Our Mission
The Equine Land Conservation Resource leads in the protection and conservation of lands for the horse and horse-related activities.
Our Vision
A future in which horse lands have been conserved so that America’s equine heritage lives on and the emotional, physical, and economic benefits of horses remain accessible to all.
Why It Matters
Every day, we lose around 2,000 acres agricultural land. If we continue to lose land at this alarming rate, the land our horses depend on to thrive will rapidly disappear. This land feeds, shelters, and provides space to raise, ride, compete, and care for our horses.
Additionally, horses play a huge role in American culture and history. From Native American mounts to the horses that pulled the Conestoga wagons across the Great Plains, horses have always been a part of the American tradition.
Poorly planned, uncontrolled development or sprawl, competing demands for land, and a national population that is increasingly unfamiliar with horses are major threats to horse lands. This affects every region in different ways and loss of land is a genuine threat to all horses.
Our Work
ELCR provides access to the information, resources, and tools that help people take action. ELCR organizes immense amounts of information about keeping land open for horses and offers direct technical assistance to help people make a difference in their communities.
- Tools, templates, and resources for advocacy
- A vibrant, engaged network of people, across the country, who are willing and able to assist in protecting land
- Educational resource library for free at www.elcr.org
- Webinars with partner organizations on relevant conservation topics
- Best practice guidelines for managing conversations and relationships with private landowners and public lands stakeholders to create support for equine access and beneficial zoning strategies
- One-on-one counseling and technical assistance to local organizations and individuals to support conservation efforts
Our Impact
As the nation’s leading organization dedicated to protecting land for horses and horse-related activities, the Equine Land Conservation Resource’s (ELCR) impact extends far beyond individual conservation projects. ELCR strengthens communities through education, assistance, and resources that help preserve equestrian access nationwide and keeps America’s equine heritage alive.
By equipping advocates, organizations, and decision-makers with proven strategies and expert guidance, ELCR helps ensure that horses and riders continue to have access to the land that horses, horse sports, and the equine-driven economy need to thrive.
Some of our efforts include:
- Working with a group of Missouri farm owners to prevent the shut-down of 23 parks in St. Louis County.
- Assisting equestrians, conservationists and land owners in northeast Napa County, California to keep 61,000 acres of public land open to trail riders.
- Successfully leading Clark County, Kentucky equestrians in a comprehensive planning process to challenge a housing development project in a horse farm area of the county.
- Advancing the conservation of 900 acres for trail riding in Kentucky by facilitating relationships with the land owners and National Park Service RTCA Program and the Bluegrass Conservancy.
Did You Know…
- The majority of the US equestrian community is located in and near the urban and suburban areas where development often occurs.
- There are around 7 million horses in the US that require an estimated 39 million acres to support their basic feed, forage, and acreage needs.
- Healthy horse pastures can act as natural water filters and actively grazed fields reduce fuel for wildfires.
- Pasture grasses capture carbon dioxide from the air, helping balance out local greenhouse gases and reduce our carbon footprint.
Download our Info Sheet here.