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The American Horse Council has announced Ericka Caslin as the third and newest director of the Unwanted Horse Coalition.

Caslin graduated from Virginia Tech's animal sciences program. She has been an active member of the hunter/jumper community for more than 10 years.

Caslin comes from the Washington International Horse Show, an annual hunter/jumper show held in October in Washington, D.C., where she served as administrative director for four years. Caslin started in her new position Aug. 10.

Dr. Tom R. Lenz, chair of the Unwanted Horse Coalition, said, "We are happy to have Ericka join the team. She brings great enthusiasm and an understanding of the horse industry."

Caslin's goals are education, particularly about the widespread problem of unwanted horses and how to own responsibly. She also hopes to help provide resources to industry professionals regarding rescue, rehabilitation, and retraining facilities along with other programs around the country that help with unwanted horses.

The UHC recently released results from its 2009 Unwanted Horse Survey. Caslin said the information shows that an unwanted horse problem exists, and that as an organization set up to educate and support the public, the coalition can work to help improve the problem.

"As members of the horse community, we all have one common interest: the welfare and safety of the horse. The survey results suggested that we could use this common ground to our advantage by continuing to educate, increasing the ability of private facilities to care for unwanted horses, and increasing the options and resources available to euthanize and dispose of horses," Caslin said.

–Malinda Larkin

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