Equine Industry Tackles Issues

Julie Broadway, executive director of the American Horse Council, highlights the organization's mission to represent over 1 million horse owners on federal legislative and regulatory issues with a diverse range of Equine breeds and disciplines. The council serves as the industry's voice in Washington DC, addressing key concerns brought forward by horse owners.

“We're always working on tax issues. Estate tax is a big deal, of course, by our industry, because a lot of people inherit family farms, always looking at Horse depreciation schedules and tax matters that go into that. We will work on immigration and workforce because we rely a lot on foreign workers. And so what kind of visas can we get to help our members get the help that they need? We will work on regulatory issues like pyrethrins. Pyrethens is that chemical that's in fly spray, and the Environmental Protection Agency has been doing a review of pyrethrin, and so we've been working really hard to try to educate them on how important pyrethin Is to our industry.”

In addition, Broadway says that the American Horse Council has taken an active role in addressing concerns over drones, which are increasingly used for tasks like road measurements, but often the drones startle horses. The Council, she says, serves as a resource guiding owners to the appropriate agencies and authorities to resolve these types of issues.