Coalition becomes part of American Horse Council

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The Unwanted Horse Coalition was folded into the American Horse Council in June.

The coalition started at the Unwanted Horse Summit in April 2005. The summit was developed by the American Association of Equine Practitioners as part of the AHC National Issues Forum in Washington, D.C.

The summit was organized to bring key stakeholders together to start a dialog on the plight of unwanted horses in North America. The purpose is to develop consensus on the most effective way to work together to improve the quality of life for tens of thousands of unwanted horses and to reduce their number. The AVMA participated in the summit.

During the past 18 months, the Unwanted Horse Coalition developed a mission statement and began identifying long-term solutions for improving the quality of life for unwanted horses. It considered an operating plan that ultimately led to the suggestion that the AHC provide a permanent administrative home for the coalition's work, according to the AHC.

"The need for a more formal structure, funding, and staff to accomplish the coalition's mission prompted many of the members of the coalition to suggest that it be affiliated with the AHC," said Dr. Tom Lenz, an AAEP past president who served as chairman of the coalition.

The AHC reported that the coalition will be hiring a staff person to run the day-to-day activities of the coalition, and a Web site will be launched to provide horse owners with resources about caring for the animals and finding new homes for them.