On the joint Horse Industry Organization (HIO) call yesterday Dr. Rachel Cezar, USDA APHIS Horse Protection Coordinator, informed the representatives of the HIOs on the call that the Secretary of Agriculture had signed the Mandatory Penalty Rulemaking and it will be posted to the Federal Register within a week.  This rulemaking had been expected for some time by industry leaders.

Until the rulemaking is posted the particulars surrounding the rulemaking will not be known.  At this point it is not known exactly what it mandates, requires or says but typically a window of time would be given to implement a change such as this by the regulations.

A response from the industry is expected after the posting of the rulemaking in the Federal Register.