The American Association of Equine Practitioners hails today’s passage of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act (H.R. 693) in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation will help end the cruel and inhumane practice of horse soring, which is the deliberate infliction of pain to exaggerate a horse’s motion for the purpose of gaining an advantage in the show ring.

“For many years the AAEP has championed legislation to end this cruel practice, and today’s vote in the House is a victory for horses,” said Dr. Jeffrey T. Berk, 2019 AAEP president. “We now will work for passage of the Senate version of the bill.”

The PAST Act expands soring regulation and enforcement at horse shows, exhibitions, sales and auctions, including the establishment of a new system for inspecting horses for soring. In addition, the bill increases penalties for violations. Soring is pervasive in the Tennessee Walking Horse industry.

The Senate companion bill, S. 1007, introduced in April by Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Mark Warner, D-Va., currently has 41 cosponsors.

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The American Association of Equine Practitioners, headquartered in Lexington, Ky., was founded in 1954 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the health and welfare of the horse. Currently, AAEP reaches more than 5 million horse owners through its over 9,000 members worldwide and is actively involved in ethics issues, practice management, research and continuing education in the equine veterinary profession and horse industry.