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The United Organizations of the Horse is drafting Congressional pro-horse legislation to be introduced this fall. The Humane and Optimal Restoration and Sustainability of Equines (H.O.R.S.E) Act is a comprehensive bill which ensures humane treatment of horses from birth to death, and preserves the rights of horse owners.



The H.O.R.S.E. Act of 2009 is being proposed to include the following:

Require that all horses to be euthanized must be humanely killed using a method that is approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP).


Recommend that state and local agencies responsible for overseeing equine rescue, recovery, and retirement operations (that accept unusable and unwanted horses, as well as horses that owners cannot support, for a fee or for no charge), follow AAEP "Care Guidelines of Equine Rescue and Retirement Facilities."


State and local livestock agencies should ensure that horses are cared for appropriately and that owner's stipulations are being adhered to in terms of the disposition of the horses that have been surrendered.


Tighten the current transport regulations, strengthen the penalties, and provide for the enforcement of violations of the equine transport for processing requirements.


Strengthen the provisions that would ensure these laws and regulations are enforced at international borders.


Require and provide for training and certification for employees at equine processing facilities involved in the actual humane euthanasia of horses prior to processing.


Require signage at auctions and sales facilities that do not have a $1,000 minimum bid requirement that indicate that horses sold may be processed.


Require that sellers to processing facilities present the plant, or a border inspector, with a document stating the seller consents to processing; if they have owned the horse less than sixty days (a "canner buyer"), they must present a similar document from the original seller, unless the horse was purchased at an auction with signage mentioned above.


Require inspecting horses at the plant, and at international borders, and holding those with lip tattoos or microchips that match numbers or chips that an owner has registered with a national "do-not slaughter" registry. Such horses to be held for forty-eight hours to allow the owner to claim the horse by paying for costs.

What the H.O.R.S.E. Act does NOT do: 

The H.O.R.S.E. Act of 2009 does not impede the market, transport, processing, or use of horses in any way.


It does not take away the private property rights of horse owners.


It does not eliminate the right of Americans to decide how, or if, they choose to market or consume horse meat.


The Act will encourage and not defeat the efforts of states, tribes, and private citizens to implement services, facilities, and options for all horse owners.


It does not impose egregious financial and regulatory burdens on either horse owners or taxpayers to support unwanted, unusable, or excess horses.


Stay tuned for updates on this important legislation! We will post the bill language, bill number and other information as soon as our drafting process is complete.





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