance endurance competition. In the United States, equine endurance is administrated by the American Endurance Ride Conference. Competitions are either at the 25 mile, 50 mile or 100 mile distance. In September of 2010, a walking horse mare named Silver's Wild Kate, aka "Kate", owned and ridden by Keith Kibler of Shawnee Farms, became the first registered Tennessee Walker to win a 100 mile endurance event at the Lincoln Trails 100 mile event in Salem IL.

History of the "Big Lick"

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, when Walking Horses enjoyed a surge of widespread popularity with the general public, exaggerated front leg action, especially at the running walk, drew spectators to horse shows and helped further increase the popularity of the breed. This action was also rewarded by judges. Thus began the rage for "big lick" movement. While "lite shod" horses with naturally good movement could comfortably perform this crowd-pleasing gait at the time, it took both natural ability and considerable time to properly train and condition the horse.

Some individuals, wishing to produce similar movement in less-talented horses or in less time, borrowed practices used by other breeds to enhance movement. This included action devices such as weighted shoes, "stacks" (stacked pads), and the use of weighted chains around the pasterns, all of which, within certain limits, were allowed.

As these methods produced horses that won in the show ring, and as ever-higher and more dramatic action was rewarded by the judges, some trainers turned to less savory methods to produce high action in a hurry. These methods including excessively heavy weighted chains, use of tacks deliberately placed under the shoe into the "white line," or quick, of the hoof, and the controversial practice of "soring," which is the application of a caustic chemical agent to the front legs to make it painful for the horse to put its feet down.

Action Devices

Show grooming with single curb show bridle and braided ribbons added to mane and forelock, typical of English style classes

There are two common action devices that are permitted on the show grounds, and are used for training and show to enhance the horse's gait.

  • Chains: bracelet-like chains are attached around the front pasterns of the horse, and may be no more than 6 ounces in weight. They are intended to be used with a lubricant to allow them to slide easily along the pastern.
  • "Pads": Added under a horse's natural hoof, pads (sometimes called "stacks" or "packages") can vary in height. They are usually made of plastic, although originally were made of leather. Pads have a metal band that runs across the hoof wall to help keep them on the horse's foot. Pads may be up to 4" thick in the heel and no more than 2" in the toe. Thickness and the use of the band determine what class a horse can be shown in. Pads are an extension built off of a base shoe, and therefore are easily taken off or changed without having to completely reshoe the horse.

Users of chains do not believe they cause the horse pain, stating that it creates a similar feeling as a loose bracelet would around the wrist of a person. However, some trainers and veterinarians believe that above a certain weight, they may be harmful. A well-known study conducted at Auburn University from September 1978 to December 1982 examined the health effects of action devices on gaited horses through the use of thermography. Entitled "Thermography in diagnosis of inflammatory processes in horses in response to various chemical and physical factors," the study led researchers to conclude that chains "altered thermal patterns as early as day 2 of exercise with chains. These altered thermal patterns persisted as long as chains were used," with normal thermal patterns seen after 20 days of recovery. A stallion in the study also developed lesions from 8-ounce chains, after wearing them in nine 15-minute exercise periods (from September 22 to October 3). The Auburn study also showed that 2-, 4-, and 6-ounce chains produced no adverse effects in the horses being studied. A 6-ounce chain is the legal weight of chain allowed in NHSC horse shows.

Pads are also controversial. Some are also critical of the band that holds the pad on, which they believe cuts into the hoof and may wear a slot into it. However, it is a common practice for a trainer to loosen the band when the horse is not being exercised, which may minimize the problem. Under normal conditions, if a pad is lost, it usually only affects the pad itself and not the base shoe which remains intact. Injuries are usually very limited from "throwing" a set of pads. It is dangerous if a horse wearing pads pulls off a shoe, as not only will the pad will come off, but the band may tear off part of the hoof wall. Therefore, horses wearing pads should not be turned out.

Soring

Soring is an abusive and prohibited practice that is associated in part with the production of "big lick" movement in Tennessee Walking Horses. It involves using chemical agents such as mustard oil, diesel fuel, kerosene, salicylic acid, and other caustic substances on the pasterns, bulbs of the heel, or coronary bands of the horses, causing burning or blistering of the horses' legs in order to accentuate their gaits. These chemicals are harmful, usually quite toxic and sometimes carcinogenic, such that trainers must use a brush and wear gloves when applying them. The treated area is then often wrapped in plastic while the chemicals are absorbed. The chemical agents cause extreme pain, and usually lead to scarring. A distinctive scarring pattern is a tell-tale signs of soring, and therefore attempts may be made to cover the scarring with a dye, or the horse's legs may be treated with salicylic acid before the animal is stalled (as many can not stand up after the treatment) while the skin of the scars slough off. Other signs that a horse has been sored include the following:

  • The horse stands with its feet close together, shifting its weight to its hind legs.
  • Granulation tissue or scars are visible on the pasterns or coronet band.
  • Wavy hair growth or hair loss is visible in the pastern area.
  • The horse's pasterns have darker hair than the rest of the horse's coat.
  • The horse carries its hocks low and may twist them outward when moving.
  • The horse lies down for extended periods of time, and is resistant to standing up.
  • The horse resists handling of its hooves.
  • The horse has difficulty walking, and may fall.

Other methods of soring include pressure shoes, where the hoof is trimmed to the quick so that the sole is in direct contact with the pad or shoe. The horse may then be "road foundered," ridden up and down hard surfaces on the over-trimmed hooves, until they are very sore. Trainers sometimes place objects, such as metal beads, nails, or screws, under the pad causing intense pressure, although this practice has begun to decrease with the use of fluoroscopy to detect such methods. Abusive use of chains (such as using them with chemical soring agents) is also a common practices by sorers.

Measures have been taken to stop the practice, and many supporters of the Tennessee Walking Horse have banded together for years to oppose cruelty. The Horse Protection Act of 1970[3], created specifically to stop such practices and to monitor the TWH in particular, prohibits the use of soring agents. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), part of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is working with the industry to enforce the law. Tennessee Walking Horse organizations send DQPs (Designated Qualified Persons) to shows to inspect the horses, and, as funding permits, APHIS sends federally-employed Veterinary Medical Officers to work with DQPs at some shows.

Soring has been prohibited at sales and shows for decades, but is still practiced.[4] It can be detected by observing the horse for lameness, assessing its stance and palpating the lower legs. Some trainers can bypass inspectors by training horses not to react to the pain that palpation may cause, often by severely punishing the horse for flinching after the sored area is palpated. The practice is sometimes called "stewarding," in reference to the horse show steward who often is the first line of rule enforcement at any horse show. Trainers may also time the use of the agents so that chemicals will not be detected when the horse is examined, but will be in effect when the rider goes into the ring. Others use topical anesthetics, which are timed to wear off before the horse goes into the show ring. Pressure shoeing is also used, eliminating use of chemicals altogether. Trainers who sore their horses will leave the show grounds when they find that the more stringent federal inspectors are present.[4]

In 2006, however, due to new techniques in both soring and detection, the USDA began a larger crackdown on soring within the industry. A new device known as a "sniffer" (also used to detect the chemical presence of bombs in airport security) can now be employed, where swabbed samples are taken from the horse and then "sniffed." At the 2006 Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration [5], the longstanding dispute between trainers and USDA inspectors came to a head. The inspectors disqualified 6 of 10 horses from showing on the night of Friday, August 25, 2006. The trainers denied soring and challenged the monitoring methods. The result was that a number of celebration championship classes were canceled, and there is still considerable controversy over the situation. After a yearlong discussion between the industry and the USDA over the issues raised at the 2006 show, the 2007 championship went off without significant controversy.

Trainers who oppose soring have formed and joined alternative breed organizations, including the National Walking Horse Association (NWHA) and Friends of Sound Horses (FOSH). All of these organizations promote the sound Tennessee Walking Horse. In addition, in 2005, the national directors of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders' and Exhibitors' Association (TWHBEA) voted to remove themselves from the National Horse Show Commission (NHSC) the sanctioning body closest to the soring issues. The TWHBEA formed its own sanctioning body, developed a new rule book and strict guidelines for affiliated horse shows and Horse Industry Organizations [HIO] that applied and were examined by the APHIS. The issue remains very controversial, particularly in the states of Kentucky and Tennessee.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Theresa Jensen Lacey (2000). Amazing Tennessee: Fascinating facts, entertaining tales, bizarre happenings, and historical oddities from the Volunteer State. Thomas Nelson, Inc. ISBN 1558537902.
  2. ^ Breed conformation
  3. ^ Horse Protection Act
  4. ^ a b EQUUS Special Report: Why Soring Persists
  5. ^ Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration
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