The Kentucky Equine Health and Welfare Council met July 24 in Frankfort and continued discussing and planning for voluntary certifications for equine rescue and retirement facilities within the commonwealth.

Eight council members were present in addition to council Chairman Rusty Ford, equine programs manager for the Kentucky Office of the State Veterinarian, who called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m.

After Bob Coleman, PhD, PAS, of the University of Kentucky, presented a brief recap of the progress that’s been made on the rescue and retirement center evaluation form, the council discussed whether certain items on the evaluation form could be considered "deal breakers," while others should carry less weight.

For example, "If you score (well) on having a dental program in place, would it override a (poor score) on feed and water availability? That might be a little bit of an issue," Coleman said