WHOA Dispatch
Congratulations to Happy Trails Program participants
Sandra Hunt and Blanco’s Pride of Kaufman, Texas, for
accumulating 263.75 hours on the trail!
Industry Info
AHC Work on Proposed Changes
to Horse Protection Act Continues
Many members of the horse industry know that the
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently proposed changes to the regulations governing enforcement
of the Horse Protection Act (HPA). The HPA was passed
in 1970 to stop the cruel practice of “soring” horses that
was occurring in some parts of the Tennessee Walking
Horse, Racking Horse and Spotted Saddle Horse industry.
The proposed rule would make several changes to
current HPA regulations with the goal of improving
enforcement of the law and ending soring. However,
the proposed rule has prompted some questions about
its potential impact on the wider industry, particularly
on other gaited breeds. The AHC has convened an HPA
working group and has been engaging industry stake
holders to answer some of these questions and draft formal comments regarding the proposed rule. The AHC
has been actively communicating with industry groups
including the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the U.S Equestrian Federation, the American
Saddlebred Horse Association, the American Morgan
Horse Association, and the Arabian Horse Association.
“The AHC has always opposed soring and supported
the enforcement of the HPA. There is no question that
soring is an abusive practice that should not be tolerated
or allowed to continue. Because soring continues to be
a problem in the Tennessee Walking Horse, Racking
Horse and Spotted Saddle Horse industry, improve4 • Walking On
ments to the HPA enforcement program are clearly
needed and justified, “said AHC President Julie Broadway.
“However, it is equally important that any new regulations are narrowly focused on the problem of soring and
do not adversely impact or unnecessarily burden other
segments of the horse show industry that are not soring
horses and have no history of soring horses.”
The USDA has been holding public meetings around
the country and will be accepting written comments
until September 26, 2016. USDA will then review all
comments and make changes based on those comments
before releasing a final rule.
“Any time regulatory changes are proposed there is
always a need to seek clarifications and make improvements. This is why federal agencies seek comments
before any rule is made final,” said AHC Sr. VP, Policy
& Legislative Affairs Ben Pendergrass. “The AHC’s HPA
working group is drafting comprehensive comments
on the proposed rule that will hopefully help USDA
improve the rule and address any concerns the horse
industry has about the rule. “
The AHC will continue to keep the horse industry
updated as the rulemaking process continues.
The proposed rule has been published in the Federal Register and can be viewed here: https://www.
federalregister.gov/articles/2016/07/26/2016-17648/
horse-protection-licensing-of-designated-qualified-persons-and-other-amendments