New law could deprive kids of work on horse farms

The legality of juveniles working on horse farms is being called into question by a new law being proposed by the Department of Labor.

The American Horse Council, an equine lobby group in Washington, D.C., recently published opposition to the DOL’s child labor regulations as they apply to the agriculture business, including the horse industry.

The rule, if adopted, places new limitations on the ability of young people to “work for pay” on farms or ranches not owned solely by their parents, something that will effectively bar workers under 16 from working in most capacities in agriculture, especially around livestock, including horses.

“The safety of young workers is important, but these proposed rules are so broad they would keep most young people from working on horse farms and ranches at all,” said AHC president Jay Hickey.

“For over 70 years Congress has explicitly allowed young people to work in agricultural because of its unique educational and family nature. We believe, as written, this proposed rule is contrary to Congressional intent.”

Essentially, AHC legislative director Tim Pendergrass explained, the proposed rule would curtail the ability of young people to get even “summer jobs” on farms, something most in the agricultural industries decry.

“I’ve talked to lots of lawmakers,” said Pendergrass, who said he grew up working on a horse farm in California, as a paid employee each summer. “It’s a complicated problem. The way the DOL is arguing, they’re saying it will only prohibit the most dangerous functions on a farm. The problem is, the law as it’s written calls even touching a tractor ‘dangerous,’ even if it isn’t running, and they’re making such a broad definition of ‘agricultural equipment’ that this will apply to a Bobcat skid-steer as well as a weed eater. Even a hammer could be considered ‘dangerous.’

“Some of the guys down here at the AHC offices were joking around when we first heard about this, teasing that we wish this had been a proposed law when we were kids. It would have saved us a lot of back-breaking summer work,” Pendergrass added.

In comments submitted to the DOL the AHC focuses on the parts of the proposed rule that it believes are overly broad, such as prohibitions on “workers under 16 herding livestock on horseback” and engaging in common animal husbandry practices such as grooming horses and cleaning stables.

The AHC documents highlight the special role young people play in the horse community and raised concerns regarding new limitations on the parental exemption that could impact family farms and ranches.

“Members of the horse community do not employ young people simply because they need workers. In most instances, they employ young people to give them opportunities to learn and do something they love,” Pendergrass said. “Young people don’t go to work on horse farms and ranches only for a pay check, but because of a desire to learn about and be around horses. This experience often leads to later careers as veterinarians, horse trainers, breeders and farriers or other agricultural pursuits. This proposed rule would deny most young people such an experience.”

He said that more than 130 members of Congress were already on board to pressure DOL to withdraw the proposition.

“There is a definite push-back,” Pendergrass said. “Obviously, if a farm, or agricultural company is exploiting young people, we support that. But to punish a horse farm for allowing a 15-year-old kid that wants to learn more about horses to work during the summer, that’s just not right.”

Industry insiders agree.

“I was a ring rat, of the first order,” said equestrian author and lifelong horseman Steven Price. “While I was a summer camp rider, I worked for the camp newspaper. The instructor, a local farmer who supplied horses and instructors to several other camps … asked me to fill in one day when he was called away. Just that one, tiny experience opened my eyes to an equestrian education and the attendant sense of responsibility that I could never have otherwise acquired.”

Kyla Kunkel of Marshall, 13, is discouraged by the possible new regulations. “I think this is wrong,” she said. “I … just began my first paid job last summer mucking out stalls and riding horses for a local horse trainer. It is very important to me, and I learn a lot. I think it should be my choice if I want to work, or not, during summer vacation. It is better than watching TV or playing video games.”

Orlean-based horse professional Betsy Smith agreed. “I have been working for ‘adults’ since the age of 13,” she said. “They showed me the ropes on how to take care of horses properly, clean a stall and all aspects of horse care. I also house sat, animal sat, painted fences, was a camp counselor at the local Pony Club camp, and whatever else I could do to earn money and have different experiences. It would be a shame to deprive young kids the rites of passages that go along with learning how to earn their own money and the sense of pride and accomplishment that is gained from doing this at a young age. Especially in the horse business.”

Pendergrass said that though the response period to DOL was already over, he is optimistic that the law will never become final.

“It may take a fight to stop it, though,” he said. “I think, at least, with all the opposition, they may narrow the scope of the proposed rule.”

The AHC is urging DOL to revisit the proposed rule after reviewing comments from the agricultural community and either retain existing regulations, or propose a rule that recognizes the original Congressional intent that youth be able to productively work in agriculture with adequate protections.

“This proposed rule is not acceptable to the agricultural community. Right now a bipartisan group of Senators and Congressmen are asking the DOL to withdraw this rule and start over or keep existing regulations,” said Hickey. “We support their efforts and urge all members of the horse community to contact their members of Congress and let them know they oppose this DOL proposed rule.”

The full proposed law, and AHC’s opposition, are at the council’s Web site, http://www.HorseCouncil.org