The Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks is putting the finishing touches on its landmark Los Angeles County Trails Manual. The document, expected to be issued in late May, is the first cohesive blueprint for trails development that the county has put together, and is highly anticipated by members of the equestrian community. […]
In the battle over Los Angeles city park trails, equestrians and hikers won a narrow 11th-hour victory over recreational mountain bikers. A March 1 vote by the city council effectively put the future of the city trails back under the purview of the Department of Recreation and Parks rather than the Department of Transportation, which […]
Mountain bikers have made a run on Verdugo Mountain Park in north Glendale, flaunting L.A.’s ban on mountain bikes by illegally constructing an elaborate dirt bike trail that undermines fire roads with 10-foot drops, switchbacks and rock canals, all less than a month after the City Planning Commission finalized a draft of the city’s 2010 […]
A recent court ruling could upend existing case law when it comes to trainer responsibility in the case of student injury or death. Mia Eriksson of Tahoe City died shortly after her horse crushed her during the cross-country phase of an event at Galway Downs, Temecula, in November 2006. It was not the first fall […]
Don’t learn the hard way the importance of a strategic plan for your equine business. A new tax court case ruled against a taxpayer with horses of impressive bloodlines, which she expected to sell for somewhere in the six figure amount. In the case, Betts v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2010-164, the judge made a number […]
In March of 2010 the IRS began a three-year process of random audits known as the IRS Employment Tax National Research Project (NRP), which has important implications for those working in the horse industry. These audits are not limited to any one industry or size of business and will be the most comprehensive of the […]
There are practical as well as commercial arguments that can be made in favor of horse slaughter. There are ethical and environmental reasons to oppose it. Horse slaughter proponents see the matter primarily in terms of dollars and cents. The so-called “killer buyers” who purchase horses on behalf of slaughterhouses typically shop at auction, where […]
There has been a veritable stampede on Capitol Hill, with no fewer than three horse protection bills introduced since the beginning of the year. One has already cleared the House of Representatives with a decisive 239 to 185 win, while companion bills under the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 are parked in the […]
The question on the minds of many of America’s wild horse advocates is will Bob Abbey, President Obama’s appointee to head the Bureau of Land Management, offer a reprieve to 30,000 of America’s wild horses and burros removed from public lands and moved to holding facilities? Or will he take the advice of a recent […]
In a move reminiscent of a position taken by the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), the Arabian Horse Association (AHA) went on record on behalf of itself and the Arabian Horse Foundation (AHF) in June as supporting horse slaughter. The move coincided with the appointment of AHA president Lance Walters to the board of the […]
