APHIS Tech Note

Animal Care July 2010

The Horse Protection 

Act: Responsibilities 

of Horse Show 

Management

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

is responsible for administering the Horse Protection 

Act (HPA). The HPA places primary responsibility on 

horse show management to prevent the showing or 

sale of sored horses, which would be in violation of the 

Act. 

Management may protect itself from legal

liability by hiring a designated qualifi ed person (DQP) 

licensed to inspect horses for compliance with the 

HPA. Management assumes legal responsibility for 

any horse that is sore or in violation of the Act if it does 

not hire a licensed DQP. 

Management and other entities are defi ned in the 

HPA as follows:

Management: anyone who directs, organizes, administers or exercises control over any horse show or sale. 

This specifi cally includes the sponsoring organization 

and show manager.

Sponsoring Organization: the legal entity responsible for conducting a horse show or sale. 

Show Manager: the person who has the primary 

authority for managing a horse show or sale. 

Management Duties:

At all shows and sales, management must:

• Allow APHIS representatives access to all show or 

sale facilities and records and allow them to examine and copy any records pertaining to any horse; 

• Provide suitable facilities for examining records, 

as well as a suitable area for physical, thermographic, or other inspection on horses. The area 

is to include convenient and sufficient space, and 

facilities must protect inspectors from the elements 

of nature (i.e. rain, snow, sleet, hail, etc.);

• Provide appropriate areas for horses awaiting 

inspection and for detained horses; 

• Provide shelter and lighting in the inspection 

area when APHIS representatives request it; 

• Have the means to control onlookers so that 

APHIS representatives can work safely and 

without interference;

• Ensure that only the exhibitor, trainer, groomer, 

and custodian involved with the horse are present 

in the inspection area with the DQPs or APHIS 

employees; 

• Provide a convenient source of electricity; 

• Refrain from infl uencing or interfering with APHIS 

representatives; 

• Provide approved lubricants (petrolatum, mineral 

oil or glycerine, or mixtures of these only) for use 

on exhibited horses; 

• Limit the workouts, classes, and performances of 

horses eligible to be shown in a 2-year-old class 

to no more than two 10-minute workout sessions, 

with a minimum 5-minute rest period between 

sessions;

• Disqualify any horse APHIS fi nds not in 

compliance with the HPA; and 

• Designate a person to keep records and provide 

this person’s name and address when requested 

by any APHIS representative. 

If management decides to use a DQP, it must:

• Use two DQPs when more than 150 horses are 

entered in an event;

• Allow DQPs access to all show or sale facilities 

and records; 

• Provide DQPs with a suitable area for observing 

and inspecting horses; 

• Allow DQPs to inspect all Tennessee Walking 

Horses and racking horses;

• Refrain from infl uencing or interfering with a DQP;

• Ensure that the DQP does not inspect a horse 

more than three classes prior to the time it is to 

be shown, except in shows with fewer than 150 

horses, in which case the DQP shall not inspect a 

horse more than two classes prior to the time it is 

to be shown; 

• Ensure that DQPs do not inspect horses at any 

horse show, horse exhibition, or horse auction in 

which a horse or horses owned by a member of 

the DQPs immediate family or the DQP’s employer 

are competing or are being offered for sale; 

• Disqualify any horse that the DQP fi nds in violation 

of the HPA; and

• Wait until the show or sale is over to dismiss a 

DQP if management is unhappy with his/her work 

and notify the USDA and the DQPs licensing 

organization of the reasons for dissatisfaction. 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination 

in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national 

origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, 

familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic 

information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an 

individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. 

(Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with 

disabilities who require alternative means for communication of 

program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should 

contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD). 

To fi le a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office 

of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 

20250–9410, or call (800) 795–3272 (voice) or (202) 720–6382 

(TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 

United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture

If management decides not to use a DQP, it must: 

• Identify and disqualify from participating or 

competing in the horse show or sale any horse 

not in compliance with the HPA;

• Inspect all horses tied for fi rst place after showing 

in any Tennessee Walking Horse or racking horse 

class to determine if they are in compliance with 

the HPA; and

• For each horse excused or disqualifi ed, report the 

information listed under the subheading 

 Maintaining Records [below] to APHIS within 5 days 

of the end of the show. If no horses are excused or 

disqualifi ed, management must submit a report stating 

such. 

Maintaining Records:

Management must keep the following records for at 

least 90 days (or longer if requested by APHIS) after 

the event:

• Date and location of show or sale;

• Name and address of the sponsoring organization 

and each horse show judge; 

• A copy of the show or sale program; and

• A copy of each class or sale sheet listing:

1. identifi cation of each entered horse, 

including a) horse’s name, b) name and 

address of owner, trainer, and rider or 

exhibitor, and c) address of home farm or 

stable; 

2. class number and exhibitor number (for 

shows);

3. lot number and sale number (for sales); and

4. name and address of horse owner and person 

paying for entry fee and entering each horse. 

Failure or refusal to comply with any of the above 

requirements puts management in violation of the 

HPA.

Additional Information:

For more information about horse show management 

responsibilities, or the HPA, contact:

USDA, APHIS, Animal Care

4700 River Road, Unit 84

Riverdale MD 20737

Telephone: (301)734-7833

Fax: (301) 734-4978

E-mail: ace@aphis.usda.gov

You may also fi nd information at the Animal Care 

Horse Protection Web site: 

www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/hp