The Horse Protection Act of 1970 is a United States federal law, under
which the practice of soring is a crime punishable by both civil and
criminal penalties. Soring is the practice of applying irritants
(including objects such as nails, example pictured) or blistering agents
to the front feet or forelegs of a horse, making it pick its feet up
higher in an exaggerated manner that creates the "action" desired in the
show ring, giving practitioners an unfair advantage over other
competitors. The Act makes it illegal to show a horse or enter it at a
horse show, to auction, sell, offer for sale, or transport a horse for
any of these purposes if it has been sored. It is enforced by the Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service, a branch of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. Violations are detected by observation, palpation and gas
chromatography/mass spectrometry to identify chemicals on horses' legs.
Certain training techniques and topical anesthetics can be used to avoid
detection by the first two methods. In 2013, an amendment to the Act was
proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives to toughen penalties and
outlaw "stacks", or layers of pads attached to the front hooves.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_Protection_Act_of_1970>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1139:
Song Dynasty general Yue Fei defeated an army led by Jin
dynasty general Wanyan Wuzhu at the Battle of Yancheng during the
Jin–Song wars.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Yancheng>
1689:
Jacobite risings: Jacobite clans supporting the deposed king
James VII of Scotland clashed with a government regiment of Covenanters
supporting William of Orange, in the streets around Dunkeld Cathedral,
Dunkeld, Scotland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dunkeld>
1911:
Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre by a
museum employee and was not recovered until two years later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa>
1944:
Delegations from Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the
United Kingdom, and the United States, met at Dumbarton Oaks in
Washington, D.C. to discuss the formation of the United Nations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumbarton_Oaks_Conference>
2007:
Hurricane Dean made landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula as a
Category 5 storm, causing 45 deaths and US$1.5 billion in damage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Dean>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
accismus:
(rhetoric) Feigning disinterest in something while actually desiring it.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/accismus>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
 I like to play any character that allows me the freedom to
explore it and teach the audience something they didn't know, and show
them a journey they identify with... or be inspired, or moved. Anything
that touches someone's heart is important for me.
--Alicia Witt
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alicia_Witt>