Revisions to Horse Protection Act Effective February 1, 2025
Photo credit: APHIS
The American Horse Council (AHC) is releasing this advisory to inform the industry of important changes to the Horse Protection Act (HPA). Background on the HPA can be found at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/hpa .
As a general reminder, the HPA covers all equine breeds and disciplines to eliminate the practice of soring horses. The AHC and other industry stakeholders have engaged in numerous meetings with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) to obtain clarifications and details on the new revisions to the HPA Rule.
New requirements Effective February 1, 2025: Horse show and event managers will be required to:
- Provide notice to APHIS at least 30 days in advance of the event via mail or email.
- Provide any event updates 15 days in advance of the event
- Report any violations of the horse protection act within 5 days post event
Note, the new rule defines horse show as a public display of any horses in competition except where speed is the prime factor, rodeo events, parades, or trail rides.
One of the key changes to the rule is that USDA will be responsible for training Horse Protection Inspectors which will be licensed veterinarians or individuals with extensive equine experience with a governmental agency. These will be the individuals performing inspections at events. A video of the inspection process is on the website. Historically, USDA has inspected fewer than 50 events nationally per year.
All event managers should be prepared for potential USDA inspectors onsite. It is important to note that horse show managers are liable for any HPA violations found at their show if they choose not to hire an inspector.
USDA has notified AHC that new guidance documents and further information will be posted to the Horse Protection Act Website at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/hpa. At this time, AHC does not know a timeline for when additional USDA guidance resources will be available. Individuals with questions regarding revisions to the HPA are encouraged to email horseprotection@usda.gov and info@horsecouncil.org with the subject line “HPA Question”. This will ensure AHC stays informed and can follow-up on questions/answers.
Event Manager Responsibilities from the APHIS website:
When the new Horse Protection Final Rule becomes effective on February 1, 2025, event managers of all horse shows, horse exhibitions, horse sales, and horse auctions will need to notify APHIS at least 30 days in advance of their event, either by mail (see mailing address below) or emailing horseprotection@usda.gov. The notification must include whether event management has appointed an HPI to conduct inspections, is requesting an APHIS VMO to conduct inspections, or if event management is opting for neither (while appointing an HPI or requesting an APHIS VMO is not required, event management will be liable for any horse that was shown, exhibited, auctioned, or sold while sore).
For any events that have Tennessee Walking Horses or racking horses, there is additional information that needs to be submitted to APHIS within 5 days following the conclusion of any horse show, exhibition, sale, or auction.
For any event which does not include Tennessee Walking Horses or racking horses, event management will need to submit information regarding any case where a horse was prohibited by management from being shown, exhibited, sold or auctioned because it was found to be sore or otherwise in violation of the Act or regulations.
