THE DQP PROGRAM AND YOU

by Lee Yates

2007 MFTHBA DQP Coordinator

More and more people are joining the ranks of the show circuit and we are quite often asked, "what are you doing and why" at the DQP check station. So we will try to give those of you new to the gaited breeds (and perhaps a few of those who have been around for a while) some general information and pointers.

The human race as a general rule is very competitive and unfortunately sometimes that "competition madness" takes over and the way of doing things gets out of hand. In 1970 a Federal Horse Protection Act was passed as law to be enforced through the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Congress found and declared that the "soring" of horses is cruel and inhumane and that sored horses when shown or exhibited compete unfairly with horses that have not been sored. Soring is defined as the application of any chemical or mechanical agent to any limb of a horse or any practice inflicted upon the limb of the horse that can cause or be expected to cause the horse to suffer physical pain or discomfort when moving. The practice of soring horses is aimed at producing an exaggerated gait when the horse is being shown. Although a similar gait can be obtained by conventional methods, soring achieves the desired gait faster and more easily and gives the user an unfair advantage. During later years the definition of sored was expanded to include scars on the lower legs caused by inhumane treatment, along with illegal shoeing measures that produced exaggerated gait. Don't panic about injury scars, the DQPs are trained to know the difference and only intentional man-made ones are subject to penalty.

In l976 an amendment was passed to the above law to expand the inspection process (which had formerly been to allow only licensed veterinarians to inspect horses). The DQP (Designated Qualified Person) program was part of this amendment. A DQP is a person who under the law may be appointed authority by the management of a horse show or sale to inspect horses for the purposes of determining "soreness" and enforcing the law. Individuals who are licensed as DQPs are usually farriers, trainers or long-time horse people with a basic knowledge of horses and the equine industry. DQPs must successfully complete a formal training program before becoming licensed and attend a yearly "update" training course to stay certified and licensed. Although they hold a license "through" a breed organization (known as an HIO -- Horse Industry Organization), these licenses are good nation-wide and for any breed and are Federally sponsored.

Any horse show management may hold a horse show without having a DQP present, but should the USDA veterinary medical officers attend and find a sore horse, then there is no "middleman" (i.e. DQP) to protect the show officials from prosecution and/or fines for allowing a sored horse to show. Be aware that once the DQP is on the grounds, he/she is a Federal official with a lot of authority and should be treated with respect.

The MFTHBA was an early-on supporter of the Horse Protection Act and developed a DQP program during the early 80's. That program is still very much alive and in use, especially for those shows that have "points". You will find all the rules and regulations pertaining to the DQP program in the Official MFTHBA Rule Book. For those of you who dread running through that much government talk, here is quick run-down of what to do.

At shows where a DQP is present, the horse MUST be presented to the DQP for inspection before it can enter the ring (usually one to two classes in advance), and must be presented again each time it enters the ring. If you enter 10 classes, then the horse gets inspected 10 times. If it passes the inspection, you will then proceed to a "holding area" until your class is called for entry, each time. DON'T go back to the trailer, or after your coat, or leave the DQP's sight -- if you do, then it all has to be done over again. Of course if you can get someone else to hold your horse in the holding area, you may leave, but your horse has to stay. The horse should be presented with nothing on its legs, i.e. clean and dry, although we do know that sweat comes with a horse that is being worked (grin). If you come in with blacking or powder for those white legs, you will probably be asked to hose it off since it qualifies as a "foreign substance". If you don't have time to remove it, you could end up missing your class. Nor will you be allowed to put anything on those legs while the horse is in the holding area (and the DQP will be watching). Quite often oil or medications have been put on the pastern to soften up the area after it has dried out because of too much dust and/or sweat. That must still be removed before the horse is inspected. You can always put it back on after the class or at the end of the day if its going to show in several classes. At one point, if the horse was presented with substances on the legs, the horse was automatically dismissed, but that rule has been somewhat relaxed now.

At the time of inspection, the horse should be held by the reins with approx. 18 inches of slack between your hand and the bit; crops should be on the horn or held by someone else, cigarettes are to be extinguished. This is because many horses are trained by harsh methods to ignore the DQPs presence if one of these items can be seen. Many people try to be helpful (and its appreciated but not necessary) by holding the horse close to the bit or by its shanks so that the horse doesn't move and/or bite. The DQP will ask you to remove your hand if you do this -- they are very aware of horse antics and are prepared to handle a little misbehaving. However, if your horse has had very little handling and not much of that with his feet, they can dismiss your horse from showing if it is so unruly that it can not be safely checked. SO it behooves you to pick up his feet as much as possible at home to avoid this problem. The law requires that all first place horses be checked again after their class. Many times horses are given shots to deaden their responses and the work and time in the ring may allow much of it to wear off and what was not evident when they went in, becomes evident afterwards. Should your horse become "positive" for man-made soreness after the class, the win is disallowed and fines and charges MAY be filed. So be sure that when you win that blue ribbon that you report back to the DQP, those blue ribbons are hard to come by and you wouldn't want to loose one just because you "forgot" to check back.

At many of the larger shows when USDA officials are present, they will ask to randomly check 2nd and 3rd place horses and maybe even those further down the "win line". This is just a "spot check" and should not cause you to panic. Also the DQP who has a horse that didn't check just quite right as it went through will probably allow you to show but may ask you to bring your horse back for another check after the class as a precaution.

Horses who do not pass inspection because of soreness, scars or other violations will be given a dismissal ticket and you will receive a copy of that ticket. Violations may be so simple as to not be allowed to show for one class or so severe as to be not be allowed to show for many months. Severe violations can also end up in Federal court, and heavy fines can be levied. You should also be aware that tickets are issued to not only the horse and rider, but the trainer and/or owner also. So you need to be aware of what is happening to your horse if it is not being maintained on your premises. NOTE: The 2006 Rule Book was printed prior to the 2007-2009 Horse Protection Operating Plan was finalized. For the current rules, see the DQPs and HPA page.

Above all, PLEASE be courteous to the DQP's. They are simply doing a job as required by the LAW, they are not out to get you nor punish anyone, they treat everyone the same and appreciate your courtesy. Thanks for your attention to this article. If you have more questions, feel free to forward them to the MFTHBA office.

 Happy Fox-Trotting, everyone!