California's Horse Industry Needs an Inherent Risk Law. Here Is Why, and How We Win It Jul 9, 2026 Zachary Leyden California was built in the saddle. Before it was freeways and tech campuses, this was one of the great horse cultures on earth, a coast of vast ranchos worked by vaqueros whose skill still shapes how... California Horse Industry Industry News Legislation & Policy Take Action Read more
HISA Back Before the Courts: What the Latest Ruling Means for Racing's Safety Rules Jul 9, 2026 Zachary Leyden The most consequential law in American horse racing spent the last year in and out of federal court, and in June 2026 it took another hit. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, known as HISA, sets... Horse Racing Industry News Legislation & Policy Read more
The SAFE Act and the State of the U.S. Horse Slaughter Ban in 2026 Jul 9, 2026 Zachary Leyden Ask most American horse owners whether horse slaughter is legal in the United States, and you will get a confident answer that is only half right. No horses are slaughtered for human consumption on U.... Horse Welfare Industry News Legislation & Policy Read more
USDA's Anti-Soring Rule Is Vacated in Part and Delayed Again Jul 9, 2026 Zachary Leyden One of the ugliest practices in the horse world has a bland regulatory name attached to it, and in 2026 the effort to end it hit another wall. The practice is soring, the deliberate infliction of pain... Horse Welfare Industry News Legislation & Policy Read more
Wild Horses in 2026: Roundups Resume, Funding Holds, and the Adoption Bonus Ends Jul 9, 2026 Zachary Leyden The American mustang occupies a strange place in our national imagination, a living symbol of the West that is also the subject of one of the most contentious land-management fights in the country. In... Industry News Legislation & Policy Wild Horses & Mustangs Read more
New World Screwworm Reaches the U.S.: A Biosecurity Wake-Up Call for Horse Owners Jul 9, 2026 Zachary Leyden Some horse news is about rules and ribbons. This one is about a flesh-eating parasite that the United States eradicated decades ago and that has now crossed back over the border. In June 2026, federal... Biosecurity & Health Industry News Read more
An EHV-1 Outbreak Rode Home From a Show: Biosecurity Lessons for Every Barn Jul 9, 2026 Zachary Leyden In late 2025, a single horse show set off an outbreak that rippled across several states and canceled events nationwide. The culprit was equine herpesvirus type 1, EHV-1, and in its most dangerous for... Biosecurity & Health Industry News Read more
US Equestrian Extends Its Microchip Deadline and Deepens Its Welfare Push Jul 9, 2026 Zachary Leyden If you compete under US Equestrian rules, or expect to, a deadline you may have marked on your calendar just moved. In January 2026, US Equestrian, the national governing body for many equestrian spor... Horse Sport Horse Welfare Industry News Read more
The FEI Tightens the Rules: A Noseband Gauge, a Stricter Blood Rule, and Social License Jul 9, 2026 Zachary Leyden International horse sport spent the last two years under a spotlight it did not enjoy, and its governing body has responded with a string of concrete rule changes. The FEI, which oversees Olympic eque... Horse Sport Horse Welfare Industry News Read more
Road to the Horse 2025 and 2026: Maynard's Repeat, Dowers' Third Title Jul 9, 2026 Zachary Leyden Once a year, the natural horsemanship world gathers to watch a handful of horsemen do something quietly extraordinary: take a completely unstarted young horse and, over a few days in front of thousand... Industry News The Natural Horsemanship Movement The Vaquero & Western Tradition Read more
Where the Tradition Is Heading: Brannaman, Schiller, and Parelli in 2026 Jul 9, 2026 Zachary Leyden The natural horsemanship movement is not a museum piece. It is a living tradition, and the horsemen who carry it forward keep shaping where it goes. Three of the most recognizable names in that world ... Industry News The Natural Horsemanship Movement The Vaquero & Western Tradition Read more
The Extreme Mustang Makeover Ends an Era, and a New Mustang Finals Begins Jul 9, 2026 Zachary Leyden For nearly two decades, one competition did more than almost anything else to show the public what patient horsemanship can do with a wild horse. The Extreme Mustang Makeover took untouched mustangs, ... Industry News The Natural Horsemanship Movement Wild Horses & Mustangs Read more
