HottyToddy.com Clant Seay raised horses for 25 years. Now the Oxford attorney spends most of his days fighting to ensure their welfare by pushing for a law that would end the practice of the “big lick” gait for Tennessee Walking horses.
Seay is the founder of the “We, the People” Citizens Campaign Against Big Lick Animal Cruelty, a grassroots movement against animal cruelty to the Tennessee Walking horses.
Horses are fitted with heavy shoes, some weighing 8 pounds, often with the addition of chains that help create the big lick high-step style of walking. Some of the pads have been found to contain nails to apply pressure and encourage the horse to lift their feet.
The Horse Protection Act of 1970 outlawed the practice of “soring” where chemicals were placed on the horses’ legs to make them overly sensitive and painful which were used to enhance the high step or big lick walk.