AHC Submits a Formal Request to USDA on Horse Protection Act Regulations

03/05/2025 8:23 PM

From the American Horse Council:

Following the public release of the proposed new regulation for the Horse Protection Act (HPA) in August 2023, the American Horse Council (AHC) has actively engaged with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to convey our concerns. In December 2024, we formally requested a postponement due to regulatory ambiguities. This request was granted, moving the implementation date from February 2, 2025, to April 2, 2025.

Since the Final Rule was published, AHC and many members of the horse industry have requested clarifications on the interpretation of the regulation, including a perceived “mission creep” of applying the definition of soring beyond what was intended by Congress. Our focus has been to curtail unintended consequences not related to ending intentional soring. For example, did Congress intend to ban the use of fly spray?

We seriously doubt it.

AHC has found the most troubling aspect of this process is the adoption of internal USDA policies and protocols that do not require stakeholder input for functionality, resulting in vague policies that are rife with inconsistent applications.

On February 28, 2025, AHC submitted another formal request developed by our HPA working group comprised of 25 stakeholders from various breeds and disciplines. The letter is included below.

To provide context for our submission, we outline the regulatory process and our strategic approach.

Read the full article on the AHC website HERE.