Horse Protection Act Final Rule Delayed to February 1, 2026
AQHA continues to work on different fronts to prevent the implementation of the new Horse Protection Act (HPA) rules and their direct impacts on AQHA members and events. Shows, sales and exhibitions will not have to report their event to USDA 30 days prior to the event and it will not be necessary to hire Horse Protection Inspectors.
USDA/APHIS announced that the Horse Protection Act will delay the amendments of the final rule to February 1, 2026. The American Horse Council recently sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture, Brook Rollins, Dr. Michael Watson, Administrator USDA/APHIS and Dr. Sarah Helming, Deputy Administrator USDA-Animal Care requesting postponement and opening a comment period for input on the HPA. The comment period opens March 21, 2025, and will be open for 60-days. AQHA will share more information soon regarding how members can share their commentary.
AQHA also works closely with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and a coalition of industry partners who have hired a Washington, DC lobbying firm to identify strategies to ensure that breeds and disciplines who do not engage in the illegal and inhumane practice of soring horses are not regulated by the HPA.
While the date of implementation of the new rule has been successfully delayed for an extended period of time, AQHA will continue to work to identify a method for a permanent fix to prevent AQHA shows from being regulated by the Horse Protection Act. Additionally, once updates are available regarding these efforts, AQHA will keep members informed.
Horse Protection Act
According to USDA-APHIS, the Horse Protection Act (HPA) is a Federal law that prohibits sored horses from participating in shows, exhibitions, sales or auctions. It also prohibits the transportation of sored horses to or from any of these events.
Soring is a cruel and inhumane practice used to accentuate a horse’s gait. Soring can be accomplished through the use of certain substances, devices, and/or practices that when applied to a horse’s limb can cause physical pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness when walking, trotting, or otherwise moving. A horse that has been sored will pick up its feet higher and faster, creating a highly animated gait that is desired in specific breed classes, such as those of Tennessee Walking Horses and racking horses.
Unnecessary regulation?
Some property rights-focused groups such as Western Justice say the HPA amounts to government overreach and is a foot in the door for animal rights radicals.
Western Justice reported earlier this month that the implementation and enforcement of new rules under HPA encompasses all breeds of horses, all horse show events from local horse shows, state fairs, and 4H shows to Pony Club, Polo, and Dressage to regional and national association and affiliate horse shows and more. The new rules will also have an impact on all horse sales.
According to Western Justice, “The new rules would expand the scope of the HPA far beyond its original intent when it was voted into law in 1970. In plain words, the new language amounts to an egregious overreach, impacts the personal privacy of US Citizens involved in the horse industry, and will put an unprecedented burden on horse sale and event producers by requiring detailed inspections and paperwork for every horse entering and exiting an arena or sale ring.”
The rules (delayed until 2026) also require event and sale producers to accommodate the following:
• Notify USDA’s APHIS that they are holding a horse show, event or sale within 30 days prior to the event and keep the records on hand for 90 days after the event.
• Allow free and uninhibited on demand access by Horse Protection Inspectors (HPIs) to show records, sale records, event information, barns, tack rooms, horse trailers, stables, stalls, arenas, and all other show or exhibition grounds.
• Verify the identity of each horse entered at a show, exhibition, sale, or auction and its inspection status before and after it enters the arena or sale ring.
• Submit all records, including personal information about horse owners, trainers and exhibitors to the USDA and keep track of HPA violators and prohibit them from participating in events, shows or sales.
• Event organizers can either hire a USDA Horse Protection Inspector or provide the inspection services themselves. Regardless, the event or sale management is still required to conduct inspections before and after the horse enters the arena or sale ring and submit all records to the USDA within five days of the event.
– compiled from AQHA, Western Justice and USDA APHIS news releases
