The Tennessee Walking Horse "Big Lick" has come under fire publicly for it's decades' long history of abusive training and horse keeping practices.  The primary abusive practice is "soring" and showing horses with chains around their ankles, beating the skin and bones of the legs with each step and tall stacks under the hooves that are kept on with bands due to the heavy weight.  "Soring" is the deliberate infliction of chemical or mechanical pain upon the front legs and hooves of a horse to achieve a high stepping gait in the show ring.  

The "Big Lick" show horse has been publicly condemned by the American Horse Council, Americal Veterinarian Medical Association and the American Association of Equine Practitioners.  Many organizations and businesses have distanced themselves from the image that the Big Lick horse represents. Even the University of Tennessee has stopped using a padded and chained horse at their college football games in favor of a sound, natural moving flatshod horse.

Soring Tennessee Walking Horses, Racking Horses and Spotted Saddle Horses is illegal under the Horse Protection Act.  Even so, many violations are found each year by Industry Designated Qualified Persons who are trained by the USDA to inspect horses and report violations, as well as USDA Veterinarian Medical Officers and Inspectors who attend horse sales and shows to detect signs of soring.

It is not right to use sored and abused horses to raise money for charity.  The Tennessee Walking Horse Show Industry could eliminate the classes in which the "Big Lick" horses participate.  It would provide a much better image for the Lions Club, a wonderful organization, to only allow sound, flatshod horse classes to be featured in shows that they receive donations from.

The Performance Horse (AKA Big Lick) has been banned from many major events, show organizations and expos, including being banned from participating in United States Equestrian Federation governed events, and has lost sponsors such as Pepsi and Regions Bank.  The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is the national multi-breed governing body for most equestrian sports in the United States.  The will not recognize the entire Tennessee Walking Horse breed because of the stigma of the "Big "Lick", even though only approximately 3% or less of all Tennessee Walking Horses are shown in stacks and chains.  The "Big Lick" horse has been banned from the World Equestrian Games held at the Kentucky Horse Park.  The most recent charity to refuse to take money from the Big Lick Industry is the University of Mississippi Medical Center.  

Please help support the sound, flatshod, naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse and remove support from the barbaric practice of soring by not allowing local Lions Club Chapters to accept money gained via animal abuse.  Equestrians across the Nation and across the Globe will thank you, as well as the horses.