Howdy,

Great news! Horses are now officially part of our countys agriculture, according to the new Sonoma County General Plan, updated by the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 15.

The new wording states: The raising of horses has long been a tradition in Sonoma County. Equestrian uses are second only to grapes and wine production to the countys agricultural economy. Horses play and important role in many aspects of life, including farm and ranch work, timber harvest, riding, packing, shows and racing. Policy support is needed in order to assure that horses and agriculture-related equestrian facilities are explicitly recognized as agricultural uses.

The updated General Plan further states:

GOALProvide for the raising of horses in the same manner as the production of other agricultural products.

Objective 1. Allow the raising of horses and related facilities and activities in all agricultural areas.

Objective 2. Provide opportunities for the development of support facilities for the horse industry on appropriate lands, consistent with best management practices.

The following policy shall be used to achieve these three objectives: Permit raising of horses and related facilities in the same manner as other agriculture production uses.

This is a fabulous step forward in your Horse Council’s goal to return the horse industry to its rightful place as an accepted part of the agricultural economy in Sonoma County and in California. But this step is only approval of it as policy. The next, important steps will be to transfer that policy into actual procedure, and, as they say, the devil is in the details. For instance, the General Plan still has a sentence that reads, Equestrian uses conducted for recreational or other non-agricultural uses are not considered agricultural uses in this context." Obviously, we have to get that sentence changed.

Nevertheless, this monumental development will affect all future aspects of horse keeping and use on our private and public land. As the details of these recommendations are finalized, we at the Sonoma County Horse Council will keep you informed.

But this political news isn’t the only happy news in this special issue of the Sonoma County Horse Journal. This issue also features our 4th annual Equus Awards, for which the Nomination Committee has chosen the winners. There were many nominees this year, which made for some difficult choices. If your nominee wasn’t chosen, please try again next year. Seniority does help.

The winners are: Kristine Huot, George Snyder, Ed Laney, Gene Harlan, Stan Fonsen, Natlee Kenoyer, and Nancy Kasovich.

The selected nominees slowly worked their way to the top of the list. And when it was done, we knew we had the right people, people who had definitely earned this award.

This is the part of the Sonoma County Horse Council that is truly joyous to be a part of. We welcome all volunteers who would like to come and help us out.

Happy Trails,Karl Bastian

President, Sonoma County Horse Council

If you would like to contact your legislator about stopping the export of our horses to Mexico for Slaughter, The United States Human Society has a wonderful web page and you can find out more here US Humane Society - End Slaughter page

On Monday, October 29th Equi-Ed Program Director and Founder Maxine Freitas, Equi-Ed Board President Michelle Davis and Sheila McCarthy (Program Operations) attended the City of Santa Rosa's Merit Awards Ceremony held at City Hall. Mayor Bob Blanchard presented Equi-Ed with an award for providing recreational and therapeutic riding opportunities to individuals with disabilities. A slide show featured program horses Little Bit and Maude in action and helped to depict the services Equi-Ed provides to the community. Equi-Ed was one of just 22 individuals and organizations chosen to receive this prestigious award from 700+ nominations that the committee received.

SCHC is actively working to ensure that horse inclusion in the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is voluntary and not mandatory.
Here is our letter to ESWG members.
Here is our letter to the American Horse Council.
www.libertyark.net
www.nonais.org
farmandranchfreedom.org/content

In the fall of 2005, both the US House and the US Senate passed bills that should have terminated the slaughter of horses in the US for human consumption (mostly overseas). However the USDA has found an alternative way for the slaughter to continue.

Rather than directly ban the slaughter, the legislation eliminated federal funding for meat inspections, required when animals are slaughtered for human consumption, from an agricultural appropriations bill. In response, the USDA has initiated fee-for-service inspections so that horse slaughter by three foreign-owned slaughterhouses in Texas may continue.

In the meantime, House and Senate bills have been introduced to explicitly outlaw the slaughter.

Link to more information

House Bill HR586 and Senate Bill S 781 are currently referred to committees. The purpose of the legislation is to preserve access to public lands for equestrians.
Write to your representative and senator to let them know you would like their support for these bills.

Here is a sample letter to your representative and a sample letter for your senator which you may use as a basis for your own letters. A personalized letter is more effective than a form letter.
You can find contact information for your elected officials here.

A rider surreptitiously included in the 2005 federal Appropriations Bill (Section 142) has eviscerated federal protection for America�s wild horses. Full information here.

The current Interim Public Access & Managment Plan can be downloaded from the following website. www.sonoma-county.org/parks/park_planning.htm