Talk:Tennessee Walker

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On the case of soring: one author obviously does not believe soring is a problem in the TWH industry, and writes in such a way that proposes the critics of the industry a misguided. I'll admit that I have never been to a TWH show, and I don't known first hand about the issues of soring. But it is a well-known fact that soring is still an issue (Horse Illustrated and Equus magazine did an article on the subject a few months ago, and I know of TWH enthusiasts who know for a fact that soring still goes on). To try to dampen this matter in the article is uncalled for. While I think the *vast* majority of TWH riders do not sore their horses, the problem is still big enough to be mentioned in this article without someone trying to dampen it down and make it sound as if the whole thing has been blown out of proportion. I can understand that the TWH industry is probably misunderstood, and has an undeserved bad reputation by other equestrians, but wikipedia is supposed to give an unbiased view, and soring should be mentioned. Perhaps a non-equestrian should do research and write that section. Eventer 28 February 2006

[edit] NYPD?

I understand that the horses used by the NYPD Mounted Division are Tennesse Walkers, originally a gift to New York. If this is true it's worth noting. --Wetman 07:58, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Soring edits

Article has been rewritten since last Feb., put in material on soring. Still, the soring section is periodically blanked or blanked and apologist POV material inserted in its place. This violates wikipedia guidelines for POV and verifiability. Soring information here is primarily from Equus piece, flat-shod TWH sites and other reputable sources, listed at the bottom of the article.

There is also a non-horse admin person watching the page and periodically reverting blanking edits.

I suggest that anyone who wants to "damp down" the info on soring produce cited source material and not industry-promotional hearsay. Also have the courage to register and have a screen name so the issue can be discussed, not just hit the article and run. I note IP addresses from the same general location keep doing this.

When there is constructive material added that is not self-defensive POV pushing, it will stay.Montanabw 08:08, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Update "sorely" needed.

Somebody needs to update this article with the recent and relevant news from the Tennessee Walking Horse show world. The 2006 Shelbyville Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration declared no grand champion becasue USDA inspectors disqualified six out of nine horses in the championship class. I gathered from the National Public Radio broadcast about this story that the qualified entries who did pass the inspection all elected not to enter the ring for fear of harm when passing through the very unruly crowd that had amassed after the USDA announcements.

How does one add updated info to an article? --Soltera 18:28, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Check the footnotes and external links. I think I already put a link to the news article in a footnote. I know the earlier expose on soring done by Equus magazine is in the external links section. You are welcome to put in either an external link to a good news article (I think there is one, though) or a small and WELL WRITTEN edit on the topic if you wish. I will only say that wikipedia has to be at least somewhat NPOV on the issue. We don't have to give the pro-soring side (just like the articles on the Holocaust don't have to give the pro-Nazi view) but we have had a lot of trouble with apologists for soring going in and blanking the entire section or replacing it with pro-industry drivel, so if some of these things aren't put in neon lights, it is only because wikipedia is not a soapbox. I also wonder if we should create a whole separate article on soring where all the horror stories can be told...you can do something like that too, whatever you want! Read the help pages about creating an article! Montanabw 20:09, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Checked the article, you must not have read the whole thing. It says: "At the 2006 Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration [3], the 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. The trainers denied soring and challenged the monitoring methods. The result was that the celebration classes were canceled that evening and the following morning, Saturday, August 26. At that point, the monitors and trainers reached a temporary agreement, allowing the celebration to continue Saturday evening. Canceled classes were rescheduled. However, a more permanent agreement on monitoring methods still needs to be negotiated, and trainers and inspectors continue to meet." Montanabw 20:12, 15 December 2006 (UTC)