What do you mean I can’t keep my horse in a barn next to my house?
Why can’t we get the medicine for my horse that we used last year?
Nobody is going to tell me how to transport my horse.
What do you mean my horse can’t drink out of the stream/brook/river that goes through my pasture?


What do all of the above statements have in common? They are all reactions of horse owners/trainers/eventers, etc. to legislation or regulations that might be passed by non-equine people. These laws could adversely affect the equine-owning public and those who appreciate horses.


I think arguments about equine legislation are running on a wheel. The equine industry has been all too willing in the past to let somebody else govern its existence. We hear about legislation we dislike, and then make phone calls and write letters to our representatives at the local, state or national level to register how we would like them to vote or chastise them if they voted against our wishes. But, this is reactive behavior. We all should be proactive by helping to write the proper legislation and preventing unsound bills from even reaching the local government or the Congress of the United States.

How do we do this? At dinner the other night, my 33-year-old daughter, my son-in-law (slightly older) and I were discussing the frustration of the high percentage of income taken as taxes and, to our eyes, over-regulation that is many times noxious. My daughter commented that “you can only make a difference in your area.” My daughter was right.

There are many ways we, in the equine community, can get involved in legislation. You can get involved by being on your local planning/zoning boards or at least attending meetings when regulations on the area plan are being developed or modified. Knowing and supporting your local