NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration has formed a veterinary advisory committee.

The three-member panel will be composed of veterinary doctors Jerry H. Johnson, Dallas O. Goble and Phillip D. Hammock.

Johnson will chair the committee and said its primary mission is to protect the horses and set a gold standard that he hopes will be utilized by the industry.

The panel will be in charge of rules and regulations pertaining to the safety and well-being of the horses that are too often abused by their owners or trainers.

One of the more common abuses is known as soring, an illegal training method used to force the exaggerated gait prized in Tennessee walking horse competitions.

The federal Horse Protection Act prohibits transporting or showing a sored horse.