Judge grants summary judgment, vacates No-Showback Rule, Scar Rule and USDA disqualification procedures nationwide

In a sweeping victory for the Tennessee Walking Horse industry, a federal judge in Texas has entered final judgment against the U.S. Department of Agriculture on three major challenges to the agency's enforcement of the Horse Protection Act, striking down rules that have been at the center of the industry's dispute with USDA for years.

U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas granted partial summary judgment Friday in favor of plaintiffs in Gould, et al. v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, et al., converting the industry's preliminary victory from August 2025 into a final ruling on the merits.

Most significantly, Kacsmaryk vacated USDA's No-Showback Rule, Scar Rule and horse-disqualification procedures that the court determined fail to provide adequate due process. The court also vacated the specific horse disqualifications challenged by the plaintiffs. 

And unlike the preliminary injunction entered last year, the relief is not limited to the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
"This vacatur is not party-restricted—Defendants may not enforce the vacated rules against anyone," Kacsmaryk wrote in the conclusion of the seven-page order.