Humane World for Animals

Protect horses from the cruel practice of soring!

Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture finalized a long-overdue rule to update its Horse Protection Act regulations and end industry self-policing that has allowed the abusive practice of soring to persist for decades. Soring is the cruel practice of trainers deliberately inflicting pain on horses’ hooves and legs to exaggerate their gait for competitions. Powerful industry players have mounted legal and political attacks to gut the rule—and now the USDA has announced a delay in implementation until February 1, 2026, with further delays under consideration.

Unfortunately, this is the second time a Trump administration has taken a step backwards on ending horse soring, after illegally pulling a similar rule in their first term. We need your help to ensure this doesn’t happen again!

While a federal court ruling struck down certain key protections, including more comprehensive restrictions on devices used in soring and an updated test to determine when soring has occurred, this rule remains incredibly important because it will:

Eliminate the industry self-policing system, ending decades of enforcement failure.
Establish a network of independent Horse Protection Inspectors (HPIs) trained and authorized by USDA.

Now more than ever, USDA needs to hear from you. Help us let them know that further delays are unacceptable—they must implement the remaining portions of the rule now to protect horses.

TAKE ACTION
Send a message to the USDA using the form below urging them to stand strong, protect the rule, and reject delays or rollbacks.

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Dear Acting Director DiVincenti,

I am writing to express my strong support for the updated Horse Protection Act regulations. I urge you to quickly implement the provisions of the 2024 final rule ending industry self-policing and resist pressure to further delay or weaken this key reform.

Soring is an inhumane and intentional act of cruelty, and it has been allowed to persist for far too long under a failed system of industry self-policing fraught with conflicts of interest. I strongly support USDA’s move to replace this flawed system with USDA-trained Horse Protection Inspectors.

While the federal district court in Texas rejected USDA’s more comprehensive ban on chains and other devices integral to soring and its updated scar rule, the remaining provisions—those that establish federal oversight, standardized training, and accountability—must be implemented and enforced.

Please do not further delay this rule or allow industry-aligned groups to undermine these long-overdue protections. Horses deserve better, and the public expects strong enforcement by USDA.

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