At FOSH, our mission is to promote all “sound,” naturally gaited horses, with a specific emphasis on Tennessee Walking Horses. We focus on educating horse owners about the humane treatment, care, and training of all gaited horses for their physical, emotional, and mental well-being. We only support barefoot or flat-shod horses and never favor any event that uses stacks and/or chains as action devices, nor any mechanical, chemical, or artificial means to modify the horses’ natural gaits.
This horse is Feather, 29 years old, and owned by Myra Toth in Ojai, CA. Twenty years after EPM, Feather is living a good life.
FOSH is the acronym for Friends of Sound Horses. Our association was formed as a public benefit humane and education organization. Our purpose is to provide information to the public about the humane treatment, training, and care of gaited horses, with a particular emphasis on the Tennessee Walking Horse. We also promote the flat shod and barefoot Walking Horse exhibition at competitions designed to showcase the natural gaited pleasure walking horse. At FOSH, we also have the Versatility Program because we actively support versatility events.
In addition to its sanctioned show circuit, we also operate a judging program called the Independent Judges Association (IJA). This program involves carefully selected and trained judges and professionals who have multi-breed licenses in addition to their gaited horses specialization. Please email IJA@fosh.info for more information about IJA.
FOSH takes an activist role in fighting the soring of the Tennessee Walking Horse. We offer a USDA-certified inspection or DQP program to FOSH-sanctioned shows and other shows to ensure compliance with the Horse Protection Act. Please visit our Programs page to learn more or contact dqp@fosh.info.
FOSH Board of Directors
| Name | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Teresa Bippen | President | president@fosh.info |
| Dianne Little | Vice President IJA Vice President Programs | IJA@fosh.info gaitedsporthorse@fosh.info |
| Bill Coon | Director at Large | bill@fosh.info |
| Anita Dunham | Director At Large | membership@fosh.info |
| Gina Vehige | Secretary/Treasurer | treasurer@fosh.info |
| Lisa Harris | HIO Coordinator | lisa@fosh.info |
| Teresa Bippen President president@fosh.info |
| Dianne Little Vice President IJA IJA@fosh.info Vice President Programs gaitedsporthorse@fosh.info |
| Bill Coon Director at Large bill@fosh.info |
| Anita Dunham Director At Large membership@fosh.info |
| Gina Vehige Secretary/Treasurer treasurer@fosh.info |
| Lisa Harris HIO Coordinator lisa@fosh.info |
| Name | |
|---|---|
| Pauline Stotsenberg | pauline@fosh.info |
| Keith Dane | keith@fosh.info |
| Patti Potts | patti@fosh.info |
| Pauline Stotsenberg pauline@fosh.info |
| Keith Dane keith@fosh.info |
| Maggie MacAllister maggie@fosh.info |
| Kirsten Kuzmanic kirsten@fosh.info |
| Patti Potts patti@fosh.info |
