PAST Act of 2025

This bill aims to protect horses from a practice called "soring," which involves doing things to horses' legs to change the way they walk, often causing them pain, swelling, or lameness. It bans certain devices like nonprotective boots on specific horse breeds and requires that government inspectors from the Department of Agriculture — rather than people chosen by event managers — be the ones checking horses at shows, sales, and auctions. The bill also increases penalties for anyone who breaks these rules and allows horses found to be sore to be banned from events for set periods of time, with repeat violators potentially banned permanently after a third offense. The bill follows a 2024 government rule on the same topic that was partially struck down by a court in 2025 for going beyond what existing law allowed.

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