Protecting Horses from Soring Act of 2025

This bill sets up new rules to stop the practice of "soring" horses, which means doing things to horses' legs to make them step higher in a way that can cause them pain, swelling, or lameness at events like horse shows, sales, and auctions. It requires a new organization, created by the Department of Agriculture but run by a board chosen by the walking horse industry, to appoint and oversee inspectors who check horses for soring at these events. If a horse is found to be sore through science-based inspections done by veterinarians or veterinary technicians, the horse must be disqualified from events for a set period of time. The bill changes the current system, which was recently updated by a 2024 government rule that put the Department of Agriculture in charge of choosing inspectors, by shifting that oversight role to this new industry-affiliated organization instead.

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