PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 27, 2025
Protecting Horses from Soring Act of 2025
This bill establishes requirements to prevent the practice of soring horses at horse events (i.e., shows, exhibitions, sales, or auctions), including by requiring soring inspections to be overseen by a new organization that is formally affiliated with the horse event industry. Generally, the soring of horses includes certain actions taken on horses' limbs to produce higher gaits that may cause pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness.
The bill directs the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the Department of Agriculture to establish the organization. The organization must be governed by a board that is appointed by the walking horse industry. The organization must appoint inspectors for each horse event and license, train, and oversee inspectors to detect soring at horse events.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The bill also directs the management of horse events to disqualify horses for specified durations if the horses are determined to be sore by objective inspections conducted by veterinarians or veterinarian technicians using certain science-based protocols.
Currently, inspectors must be designated by the management of horse events and licensed by APHIS-certified horse industry organizations. However, an APHIS rule issued in 2024 established several requirements to increase efforts to protect horses from soring practices, including requiring inspectors to be designated by APHIS. In 2025, a court upheld the parts of the rule requiring APHIS-designated inspectors but vacated other parts of the rule relating to other requirements. APHIS subsequently delayed the effective date of the rule to December 31, 2026.
People & committees
Rep. DesJarlais, Scott [R-TN-4] · R–TN
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: May 7, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-27 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This bill would change how horses are inspected and kept out of shows when found sore. It would define an “objective inspection” as a science-based examination by a veterinarian or veterinary technician that includes swabbing and blood testing, and set minimum exclusion periods for horses found sore through those inspections. A new Horse Industry Organization would oversee inspectors and licensing, replacing other organizations’ federal certification in that role. These are proposed changes in the supplied introduced bill, not evidence of enacted law.
The term objective inspection means an inspection conducted by a veterinarian or veterinarian technician using only an inspection method based on a science-based protocol that consists of, at a minimum, swabbing and blood testing
Any horse that is determined to be sore by an objective inspection shall be disqualified from being shown or exhibited— (A) for a period of not less than 30 days if it is the first determination; and (B) for a period of not less than 90 days if it is a second or subsequent determination.
the Secretary shall certify the Organization to train and license individuals, including inspectors, as designated qualified persons
the Secretary shall revoke the certification issued to any other horse industry organization
2025-02-27: Introduced in House
The proposed law would be called the Protecting Horses from Soring Act of 2025.
This Act may be cited as the Protecting Horses from Soring Act of 2025.
An “objective inspection” would have to be performed by a veterinarian or veterinary technician using a science-based method that includes swabbing and blood testing. The method would need testing demonstrating reliable, reproducible results, peer review, and acceptance in the relevant scientific community as determined by the Secretary. This definition does not expressly require every inspection to use that method.
(3) Objective inspection The term objective inspection means an inspection conducted by a veterinarian or veterinarian technician using only an inspection method based on a science-based protocol that consists of, at a minimum, swabbing and blood testing, and that— (A) has been the subject of testing and is capable of producing scientifically reliable and reproducible results; (B) has been subjected to peer review; and (C) has received acceptance in the veterinary or other applicable scientific community, as determined by the Secretary.
The bill would add a congressional finding stating that the Agriculture Department’s Inspector General determined the horse inspection program was inadequate to ensure compliance. The supplied text presents that assertion as a proposed finding; it does not supply the Inspector General’s underlying report.
Section 3 of the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1822) is amended— (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following: (4) the Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture has determined that the program through which the Secretary inspects horses is not adequate to ensure compliance with this Act;
Horse show and exhibition managers would have to disqualify a horse if an objective inspection finds it sore, or if a licensed person or the Secretary notifies management that it is sore.
The management of any horse show or horse exhibition shall disqualify any horse from being shown or exhibited if— (A) the horse is determined to be sore by an objective inspection; or (B) the management has been notified that the horse is sore by— (i) a person licensed under subsection (c)(3)(A); or (ii) the Secretary.
A horse found sore through an objective inspection would be excluded from shows and exhibitions for at least 30 days after the first determination and at least 90 days after a second or later determination. These minimum periods expressly apply to findings from objective inspections.
(2) Duration of disqualification Any horse that is determined to be sore by an objective inspection shall be disqualified from being shown or exhibited— (A) for a period of not less than 30 days if it is the first determination; and (B) for a period of not less than 90 days if it is a second or subsequent determination.
The Secretary would have to establish the Horse Industry Organization within 180 days after enactment.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Protecting Horses from Soring Act of 2025, the Secretary shall establish an organization, to be known as the Horse Industry Organization
The organization’s board would have no more than nine members. Tennessee’s and Kentucky’s agriculture commissioners would each appoint two. Those four members would appoint two Tennessee Walking Horse industry representatives, and those six members would appoint up to three more members.
consisting of not more than 9 individuals, of whom— (I) two shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture for the State of Tennessee; (II) two shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture for the State of Kentucky; (III) two shall— (aa) represent the Tennessee Walking Horse industry; and (bb) be appointed by the members appointed under subclauses (I) and (II), in accordance with a process developed by those members; and (IV) not more than three shall be appointed by the members appointed under subclauses (I) through (III).
Five board members would be needed to conduct business. The board would develop operating rules in consultation with the Secretary. Members would generally serve four-year terms, but the first two industry representatives would serve three-year terms. Vacancies would not suspend the board’s authority and would be filled as soon as practicable using the original appointment method.
(ii) Quorum Five members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. (iii) Bylaws The members of the Board, in consultation with the Secretary, shall develop bylaws and other policies to operate the Organization, establish committees, and fill vacancies on the Board.
Any vacancy on the Board— (I) shall not impair the authority of the Board; and (II) shall be filled as soon as practicable in the same manner as the original appointment.
a member of the Board shall be appointed for a term of 4 years. (II) Initial appointments Of the members first appointed to the Board, the members described in subparagraph (B)(i)(III) shall be appointed for an initial term of 3 years.
The organization would establish formal affiliations with event managers and appoint inspectors. Its responsibilities list sales, exhibitions and auctions, with “horse sale” repeated and “horse show” not expressly listed. The text does not resolve whether that wording is intentional. It would also contract with horse veterinary experts for advice on testing and certification of results, establish licensing requirements, and take other compliance actions determined in coordination with the Secretary.
(2) Responsibilities The Organization shall— (A) establish a formal affiliation with the management of each horse sale, horse exhibition, horse sale, and horse auction; (B) appoint inspectors to conduct inspections at each horse sale, horse exhibition, horse sale, and horse auction; (C) identify and contract with equine veterinary experts to advise the Board on— (i) objective scientific testing methods and procedures for objective inspections; and (ii) the certification of objective inspection results; (D) establish licensing requirements under paragraph (3); and (E) take any other action to ensure compliance with this Act, as determined in coordination with the Secretary.
The organization would develop and submit to the Secretary licensing requirements for people qualified to detect and diagnose soreness or otherwise inspect horses to enforce the Act.
The Organization shall develop licensing requirements to submit to the Secretary for licensing persons qualified— (i) to detect and diagnose a horse that is sore; or (ii) to otherwise inspect a horse for the purpose of enforcing this Act.
Licensed people and their immediate family members would have to be free of conflicts arising from connections to the walking horse industry. The listed connections include work or services for relevant show managers, trainers, owners or exhibitors, and training, exhibiting, shoeing, breeding or selling Tennessee Walking, Spotted Saddle or Racking horses.
Requirements developed under subparagraph (A) shall include the requirement that any person licensed by the Organization, and any member of the immediate family of any person licensed by the Organization, is free from a conflict of interest by reason of any association or connection with the walking horse industry, including through— (i) employment by, or the provision of any service to, any show manager, trainer, owner, or exhibitor of a Tennessee Walking horse, Spotted Saddle horse, or Racking horse; and (ii) training, exhibiting, shoeing, breeding, or selling a Tennessee Walking horse, Spotted Saddle horse, or Racking horse.
Once the four state-appointed members and two industry representatives were appointed, the Secretary would have to certify the organization to train and license qualified people, including inspectors, under the cited federal regulation. Within 90 days after that certification, the Secretary would have to revoke other horse industry organizations’ certifications under that regulation.
After the members of the Board described in subclauses (I) through (III) of paragraph (1)(B)(i) have been appointed, the Secretary shall certify the Organization to train and license individuals, including inspectors, as designated qualified persons in accordance with section 11.7(b) of title 9, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).
Not later than 90 days after the date on which the Secretary certifies the Organization under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall revoke the certification issued to any other horse industry organization under section 11.7 of title 9, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).
The organization would be exempt from one specified provision of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The bill does not reproduce that provision, so the supplied text does not establish the exemption’s practical effect.
(5) Federal Advisory Committee Act Exemption Section 14(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Organization.
In four existing prohibited-conduct paragraphs, the bill would replace references to appointing and retaining a “person” or “qualified person” with references to formal affiliation with the Horse Industry Organization. In paragraph (6), it would also replace “such person or the Secretary” with “a person licensed by the Horse Industry Organization.” The surrounding existing provisions are not reproduced, limiting what can be concluded about these changes’ legal effect.
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking appoint and retain a person in accordance with section 4(c) of this Act and inserting have a formal affiliation with the Horse Industry Organization; (3) in paragraph (4), by striking appoint and retain a qualified person in accordance with section 4(c) of this Act and inserting have a formal affiliation with the Horse Industry Organization; (4) in paragraph (5), by striking appointed and retained a person in accordance with section 4(c) of this Act and inserting a formal affiliation with the Horse Industry Organization;
(5) in paragraph (6)— (A) by striking appointed and retained a person in accordance with section 4(c) of this Act and inserting a formal affiliation with the Horse Industry Organization; and (B) by striking such person or the Secretary and inserting a person licensed by the Horse Industry Organization.
The Secretary of Agriculture would have to issue implementing regulations within 180 days after enactment. This deadline depends on enactment; it is not a fixed calendar date.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall issue regulations to carry out the amendments made by this Act.
The supplied action snapshot, updated May 7, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on February 27, 2025. This snapshot does not establish any later legislative outcome.
Source snapshot updated 2026-05-07T22:42:41Z. 2025-02-27: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. 2025-02-27: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-27. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for a particular recipient or place was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials. Formal earmark status cannot be established from the absent disclosure and committee materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The findings identify narrow governance privileges and special organizational treatment within the bill’s main inspection policy. These classifications do not establish improper motives or effects.
Tennessee and Kentucky agriculture officials would receive designated appointment powers, and the Tennessee Walking Horse industry would receive two guaranteed representative seats on the organization’s board. These provisions give specified states and one industry a defined role in governing the inspection organization.
The Organization shall be governed by a board
(I) two shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture for the State of Tennessee; (II) two shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture for the State of Kentucky; (III) two shall— (aa) represent the Tennessee Walking Horse industry; and (bb) be appointed by the members appointed under subclauses (I) and (II), in accordance with a process developed by those members;
The newly established Horse Industry Organization would receive mandatory federal certification while other horse industry organizations would lose their certifications under the cited regulation. It would also receive an express exemption from one Federal Advisory Committee Act provision. This grants the new organization special treatment in administering the inspection system; the exempted provision’s practical effect is unclear because its text is absent.
After the members of the Board described in subclauses (I) through (III) of paragraph (1)(B)(i) have been appointed, the Secretary shall certify the Organization to train and license individuals, including inspectors, as designated qualified persons in accordance with section 11.7(b) of title 9, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).
Not later than 90 days after the date on which the Secretary certifies the Organization under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall revoke the certification issued to any other horse industry organization under section 11.7 of title 9, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).
Section 14(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Organization.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: May 7, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI