Jane, Soring is an awful practice. It is a black mark against the TWHBEA organization and those that practice it.
The thing is they are beautiful animals and most are born with a wonderful way of going - naturally gaited.
We don't have any connection with the organization or go to their shows, actually have adopted most of our horses - our best horse is an older mare her registration papers are long lost, previous owner abandoned her at a boarding stable.
Luckily, we saw her on C/L the owners of the stable were looking to rehome her.
She is wonderful, healthy and enjoying trail rides. As you can see, my wife took this pic and while she is doing the "running walk". Her body stretches out, and her front legs lift and extend as well as her head "bobs". She is moving fast at this pace and smooth as well.
If you compare her natural stride to a sored "show" horse you can see how the methods exagerate the "action".
Thank you for commenting and sorry for the long winded response.
I'm actually glad to turn this into a teachable moment re: the Tennessee Waking Horse. They are great horses who have had a few nasty people ruin the reputation of the breed in public.
