Abuse in the horse show world is not that uncommon. As the money factor goes up the horse has a higher tendency to be pushed to higher limits. If the horse is unable to make those higher limits some (not all mind you) will resort to abuse in the forms of drugs, soring or using abusive equipment that can be hidden from judges views. Some trainers and owners are caught but since the USDA is under funded the chances are high that the trainer or owner will get away with the abuse. Take for example the Olympics with the horses that were tested positive for drugs. You would think that with as much scrutiny that the Olympics has with testing, no one would even take a chance on giving their horse an illegal substance, but they did.
Soring a horse is one of the most abusive acts that really turns my stomach. If you want to know more about soring and I warn you now that there are graphic photos on the site, you can find out more at Friends for Sound Horses. That website is doing what it can to end abusive practices in the Walking Horse world. Lets all follow their example and end horse abuse under all types of trainers.