(Edited press release)

The American Horse Council has added Dr. Kent Fowler, veterinarian and chief of the animal health branch at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, to its list of industry speakers at this year’s National Issues Fall Forum at Keeneland Nov. 2.

Details and online registration are available on the AHC’s web site: www.horsecouncil.org.

Fowler received his D.V.M. from UC Davis and spent more than 25 years specializing in equine medicine and surgery. He chairs the Piroplasmosis Subcommittee of the Infectious Diseases of Horses Committee of the United States Animal Health Association.

At the forum, Fowler will give an update on equine piroplasmosis, a foreign animal disease. Regulations requiring the testing of all horses entering the United States to determine their EP status have been in place for many years. While the disease occurs in Africa, Europe, Asia, South and Central America, the tick parasites that spread EP exist in the U.S.

Complete program highlights for the forum, which is being held prior to the State Horse Council Advisory Committee Fall Meeting, are as follows:

--Preserving Our Land and Use: Conservation Easements 
 Margaret Graves, attorney and board member, Bluegrass Conservancy
 Shannon Bishop Arvin of Stoll Keenon Ogden

--Do You Have a Match? Immigration Issues Facing the Horse Industry
Charles Baesler, Jr. of Stoll Keenon Ogden

--Keeping the IRS At Bay: Federal Tax Laws for Horse Owners
Doug Romaine, of Stoll Keenon Ogden

--The "Ins and Outs" of Movement: Import/Export Issues for Horse Owners
Dr. Andrea Morgan, associate deputy administrator for regional operations at the U.S. Department of Agriculture

--The Sleeping Giant: Update on Equine Piroplasmosis
Dr. Kent Fowler, chief, Animal Health Branch California Department of Food and Agriculture

--Owner Responsibly: Latest from the Unwanted Horse Coalition
Katy Carter, coordinator of the Unwanted Horse Coalition

--AHC National Issues Fall Forum Update: Federal Legislation and Regulations Affecting the Industry
James Hickey, Jr., President of the American Horse Council