Arizona Horse Council

02/11/2026

Mark your calendars!! Hope to see you there

12/08/2025

Lower Salt River Area Temporary Emergency Equestrian Closure for Public Health & Safety

Associated Documents

Closure Order Map
Forest Order

PROHIBITIONS

Pursuant to 16 U.S.C. § 551 and 36 C.F.R. § 261.50(a), the following act is prohibited on the National Forest System (NFS) lands in the Mesa Ranger District, Tonto National Forest, described in detail below and shown on the attached map incorporated into this Order as Exhibit A (the "Described Area"):

Riding, hitching, tethering or hobbling a horse or other saddle or pack animal in violation of posted instructions within the Described Area. 36 C.F.R. § 261.58(aa)
EXEMPTIONS

Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 261.50(e), the following persons are exempt from this Order:

Persons with Forest Service form FS-7700-48, Permit for Use of Roads, Trails, or Areas Restricted by Regulation or Order, specifically exempting them from this Order or a written determination by a Forest Service authorized officer that a permit is not required under 36 C.F.R. § 251.50(e)(1) or (2).
Any Federal, State, or Local Officer, or member of an organized rescue or firefighting resource in the performance of an official duty.
DESCRIBED AREA

All National Forest System (NFS) lands within the boundary, starting at the Granite Reef Developed Recreation Site, then following north, east, then north along the Tonto National Forest boundary for approximately 12 miles to the junction with AZ State Route (SR) 87 (also referred to as the Beeline Highway), then following along the south and east side of SR-87 northeast to NFS Road 204 (also referred to as Bush Highway), then following along the west side of Bush Highway for approximately 4 miles to NFS Road 206 (also referred to as Saguaro Lake Road), then following along the south side of Saguaro Lake Road east for approximately 0.5 miles to the shoreline of Saguaro Lake, then following along the west shoreline of Saguaro Lake south for approximately 2 miles to the Stewart Mountain Dam, then following along the east and south shoreline of the Salt River south and west for approximately 2.5 miles to the powerline easement road, then following southwest along the powerline easement road for approximately 2 miles to the junction with NFS Road 10 (also referred to as Bulldog Canyon Road), then following northwest along Bulldog Canyon Road for approximately 2 miles to the intersection with Bush Highway, then following along the north and west side of Bush Highway southwest, back to the point of beginning at the Granite Reef Developed Recreation Site.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Order is to protect public health and safety in concurrence with Administrative Order -ASD055-AGR for quarantine of equine in the Lower Salt River area issued by Arizona Department of Agriculture on December 6, 2025, to prevent further spread of Equine Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) for a least 14 days from the time the last animal displays clinical signs.

IMPLEMENTATION

This Order shall be in effect from December 06, at 6 a.m. through March 06, 2026, at 6 a.m., unless rescinded.
A map identifying the Described Area is attached and made part of this Order as Exhibit A. For a digital version of this Order and Exhibit A, go to https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/tonto/alerts
Unless otherwise expressly defined in this Order, the terms used in this Order are defined by the regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture, 36 C.F.R. Chapter II, Parts 200-299. If there are terms in this Order that are not expressly defined in the Order or 36 C.F.R. Chapter II, Parts 200-299, their meaning shall be determined by their plain language definitions.
A violation of the above prohibitions is punishable as a Class B misdemeanor by a fine of not more than $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for organizations, or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. 16 U.S.C. § 551; 18 U.S.C. §§ 3559, 3571, and 3581.
Contact the Mesa Ranger District in Mesa, Arizona, (480) 610-3300, for more information about this Order.
This Order supersedes any previous Orders prohibiting the same or similar act in the same Described Area.
Contact Name:
Mesa Ranger District
Contact Number:
(480) 610-3300

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10/22/2025

For all of you who have signed up for the obstacle course, here is a map for entry and parking.

09/30/2025

It’s that time again, join us for some fun and competition. This is the first in a series of 3 upcoming events. We hope to see you there

03/24/2025

Sharing information:

Request for action and comments. Please make your voice heard

TO ALL EQUESTRIANS WHO LIVE HERE OR VISIT AND RIDE IN ARIZONA !!
This means every corner of the state--the motorized bikes are coming for your quiet trails. ALL land managers will look at this plan, and public comments and most likely will fold and allow ebikes. This will be a tragedy for equestrians. Some other states have folded already. We cant let AZ.
This proposed State Trails plan will be for the next 10 years (not 5) and once released at end of June, will be a primer for every land agency.
It is 142 pages long. You can scroll down thru all pages or look at these pages:
1 thru 14 , pages 23, 32, 38, 53, 62, 103.
I have been on this committee for 2 years and a couple of us have been fighting to keep motorized devices off our back country trails. This is so critical if we don't let them know NO ebikes on our trails -- or they will allow Level 1 ebikes--and that only opens the flood gates for level 2,3, that have throttles and any motorized device that comes down the pike. (they already have e-trail motorcycles) I know A past president of a mtn bike group in Tucson that is totally opposed to e-bikes on back country trails--he was once run off the trail by one. Me thinks allowing motorized travel on our back country trails will end up with injury or death for horse or rider.
They claim "they are here to stay"--- a bad statement, the homeless camps are here to stay? do we do nothing about those? So lets give them hundreds of comments.
I am counting on all of you. Please do this now before you forget.
Thank you all

the 2025 Arizona Trails Plan is now available at azstateparks.com/2025-trails-plan for public comment!!!!

Comment to: [email protected]

Thank you

Planning for trails across Arizona

02/22/2025

Come out and stop by and say HI to us at our booth. We are at the Apache junction Lost Dutchman Days Rodeo event. The weather is great and we are actively keeping the entire area and Pinal County aware of the horse industry in our county and continue to work with the county on their proposal in their county zoning rules they want to change. The equestrian influence is important to keep in this change. Please come out and say HI and help us keep the county aware of the entire equine industry that is involved and the need to protect it.

01/29/2025

ATTENTION, Pinal County property owners and owners of Equine, (Horse's, Mules, & Donkeys) community. This change only for county residents of Pinal county and does not effect the incorporated cities and towns of the county.

Pinal County is planning a massive overhaul of zoning regulations that could severely restrict your ability to keep animals and the numbers of animals to include types of animals on your property? These changes will disproportionately impact those with less than 5 acres of land, potentially affecting your rural lifestyle and property rights to include property values.

This is an urgent matter, and we must act NOW to protect our rights! The county is accepting public input until April 15th, 2025, and it’s critical that we come together to make our voices heard.

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT YOU?
If you live in a General Rural (GR) zone, the county is proposing to replace GR zoning with RU-1.25. This means stricter rules on how many animals you can keep, types of animals, where you can keep them, and even how you handle their manure. Below are just a few examples of the proposed restrictions under the new RU-1.25 zoning:

Large Livestock: 2 animals allowed on your first acre, and 1 additional animal for every 0.5 acres.
Pigs: 1 pig per acre, up to a maximum of 3 pigs.
Chickens: Up to 50 hens per acre, and 10 additional hens per 0.5 acres, not exceeding 200 hens total.
Roosters, Ducks, Turkeys, etc.: Only 2 per acre, with a maximum of 5 on larger properties.
Rabbits: 1 rabbit per 2,000 square feet, capped at 20 rabbits. Enclosures must meet strict size and predator-proofing rules.
Beekeeping: Only 10 hives allowed on parcels under 2 acres; up to 15 for larger lots.
Manure Management: Weekly cleanups required, can not pile up the manure in a holding area but can only have an active composting and the compost piles must be 55 feet from property lines, 500 feet from wells, located in back yard only and prevent water runoff and contamination. Must prevent manure from winds that may drive it off your property.
No livestock can be fed or watered in the front yard or within the setback requirements of the property.
These new rules could fundamentally change how you use your property and limit your ability to enjoy a rural lifestyle.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Learn More:

Proposed Code Changes: Review the draft zoning proposal: Draft Development Services Code.
Submit Comments:

Use this comment form to share your concerns directly with the county: Submit Comments Here.
Show Up and Speak Out:

Attend Board of Supervisor Meetings and voice your opinions during the Call to the Public.
Also please contact your County Supervisor in person and Vice your concerns to them.
Next Meetings: Wednesday, February 5 & 12 & 19, and March 5 & 13 & 19, 2025, at 9:30 AM each date.
Location: 135 N. Pinal Street, Florence, AZ
Spread the Word:

Share this with your neighbors and community members.
Encourage them to submit comments and attend meetings.
WHY THIS MATTERS:
The proposed changes will drastically reduce your freedom to keep animals, limit agricultural activities, and impose unnecessary restrictions on your property. This is your land, your livelihood, and your rights at stake! This will also affect the ability of animal projects for our young family members by limiting their ability to have 4H or FFA projects. This will limit the entire family’s ability to enjoy the lifestyle we want.

Together, we can stop this overreach. Take action now to protect our rural heritage and ensure that Pinal County listens to its residents. Don’t wait until it’s too late!

The Arizona Horse Council is actively involved but we need to get as many concerned people to also help us respond to this huge overreach.

01/28/2025

We as horse owners and as residents in any city or town in Arizona have an issue with HB 2371.

Our state legislators are again trying to make major changes in how cities and towns will be addressing zoning rules in their communities. They are again mandating all zoning rules are done away with and implicating just one size doing away with local control and local inputs. HB 2371 is currently going before committee and will soon be passed on to the house floor for voting. If it passes the house floor it will be sent over to the Senate for their approval. It is driven by developers and are pushing it as a way to address the housing needs. Currently cities and towns in Arizona are addressing the housing need and have made several changes to allow more housing to be built but the lack of supplies and labor have slowed down this building process. This bill does not address the problem but makes changes that developers want so they can build what they want and not meet the needs or desires of the city or town.

This bill does away with zoning sizes larger than 1,500 Sq Ft. It says that cities and towns can no longer have anything larger for zoning size rules. So that means the cities and towns that have large lot zoning they can not have any zoning rules to have these large lots that would allow Livestock. Currently several cities in Arizona have areas of their community that allow large lots so the owner can have livestock to include equine. Livestock includes Horses, Mules, Donkeys, Cattle, Sheep, and Goats. The largest zoning property will be this 1,500 Sq Ft that is over 20 homes on an acre. If you own one of these larger lots in the city you live in if your neighbor sells their property to a developer the new developer can put 20 homes per acre (25 homes on 1 1/4 acre, 30 homes on 1 1/2 acre, or 40 homes on 2 acres). Your input is not allowed and the developer can do this to that property. You also have to put up with all the auto parking on your street because there is no requirement for including parking on this 1,500 Sq Ft.

This will also affect the local FFA students that may live in the small towns and cities that has livestock as a project. It will also affect 4H members that also live in towns and cities. This could limit the number of children involved with these programs and have a negative impact on County Fairs participation also.

Please contact your Representatives and let them know that you do not want this change in your community.

Arizona Horse Council

12/07/2024

11/09/2024

Reminder:

10/23/2024

It is not too late to sign up! A few spots still open.

10/03/2024

Get ready for some obstacle course fun!