Letter from the MHC President THE MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL


by Kimberly K. Egan, MHC President


Spring is sprung! Te grass is riz! I wonder where the boidies is? Te boids are on the wing.


Why that’s absoid! Ain’t you heard? Te wing is on the boid!


So my grandmother and my mother and all my aunts used to sing


this ditty every spring. Tis year I too sang it, more heartily than usual, because this winter felt especially long to me. Tis is a time of great change. Tere is a major avian flu outbreak


and cases of measles are popping up in Maryland. Te 2024 Presidential election has shaken us in a million different ways on a million different levels. Te trade war is already affecting the horse industry. Te cost of steel is up so shoes are more expensive. Farriers have (rightly) started passing those costs on to customers. Tack manufacturers in Europe and Mexico are holding their advertising budgets closer and revising their U.S. marketing plans. Sponsors of equestrian events are reconsidering their spending, and grains from Canada subject to tariffs are ready to increase the cost of horse feed. In addition, the reduction in force at the federal level affects Maryland


deeply. According to Moody’s, Maryland is the most exposed state in the country with respect to the cut-back in federal spending. Te fed- eral government is the largest employer across Maryland, not just in the close-in suburbs. As of this writing, the National Fire Training program in Emmitsburg has closed, research funds for Johns Hopkins and the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda have dried up, reductions are taking place at the FDA headquarters in Montgomery County, at Veter- ans Affairs offices state-wide, and at the Social Security Administration in Baltimore County. Te U.S Department of Agriculture has reduced the number of labs that can confirm positive avian flu tests, and it has also pulled funding for farm-based energy projects like solar farms, and


resource conservation. Maryland-based government contractors have lost projects. Our many military installations face uncertainty, too. Te pull-back of federal funds coincides with our own legislative ses-


sion in a year when the state is facing a not insignificant structural deficit already. Legislators have had to cut an additional $1 billion out of Gov- ernor Wes Moore’s budget, a budget the Governor had already trimmed by $2 billion in cuts. New fees and tax increases are proposed to close the budget gap. Te cuts and fees affect the horse industry directly. As of this writing, legislators are moving $3 million out of the inter-


est on operating funds earmarked for the Pimlico Plus training center into the general operating fund, and they are considering whether to cut annual funding for maintenance at the Fair Hill Special Event Zone in half. Te Administration has also approved a late fee to be assessed by the Maryland Horse Industry Board on farms that are more than 60 days past their stable license renewal date. Funding for the Maryland Agricul- tural Land Preservation Fund, the Maryland Rural Legacy program, and Program Open Space, has been cut significantly. Tis uncertainty does not bode well for an industry that relies on dis-


cretionary spending. Boarding barns are already reporting that clients who work for the federal government are selling their horses or moving out of training programs because they have already lost their jobs, or they are worried they might lose them soon. Te reduced availability of cost- sharing programs for farm stewardship means capital projects on horse farms are being delayed or canceled. Te reduced money at the the state level means fewer grants will be available to support our many horse- related non-profits. We have heard anecdotal reports that competition entries were down in Aiken, Florida, and elsewhere on the East Coast this winter, and venues here are worried the same might affect the com- petition season in Maryland. At least the weather is improving. We can look forward to that. We can spend time with our horses under a warm sun. We can ride through woods full of spring blooms. We can all – horse and human – get out and stretch our legs again and feel the breeze on our faces. We can watch our horses graze and listen to them breathe. Which means we are luckier than many.


Join at mdhorsecouncil.org www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580 THE EQUIERY YOUR MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION | APRIL 2025 | 7


Sherri Holdridge


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