The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NAS) will host the first meeting of the study to review the methods for detecting soreness in horses on October 16, 2019.  A portion of the meeting will be open to the public beginning at 11:00 AM ET with a welcome from Committee Chair, Dr. Jerry Black.  The meeting will also feature comments from USDA representatives Carrie Ricci, Dr. Robert Gibbens and Dr. Aaron Rhyner as well as industry representative Tom Blankenship.

Public comments will be allowed and registration for online attendance can be completed via the NAS web site. Comments to the committee can be sent to [email protected] or through the Zoom chat box on the teleconference. All written materials submitted to the committee will be included in the Public Access File created for the Committee and may be quoted in whole or in part in the Committee’s report with attribution.

The committee currently consists of Dr. Jerry Black, chair, Dr. Bart Sutherland, Dr. Tracy Turner, Dr. Pamela Ginn, Dr. Sarah le Jeune, Dr. Susan White and Robin Foster. The NAS allowed public comment on the appointment of the committee members through October 9, 2019 at which time they will review and make any necessary changes to the committee.

The open session of the meeting is expected to last until 12:30 PM EST at which time the committee will hold a closed session. The committee will host several public meetings, some of which will be in more central locations to the Walking Horse community. For more information and to send comments and register for online attendance, click here.