American Horse Council Meeting Report

AMERICAN HORSE COUNCIL MEETING REPORT The 1995 American Horse Council convention was held in Fort Worth, Texas, from June 4-7 with nearly 300 people attending the various sessions. "This was only the second time the AHC convention has been held outside Washington," said AHC President James J. Hickey, Jr. "Having the convention in Texas introduced many of our members to parts of the horse industry with which they are less familiar. I think it was very interesting and helpful to our members to get an appreciation for the many parts of the industry." In addition to the AHC committee meetings that were held, there were varied and interesting presentations made.

State and Local Issues The Sunday State and Local Issues session was kicked o f f by Julie Fershtman, Esq., an attorney who specializes in equine issues. Ms. Fershtman, of Bingham Farms, Michigan, reviewed the equine liability laws enacted by thirty-four states. She also addressed how to handle liability problems of equestrian activities such as stables and farms. "Facilities should take active measures to foresee and prevent as much as possible the conditions that could give rise to injuries and, potentially, liability. Liability may arise if you were somehow negligent under prevailing law. That is you failed to act as an

Volume 15, Number 8, 1995

'ordinary' or 'reasonable' person would under similar circumstances," Ms. Fershtman suggested. A horse facility or farm should always secure proper insurance and use liability waivers or releases, but she cautioned against using the "one-size-fits-all" release forms found in books. Kelly Barthlow of North Carolina State University discussed strategies for dealing with the challenges that multi-use trails present to equestrians and other user groups. Mr. Barthlow reviewed the principles for minimizing conflicts of multiple-use trails, and suggested that providing adequate trail opportunities for various users, minimizing contacts, involving users early, and working with the affected users would help avoid conflicts.

AHC Legislative Briefing On Monday, the AHC updated the attendees on the legislative efforts of the Council in Washington. Hickey noted the new faces in Congress and the opportunities that the change in leadership presented to educate them regarding the size of the industry and its important part in the nation' s economy, sport and recreation. Tad Davis, tax counsel for the AHC, noted that the industry must show legislators the impact the industry has on the economy. "Economic impact, and jobs in particular, are the watchwords for what is going on in Washington," Davis said. Hickey, Davis and Amy Mann, AHC Director of Trails and Recreation, reviewed the potential tax changes in the bill passed by the House of Representatives, proposed amendments to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, trails funding legislation and changes to import-export rules by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Horse Management Seminar Presentations sponsored by the American Association of Equine Practitioners as part of Monday's Horse Management Seminar took up much of the rest of the day. Dr. Marvin Beeman, of Littleton, Colorado, described the form of the horse as it relates to the dynamics of locomotion and soundness. Conformation is important because it is "the key to the horse' s method of progression and directly affects the dynamics of locomotion." In evaluating conformation, Dr. Beeman said, three basic principles are considered. "Compare the horse to the breed' s'standard of excellence,' review the qualities that produce the dynamics of locomotion,' and evaluate the horse's ability to remain free of musculoskeletal infirmities when asked to perform." Drs. Noah Cohen, Terry Blanchard, Leon Scrutchfield and William Moyer of Texas A&M University offered presentations on colic, stallion infertility, dentistry and rebuilding weak or damaged hooves, respectively. Dr. Cohen reviewed a recent study conducted in Texas "that identified recent changes in diet, stabling, and activity level as increasing the risk of colic." He suggested that because these management factors can be altered "this work indicates that a significant proportion of colic cases treated by practicing veterinarians can be prevented by altering management." He also said the study demonstrated "that horses that had a history of colic and that had previous colic surgery were at approximately 5 and 6 times greater risk of developing colic, respectively." Dr. Richard Blanchard noted that recent surveys suggest that as many as one-third of breeding stallions are subfertile. Among the factors contributing to this, "management factors hold

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perhaps the greatest promise for improving fertility." Dr. Scrutchfield suggested that "the characteristics of horse teeth make it important that horses have regular dental examinations and indicated corrective dental procedures performed at least once per year or any other time horses show dental problems in either eating or in performance." Dr. Moyer said that "foot problems remain the most common cause of lameness in horses regardless of their breed or chosen sport, and the most commonly found disorder leading to foot problems is that of the long toe in combination with a low or almost nonexistent heel." Dr. Moyer discussed techniques to reverse this effect, including hoof wall reconstruction and a newer generation of glue-on shoes.

Racing Roundtable Tuesday's Racing Roundtable was moderated by Brian McGrath, Commissioner of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations. It included Dave Freeman of the Texas Racing Commission, Dave Hooper of the Texas HBPA, Jeff Hooper of the Texas Thoroughbred Association, Keith Kleine of recently opened Retama Park and Debbie Schauff of the Texas Quarter Horse Association and focused on racing in Texas. Admitting that racing was struggling in Texas, Freeman suggested that perhaps there was too much thought that "if you build it, they will come. Well, it didn't happen." Jeff Hooper agreed, but belie,~ed that racing will ultimately succeed because of the large number of individuals in the industry and the number of racehorses bred in Texas, which ranks behind only Kentucky, California, and Florida. Dave Hooper called for better coordination between racing factions within the state on issues such as out-of-state simulcasts and political action. Kleine said that Texas had an "appetite that was overstated when parimutuel wagering began and that time

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and patience is the key to success and survival for horse racing in the state." "The state needs to cooperate with the industry and everyone, including the legislature, regulators, horsemen's groups and racetracks, should work together for one common goal. This is a labor intensive industry and the state should help promote, not hinder, the development of such an important industry in such a large state," he concluded. Attracting new owners to racing was discussed by Jim Lane of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, Fred Noe of the U. S. Trotting Association, Corky Parker of the Arabian Jockey Club and Tom Persechino of the American Quarter Horse Association. Lane outlined the problems of declining foal crops and horse shortages for racing, but suggested the "main problem is a shortage of owners." He noted that nearly 30% of TOBA staff resources are devoted to attracting new owners through advertising, seminars at tracks, backside visits to barns, and an annual clinic in Lexington, Kentucky for new owners. Fred J. Noe, executive vice president of the United States Trotting Association showed the new USTA recruitment video and noted that the USTA this past year joined with Harness Horsemen International and the North American Harness Racing Marketing Association of Canada to produce a colorful information packet which is given to prospective owners, answering such fundamentals as: "How do I find a trainer?", "Where do I get a horse?", and "How much does it cost?" USTA also is promoting a series of seminars for prospective owners throughout North America. "Along with racing brochures, videos and seminars, the Arabian Jockey Club offers a mentors program for new owners," said Corky Parker, executive director. "Existing owners will take a neophyte to the track and help them

through the initial phases of ownership. There is no better teacher than experience." Tom Persechino, Director of Racing Marketing for the AQHA described the association's New Owner's Guidebook, which addresses such issues as purchasing at auction, reading the sales catalog, choosing a trainer, judging expenses, selecting races and studying Quarter Horse bloodlines. "The book compliments a ten-minute video, 'Owning America's Fastest Athlete'," and is available from the AQHA and is used when the association conducts its New Owners Seminars.

Horse Show Roundtable At the Horse Show Roundtable, Judith Pence Jordan of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and Joe Kelly of the Will Rogers Memorial Center discussed how to handle risk management at horse shows and events. Elizabeth Kaye McCall described marketing shows and getting corporate sponsors. Rounding out the program, Steve Collier of the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau described the impact that equine events and competitions have on the host community. "Although the areas most identified include the quality of life, internal pride, external exposure, marketing potential and direct spending," Mr. Collier said, "the real impact of a successful, sustained equine event schedule is in job creation. In Oklahoma City the combined operation and out-of-town spending associated with horse-related events results in 1,193 direct jobs with an annual payroll of over $20 million and an indirect and induced impact of 1,700 jobs and total payroll of $31 million."

OUTBREAK OF VESICULAR STOMATITIS IN NEW MEXICO The United States Department of Agriculture has found 49 cases of Ve-

JOURNAL OF EQUINE VETERINARYSCIENCE