my letter to the editor

This is a letter I am sending to a few TN newspapers & horse magazines:

TO THE EDITOR:

Having grown up in Bedford County, riding and showing natural-shod Tennessee Walking Horses, I have been observing the events surrounding this year's highly controversial Tennessee Walking Horse (TWH) National Celebration with interest.
Unlike some other TWH enthusiasts, I am not dismayed by this year's events, but heartened; perhaps federal officials have finally decided to do what they have failed to do for the last five decades.

The abuse that TWH show horses suffer as a routine part of their "jobs" is one of the saddest stories of the equestrian sports world. I am not referring just to the scarring and soring of the legs and feet that rise to the level of disqualification under federal "scar rule" guidelines. I am pointing to the pain and discomfort these animals suffer as a day-to-day part of their lives.

Tennessee Walking Horses who compete in shows like The Celebration in Shelbyville are forced to wear huge, sharply angled, heavy padding and shoes that force their legs and feet into a grotesque exaggeration of their natural gait. They are forced to train for shows by wearing metal chains hooked around their lower legs that bang against their ankle and cannon bones with every step they take. They are made to wear extremely severe bits that force their heads into extreme, showy positions. Their tailbones are often broken for a showier look, and in many cases, expensive Tennessee Walkers are never allowed to graze free in a pasture.

Tennessee Walking Horses who are not forced to wear these torture devices remain a lovely breed with a special and unique gait and disposition. TWH enthusiasts all over the world enjoy these wonderful horses and manage to show them without hurting them or mangling their legs and feet to produce the bizarre spectacle one sees at The Celebration every year.

In other competitive equestrian sports, such as three day eventing, hunter-jumper shows, and western disciplines, the "training methods" employed to get Tennessee Walkers into the showring are considered cruel and obscene. It's about time that Celebration fans, trainers and officials wake up to the fact that this beautiful breed has become little more than an object of pity and scorn throughout the rest of the horse world.

I look forward to the continuing discussion caused by the recent controversy, and as a TWH fan, I hope it means a better future for one of Tennessee's most unique and important assets.

Katie Allison Granju
Knoxville, TN
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