The High Lick
The high lick is a method some trainers use on Tennessee Walking Horse in competitions to win the medal. This is a horse mostly known for entering competitions for how gracefully they can walk / trot etc. This is called the high lick method as trainers usually put platforms on the horse’s front hooves. They abuse the horses to get the results they want (and exaggerated kick), this is mostly known as soring. Soring involves the application caustic chemicals including oil of mustard, Carton oil, diesel fuel and other irritants that are applied to the pasterns or ankles of the horse’s feet and wrapped in bandages coated in more chemicals. These chemicals can cook their skin overnight. The horse’s also wear chains in the show ring, when training however they wear heavier chains, these chains when the horse is moving can cause it to all be sensitive and that’s what makes the horse move in a frantic movement. To hide the Scaring, they use human hair spray of the horse’s coat colour and spray over it. Even though this should be noticeable. The natural walk of the horse is beautiful enough. As the competitions are mostly about how beautiful the horses look as well as the execution of the horse’s performance is the main structure of the competition.
The natural looks of the walk compared to the High Lick is extremely noticeable, anyone should be able to see that. It doesn’t matter if it looks “beautiful” because it’s really not! How they naturally walk is beautiful enough, some of these horses are so worn out and are in no need of use so the owners put them up for sale or put them down, they’re used for our pleasure when its sick whoever likes this walk.

—example photo.
Platforms: The Big lick is primarily achieved by putting the horse is ridiculous padded shoes that make them look like platforms. However, “padded” wasn’t the right word for it. Each layer of platform has nails that can apply pressure causing extreme pain and make every step painful. This wasn’t the only method used to get the horses to get the exaggerated movement.
Soring: Those pieces of equipment alone is enough for the horse to be in pain and get those movements, yet they wanted movement to be bigger. This is how soring is counted as one of the most harshest training methods as it can leave permanent scaring. they would sore the horses on the front legs only right down ear the hoof, the chemicals used are oil of mustard, Carton oil, diesel fuel and other irritants. These can all inflict pain to the horse making its thresh hold more exaggerated. In competitions they would also put chains around its front hooves where the soring would happen so every time it moved it would make the step even bigger than before. In training they would wrap around cloth covered in irritants. Nails, screws and thumb tacks into the limbs to make them even more sensitive. To cover up that they would be harming these horses they would use human hair spray and cover up the marks so it looks completely normal.
This “beautiful” movement is absolutely sick, no one is innocent. Not the owners, riders and definitely not the trainers nor people that work there as a assistant.
Recently The Big Lick may have its ends in the US. Stacks and chains go away on the 1st January 2018. it would take time for the abused horses to go back to their original state of walking but its possibly. Nerveless that The Big Lick is banned in the US that wont stop people from doing it still and all around the country. Now that people should be aware of the signs of abuse in the Tennessee Walking horse (TWH), it’ll be a lot more easier to help and put an end to this abuse for good.