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Testimony of American Quarter Horse Association, Leslie Vagneur Lange

*to the*

House Agriculture Committee, Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and
Poultry

Good morning. My name is Leslie Vagneur Lange. I am a national director
for the American Quarter Horse Association from my home state of
Colorado. I am a professional horsewoman and judge for the American
Quarter Horse industry. It is my hope and that of AQHA's that by
providing this testimony, common sense legislation can be addressed that
will not adversely affect horses, owners or the industry at large.

There are many examples of people who believe they are working for
positive changes -- yet they are, in fact, irreparably damaging the
agriculture industry. Threats received by Colorado's beloved,
century-old National Western Stock Show & Rodeo and protests at rodeos
across the country by militant animal rights groups are just a few
examples. Today, I want to focus on what has occurred recently as a
result of the closure of the only three horse-processing facilities in
the United States.

The American Quarter Horse Association, the largest United States-based
equine breed registry and membership organization, represents a broad
base of members who are involved in many different areas of the horse
industry. From ranchers to recreational riders and from racing
enthusiasts to horse show competitors, AQHA's membership of nearly
345,000 is more diverse than at any other point in its history. The
primary concern of these members, my fellow directors and staff at the
Association is ensuring that the welfare of the horse is paramount to
all other considerations. AQHA has strict rules governing animal welfare
and its charitable arm, the American Quarter Horse Foundation, has
funded more than \$6 million in research that benefits all horses. AQHA
has actively opposed a ban on horse slaughter and in March, by unanimous
vote, the 150-member board of directors reaffirmed its opposition to a
ban because of the unintended consequences it already is having on all
horses.

I want to address three key areas that AQHA brought up early on in its
opposition to a ban on slaughter. Before doing so, I want the record to
reflect that AQHA *does not favor* slaughter as a way of dealing with
America's unwanted horses. However, the Association's board does
recognize that the processing of unwanted horses is currently a
necessary aspect of the equine industry. It provides a USDA supervised
humane euthanasia alternative for horses that might otherwise continue a
life of discomfort and pain, or inadequate care or abandonment. Some
have publicly mischaracterized AQHA as not being for the horse, and that
couldn't be further from the truth. If it wasn't for the horse, AQHA
would not exist.

Additionally, it also has been improperly stated that the majority of
horses that go to slaughter are American Quarter Horses. To be accurate,
the processing facilities do not know the breeds of horses. Countless
horses are listed as "Quarter-type," which could include non registered
horses of any breed and horses of other breeds that simply look like an
American Quarter Horse. To state that the majority are American Quarter
Horses is factually incorrect and unverifiable.

Because it's likely that AQHA will be accused of overbreeding, I also
want to briefly address that point. As a breed registry, the
Association\'s primary role is to record the pedigrees of American
Quarter Horses. It is not AQHA\'s role to restrict a breeder\'s right to
breed their horses. In fact, courts have ruled that in certain cases it
is a restraint of trade for the Association to do so.

 

However, AQHA does work to educate horse owners through many ways,
including stories about responsible breeding and stewardship in the
Association\'s publications, on its Web site and through various
seminars. AQHA is very concerned about responsible breeding and
ownership so that no horse ever ends up an unwanted horse.

AQHA registers about 160,000 horses annually. The value of registration
with AQHA means that the overwhelming majority of horses recorded with
the Association are highly marketable and worth far more than
unregistered horses, so those horses find employment as show horses,
race horses and recreational mounts.

Also, I believe it's important to note that we asked that horses be
classified as livestock for very important reasons. What we see
occurring with horses is alarming, and to those of us in this industry,
it appears some are taking steps to change that classification. Horses
are not companion animals like dogs and cats, and I know this committee
recognizes the importance of having horses classified differently. As
citizens, we rely on you, the knowledgeable lawmakers who understand the
agriculture industry, to make decisions based on sound reasoning -- not
emotion, propaganda or exaggerated claims.

[]{.mark}

Animal rights activists seem to think that all animals, including
horses, live idyllic pastoral lives until they slip quietly into sleep
and then death. Unfortunately, that naïve view does not match the
realities of life with horses. Horses can and do suffer injuries that
might require euthanization. At times, horses suffer chronic lameness or
pain. Old horses' teeth become so worn and smooth that they can no
longer eat and if left to pasture, they slowly starve to death. In many
of those cases, the most humane response, the response that is required
of us as horse owners and lovers is to euthanize the horse. It is
heartbreaking, but it is necessary and it's the right thing to do.

However, by eliminating processing, the courts and the federal
government, if Congress passes Senate bill (S. 311) or House bill
(H.R.503), remove a humane end-of-life choice for many horse owners.

In many states and counties in the United States, there are limited
options for euthanization and carcass disposal. Water and sanitation
regulations often prevent a horse owner from burying an animal on his or
her property. Many communities lack adequate facilities or landfills to
handle large animals like horses. There are far fewer rendering
facilities taking horses. Horses euthanized by lethal injection must be
treated as toxic because of potential impact on wildlife, yet most
veterinarians do not have the facilities to dispose of horses.

With that, the three areas I want to comment on are:

-   Long-term care for horses versus abandonment

-   Funding for enforcement and an equine welfare system versus creating
    hardships for owners with bottom-end unemployable horses

-   How the industry is handling the unwanted horse issue without the
    government reacting to animal rights activists or celebrities who
    are out of touch

**[Long-Term Care vs. Abandonment]{.underline}**

Because of successful court challenges from the Humane Society, earlier
this year the nation's three horse processing facilities were closed.
AQHA and many others in the agriculture industry warned that if this
were to occur without addressing long-term care solutions, some horses
would needlessly suffer.

Their owners would not have a way to sell a horse they no longer wanted
or could afford to keep. Horses can become unwanted for different
reasons or owners' circumstances can change. Regardless of what those
reasons are, an unwanted horse is a burden rather than a joy to its
owner.

As examples of the problems that have been created:

-   In April, AQHA took a call from an irate salebarn owner in Utah who
    found himself in possession of a handful of horses that the owner
    had abandoned when he couldn't even get the consignment fee for them
    in the auction. The salebarn owner made it clear that the horses
    were not his problem and would not be kept;

-   The Association received a call from a farm and ranch store in
    Mississippi that was approached to help supply feed for 70 horses
    that were abandoned;

-   An AQHA member from Montana mailed pictures of a 3-year-old gelding
    that died of starvation because its owner simply walked away;

-   Last month we learned of a plea agreement in Maryland that was
    reached in an animal abuse case at a supposed "rescue" facility
    where 75 horses were seized; and

-   In my home state of Colorado, we recently learned of 23 horses that
    were locked in a barn and abandoned. The owner, someone I knew from
    years ago, told authorities he could no longer afford to take care
    of the horses because of rising prices and plummeting value.

Certainly, all owners should care for all their animals properly.
Unfortunately, not all do often because they can no longer afford to.

These examples echo most of what has come into AQHA's public policy
department since we allowed out-of-touch people and organizations to
shut down the three slaughter facilities. While many business owners and
animal lovers have a soft spot for these abandoned horses now, at some
point, the gravy train is going to run dry. Horses are already becoming
victims.

Activists and misguided legislation circulating around Washington
relating to horse slaughter already are having a harmful impact on the
very animal meant to be protected. Additionally, legislation that does
not establish standards of care that horse rescue facilities must meet
is not doing what's best for the agriculture community or America's
magnificent horse.

**[ECONOMICS AND FUNDING]{.underline}**

Whether or not we want to admit it, economics comes into play. The
slaughter market determines the base or floor price for horses. When
that bottom falls out or is forcibly removed as it has been with the
closing of the three slaughter plants, it simply stands to reason that
it will adversely affect the horse industry and the horses themselves.

In 1986, Congress passed legislation that dramatically impacted the
horse industry and weakened its contributions to the U.S. economy. It
took years for the industry to recover and, in fact, it never did
recover to the levels of the pre-1986 era. According to the 2005
American Horse Council study, "The Economic Impact of the Horse Industry
on the United States," the horse industry has a direct economic impact
of \$32 billion and supports 435,000 full-time jobs.

I make my living off the horse industry, and even at the upper end where
I train and compete, owners are beginning to feel the effects of the
bottoming of the horse industry. When the floor is removed, the entire
industry begins to fall, and as we're seeing, values are beginning to
decline.

The other economic issue deals with how we are going to care for some
90,000 horses each year now entering the equine welfare system. By most
assessments, it would take an additional 2,700 bona-fide rescue
facilities to care for America's unwanted horses. Already, Congress has
cut funding for BLM horses because of the tremendous cost they have
become to taxpayers. Where will the money come from to care for these
horses?

By providing *only the most basic care of hay, feed and water*, which we
conservatively estimate at \$1,900 per year per horse, it will cost
\$171 million to care for 90,000 unwanted horses displaced as a result
of banning horse slaughter in the United States. That figure does not
include any veterinary or farrier care. Additionally, if Washington is
going to legislate a ban on horse slaughter, it should explore ways to
provide shelters such as those we have for dogs and cats, where owners
can divest themselves of unwanted horses, and where they can be properly
cared for.

Staff at AQHA called the hometowns of each of the members of this
Subcommittee. Of 18 municipalities contacted, only one had the
facilities necessary to take in abandoned or impounded horses. We have a
long way to go.

As a result of the closing of the nation's processing facilities, today
there are more horses on the market, *causing the value of most horses
to plunge*. Low prices have consequences. Reduced prices put horses into
the hands of people without the financial resources to provide proper
care, which leads to neglect. It also can drive owners to abandon or
neglect horses. Those owners who had a horse worth \$800 to \$1,200 now
have one worth much less and won't pay a veterinarian to euthanize; a
rendering facility to take the body away; or to have the animal buried
somewhere. Slaughter is not pretty, but it does provide a humane,
economical way for an owner to relinquish an unwanted horse.

**[AN INDUSTRY ISSUE]{.underline}**

The option of sending a horse for processing at one of the United
States' three plants must remain available to those who need it, so long
as measures ensuring humane transportation and treatment of horses are
in place. Thanks to members of the House Agriculture Committee, those
rules exist today, and in the United States, we protect the dignity of
even the most unwanted or unusable horse by enforcing laws concerning
transportation to and care at slaughter facilities. People I know have
shipped horses into Mexico and Canada as a result of the recent closing
of the United States' slaughter facilities. Once an animal is taken
outside our borders, we lose our standards of care. And with gas prices
continuing to rise, for states that don't border Canada or Mexico,
abandoned, unwanted horses will soon become the norm because sadly the
economics just don't work in the horse's favor.

But for those who believe that slaughter must be outlawed, the good news
is that the industry is addressing the issue without government
intervention. For people who are serious about helping America's
unwanted horses and putting real action to work, there is the Unwanted
Horse Coalition.

The Unwanted Horse Coalition, which AQHA helped establish in 2005, is
working to eliminate America's unwanted horses. The goal of UHC is not
to pay for the care of unwanted horses but to reduce the number and
improve their welfare. Ultimately, it's the industry's hope that there
will be no more unwanted horses in America. Through education and hard
work, we are addressing this problem without creating inadvertent
problems like this ban has.

Ladies and gentlemen of this Subcommittee, I love horses, and I love how
good the agriculture industry has been to me. If you're serious about
helping horses and the good people who make their livelihood off the
livestock industry, I hope you will do what's right to end this problem.
It's not about passing laws that have unintended consequences. It's
about being realistic, doing what is right for horses and feasible for
taxpayers.

Thank you for your time today.

Curriculum Vitae

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**Leslie Vagneur Lange**

**2140 Fern Avenue**

**Greeley Colorado 80631**

**970-352-3758 • <tandlqh@aol.com>**

**Occupation**

-   Owner and operator T & L Quarter Horses LLC, Greeley, Colorado

**Equine Industry Specialty/Experience**

-   Training horses professionally for 25 years

-   Training all-around, western riding and hunter under saddle horses

-   Prepare horses for competition in open, amateur and youth ranks

-   Credentialed judge in American Quarter Horse Association and

National Snaffle Bit Association

**Memberships**

-   American Quarter Horse Association (National Director)

-   American Paint Horse Association

-   Appaloosa Horse Club

-   United States Equestrian Federation

-   Rocky Mountain Quarter Horse Association (Director)

-   American Quarter Horse Association of Professional Horsemen

-   National Snaffle Bit Association (National Director)

-   National Reining Horse Association

-   National Western

**Industry Clinician**

-   2006-07 AQHA Judges Workshop instructor -- trail, western riding

-   2002-03 AQHA Judges Workshop instructor --
    showmanship/horsemanship/trail

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-   2000-01 AQHA Judges Workshop instructor -- western riding

-   1998-99 AQHA Judges Workshop instructor --
    showmanship/horsemanship/hunter

> under saddle/hunt seat equitation

-   1996 AQHA Judges Workshop instructor -- hunter under saddle

**Honors / Awards**

-   2003 AQHA Professional Horsewoman of the Year

-   Rider of multiple AQHA World Championship titles in western and
    English classes

-   Trainer of AQHA/Bayer Select World Show Champion

-   Trainer of American Quarter Horse Youth Association World Champions

-   Trainer of multiple American Paint Horse Association World Champions

**Education**

-   Bachelor of Arts, Business Agriculture -- Colorado State University

**Personal**

-   Married to husband Tom since 1994