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During a convention-style event Thursday for the Maryland horsing industry, Prince George's County horse farm owners, particularly those who live in the rural tier, said there is a continued need for assistance and legislation to help the embattled industry survive.

Hundreds of people from around the state gathered during the Maryland Horse Forum at the Show Place Arena and Prince George's Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro.

At the forum, many Prince George's residents who own horse farms said they are seeking county legislation that would allow small horse farms to be rezoned as agricultural land, which would afford them the same tax breaks that large farms receive. Currently, small horse farm owners pay the same tax per acre as residential land owners.

During the event, horse farm owners cited a laundry list of issues they say are slowly squeezing them out of business, including increased development eating away open space used by horses, lack of easement for horse farms that would keep housing subdivisions at bay and hard-to-get permits needed for them to upgrade barns and stable facilities on their properties.

"What we have here in the rural tier is encroachment," said Harry Ketts, who owns a horse farm in Aquasco. "[Developers] are moving people in."

Ketts said it may ultimately be up to the Prince George's County Council to ease restrictions facing small horse farmers and rezone horse farmland.

Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), who spoke at the event, said the horse industry brought in $3.9 billion statewide in 2008.

"Horses have more than economic impact," he said. "They help us preserve land and our open space."

In Prince George's County, advocates for the horse industry say they face a unique problem because of their proximity to Washington, D.C. Horse farms in the county are typically smaller than farms in more rural parts of Maryland, making it harder for local owners to access state subsidies, tax breaks and resources that tend to favor larger horse farms that are typically 20 to 50 acres or more.

"I'm concerned that the communities that still have horse facilities are not receiving the full support of government institutions," said David Turner of Fort Washington, who owns a five-acre horse farm and is chairman of the county's Historic Preservation Committee.

"Every time we lose a horse farm or niche farm near the [Capital] Beltway, we lose something close to our soul," he said. "We've got to save these farms."

Turner and others in the county are hoping to have the Maryland Department of Agriculture buy development rights to horse farms with small acreage that would reduce development near the farms, a natural and aesthetically pleasing resource that Turner said is becoming scarce in beltway communities. During Thursday's event, Earl F. Hance, Maryland's secretary of agriculture, said it makes more sense for the state to buy development rights from larger farms than for smaller pieces of land near urban communities.

Still, O'Malley said he supports all horse farm owners in the state.

"All farmers are important to the future of Maryland," he told The Gazette, adding that, for small horse farm owners, it's nearly "impossible for them to make a go of it."

Preservationists say it is essential to save horse farms, particularly in communities inside the beltway, because they often contribute to green and open space and reduce the monotony of housing subdivisions.

Turner said his Fort Washington neighbors frequent his farm, often complimenting him on how happy they are that the farm is in the community.

"We've got to save these farms," he said.

E-mail Joshua Garner at jgarner@gazette.net.