The American Horse Council reports that on May 19, 1999 the United States Department of Agriculture proposed rules to regulate the commercial transportation of equines to processing facilities.

These regulations are based on legislation introduced by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and William Goodling (R-PA) that was included in the 1996 Farm Bill. In 1997, Congress appropriated $400,000 to allow USDA to draft the proposed rules.

The proposed rules only apply to the commercial transport of horses from the point of loading to the arrival at the processing facility. The rules would not apply to the occasional transport of horses to a processing facility, the transport of horses for any other reason, or to the transport of any other kind of livestock.

Under the proposed regulations, a truck must allow each horse to stand at normal height and allow for the separation of stallions and other aggressive horses. In addition to listing specifications and equipment that the trucks must feature, the proposed regulations also call for a five-year phase out of all double-decker trucks