The Demographics of the U.S. Equine Population 10CHAPTER

Home , American Quarter Horse, Breed registry, Common (horse), Discovery (horse), Horse breed, Horse industry

Emily R. Kilby

Introduction n this demographic examina- How Many U.S. of Agriculture (USDA), the coun- tion of America’s equine popu- try’s equine inventory was 3.75 mil- Ilation, the numbers clearly Horses Are There? lion in 2002 (USDA 2002). NASS show upward trends in all things This most basic question of demo- reported 3.15 million horses, equestrian over the past fifty years. graphic research is yet to be ponies, donkeys, and mules in 1997 Will that trajectory continue, answered with satisfactory accu- and, in 1992, 2.12 million. In a sin- adding year after year to the cur- racy for the U.S. equine popula- gle decade, the equine population rent ten million population, or will tion. Horses and other equidae are jumped 1.63 million, or 77 percent, loss of open spaces turn the tide as no longer sufficiently critical at least according to USDA. it limits horse housing and riding to national well-being to warrant The American Veterinary Med- room? Will ownership patterns the close government oversight ical Association (AVMA) put the undergo fundamental changes afforded food-producing animals, 2001 horse population at 5.1 mil- when population density, land nor are they so much a part of the lion (AVMA 2002), a 28 percent costs, and escalating environmen- average American experience as to increase over the 4 million calcu- tal controls eliminate the “back- inspire close scrutiny of their num- lated for 1996, which had repre- yard”-keeping concept and make bers and condition. Instead, avail- sented an 18 percent decrease suburban boarding stables unten- able demographic data for horses from the 4.9 million estimated five able? Will horse production and their kin have arisen from spe- years before that. expenses rise in the face of land cial interests or within restricted pressures to the point that eques- populations, resulting in seemingly trian involvement, now a highly conflicting figures. Equine egalitarian pursuit in this coun- The American Horse Council Foundation (AHCF), a funding Census Taking try, truly becomes a rich person’s The American horse population is entity of the American Horse game? not nearly so volatile as these con- Council, commissioned a study in Horse people started fretting flicting figures seem to indicate. 2004 using data provided by horse over these sorts of questions not Indeed, vast changes have occurred owners for the previous year. The long after horses stopped being in equine numbers over the past resulting report put the American beasts of burden in this country century, with as many as six million horse population at 9.2 million in and became mostly recreational horses and mules disappearing in 2003, a 33 percent increase over partners and companions. So far, a single decade, but those losses the 6.9 million reported ten years the equine species has flourished were in response to the mechaniza- before (AHCF 2005). in its nonutilitarian role, but tion of farming and transportation According to the National Agri- there’s no end run around the fact (Table 1). (The lack of data from cultural Statistics Service (NASS), that horses are and always will be 1960 to the present is regrettable. an agency of the U.S. Department large animals in a shrinking natu- USDA surveys ceased to be an accu- ral world. 175 • The commerce of horse involve- Table 1 ment was the survey focus. Respondents in the owner U.S. Equine Population During group had to be at least eight- Mechanization of Agriculture een years old and owner or part- and Transportation owner of a horse(s). Data for youth involvement and for non- Year Number of Horses and Mules owning equestrians may be underreported or excluded. 1900 21,531,635 • The survey posed questions in terms of horses only. No input is 1905 22,077,000 explicitly solicited for other 1910 24,042,882 equidae, which include ponies, miniature horses, donkeys/bur- 1915 26,493,000 ros, and mules. It is not uncom- 1920 25,199,552 mon for recreational horse owners to maintain a mix of breeds 1925 22,081,520 and types, and if respondents 1930 18,885,856 answered the questions quite literally, the lesser but still sig- 1935 16,676,000 nificant population of ponies 1940 13,931,531 and asses is not included in the 9.2 million figure. Finally, it 1945 11,629,000 appears that owners and pro- 1950 7,604,000 ducers specializing in miniature horses might have been 1955 4,309,000 excluded entirely. 1960 3,089,000 • The survey sample was derived from equestrian membership Source: Adapted from Ensminger (1969). lists and business databases. The 18,648 usable owner/industry supplier responses from rate assessment because they did American Horse Council which the report data were sub- not take into account recreational The AHC has surveyed the eco- sequently derived (along with horses, and the horse industry has nomic activity associated with different surveys of horse show attempted only occasionally to horses and horse uses every and racing management) repre- undertake a national horse popula- decade since the mid-1980s. The sent a valid pool for studying tion assessment in the past thirty- data are collected primarily for economic matters, but the sam- six years.) However, it appears to political purposes. By specifying ple would have excluded owners be fairly safe to conclude that the dollars-and-cents figures for a spe- who maintain horses with little 1950s marked the low point of cialized and relatively small recre- or no organizational contact or American equine numbers, with ational and business entity, the commercial involvement. Horse horses and mules largely phased AHC, a lobbying organization, can population figures and activity out of agricultural production and better influence national and state profiles may have been skewed transportation but not yet filling legislatures in matters affecting by this selection process. significant recreational roles. Since horse breeders, owners, trainers, • The primary response mecha- then, the trend in equine numbers dealers, and recreational, sport- nism was through an Internet has been steadily upward. ing, and business users. The larger website, with a small proportion The surveys’ purposes, designs, the numbers shown, the more of mailed questionnaires for and sampling methodology account impact equestrian interests those without computer access. for the three divergent assessments appear to have. Again, the methodology selected of the American equine population The AHC’s population figures against owners outside main- cited above and most likely for the were shaped by the following stream culture, which would not relatively large shifts reportedly study characteristics, as ex- have much effect on an eco- occurring within short intervals plained in the study’s technical nomic impact study but probably as well. appendix (AHCF 2005): underrepresents “invisible” own-

176 The State of the Animals IV: 2007 ers in providing raw equine pop- son stables would be captured dur- vals and produces a demographics ulation figures. ing the list-building process. sourcebook to aid its members in The AHC report’s very precise The most recent USDA enumera- making business and marketing tally of U.S. horses in 2003— tion lists 3.64 million horses and decisions. The data for these reports 9,222,847—is actually the center ponies and 105,358 mules, burros, come from a statistically representa- point of a statistically determined and donkeys in the “other animal tive sample chosen from an estab- range defining a 95 percent confi- production category,” along with lished panel of U.S. households that dence interval. According to these the likes of bison, goats, rabbits, have agreed to participate in surveys calculations, if the same methodol- and bees. Horse/pony numbers on of this nature (Clancy and Rowan ogy were applied a hundred times, income-producing farms increased 2003). The most recent survey, per- ninety-five of the surveys would by one million between 1992 and formed in 2001, found 1.7 percent produce a U.S. horse population 1997 and by another half-million by of responding households reporting figure somewhere between 2002, a 78 percent increase overall. horse ownership, with an average of 8,869,858 and 9,575,837. Given During the same decade, ass num- 2.9 horses per owning household. the methodology’s exclusion of bers nearly doubled between 1992 Using data of this sort for the vari- certain types of horse owners and and 1997, rising from 67,692 to ous species, the AVMA can offer pop- some equine classes, the actual 123,211, then fell back to 105,358 ulation-estimating formulas for vet- equine population seems likely to in 2002. While the progression in erinarians to use in calculating be at the higher end of the range horse/pony numbers reflects the potential client pools in their com- or possibly exceeding that 9.6 mil- population trend reported by other munities. The AVMA’s equine for- lion (rounded) maximum figure. observers, the rather precipitous mula is therefore: divide the com- rise and retreat of ass numbers in a munity population by 2.69 to get U.S. Department single decade begs the question of the number of households, then of Agriculture a sampling or reporting anomaly in multiply the number of households USDA has kept tabs on agricultural one of the years. by 0.05. The national proportion production through periodic cen- Recognizing the shortcomings of of horses to households was deter- suses, starting in 1840. Every five the purely agricultural enumeration mined by this study. years, NASS attempts to survey all model for gathering equine data, Though it does provide a useful U.S. agricultural producers with a USDA conducted additional surveys business tool, the AVMA’s enumer- shorter form and chooses a sizable following the 1997 census to esti- ation method is too many steps sampling of them for a more detailed mate the number of all equidae in removed from an actual hooves-on- assessment of agricultural practices the country and their sales, not just the-ground count to generate reli- and expenses. For the most recent those on qualifying agricultural able population figures. enumeration, approximately 2.8 mil- establishments. By including • The survey goal was to charac- lion census packets were mailed in equine data estimated from enu- terize ownership patterns, not December 2002, and follow-up con- merations of sixteen thousand ran- perform a true count of pet tacts continued until each county domly selected square-mile areas species in the United States. had at least a 75 percent response across the country and surveys of • The survey focused on compan- rate. Such blanket coverage assures twenty thousand larger farms and ion/recreational owners and a very accurate count of most food- commercial operations, along with may have underrepresented or and fiber-producing units in the the basic findings from the standard excluded horses used for breed- country, but horses and their kin are census, NASS calculated the total ing, work, and competition. special case animals. number of equidae at the start of • The respondent pool was ini- USDA’s equine population figures 1998 to be 5,250,400 and a year tially skewed by the self-selection are significantly limited by the pri- later to be 5,317,400 (USDA 1999). of participants, then narrowed mary criterion for inclusion in the If that 1.3 percent annual increase further by selecting a sample enumeration: censuses are sent to continued until 2003, there would representative of the entire U.S. all agricultural operations that pro- be 5.6 million equidae by this sur- population, not one representa- duce or sell $1,000 or more of agri- vey model, still millions shy of the tive of U.S. horse owners. Horse cultural products annually or would AHC count for that year. ownership is a phenomenon do so in normal years. The large associated with rural areas and block of “backyard” owners who American Veterinary smaller communities whose maintain horses on a few acres or Medical Association populations may not have been nonagricultural “farmettes” would The professional association for U.S. sufficiently represented in the not be surveyed. It is also unclear if veterinarians conducts animal own- AVMA sample for accurate suburban boarding, training, and les- ership surveys at half-decade inter- equine data collection.

The Demographics of the U.S. Equine Population 177 Applying the AVMA formula to Since passage of the Wild and As of March 2006 the BLM the 2003 U.S. estimated human Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act (2006) population included: population produces an estimated of 1971 and its implementation in • approximately thirty-two thou- 5,297,938 companion/recreational 1973, the Department of the Inte- sand horses and burros on equidae. Extrapolating an “agricul- rior’s Bureau of Land Management public range lands, exceeding tural” equid population for 2003 (BLM) has been responsible for the optimum total population by increasing USDA’s 2002 count overseeing herds on federal lands in of twenty-eight thousand by another 1.3 percent yields ten Western states (Arizona, Cali- four thousand and 3,798,381. Some overlap probably fornia, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, • twenty-six thousand in short- occurs between the AVMA and the Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and long-term holding facilities. USDA respondent pools, but sam- and Wyoming). The agency is In fiscal year 2005, ending in Sep- pling procedures and criteria for in- charged with multipurpose manage- tember, 11,023 animals were re- clusion for each are quite distinct, ment of vast federal holdings for moved from the Western ranges. By producing data from two essentially recreation, logging, mining, graz- early 2006, 5,701 of them had been discrete groups of horse keepers. ing, and wildlife management, in adopted out, continuing the stream The total of these two estimated addition to the equine oversight, of 208,000 BLM horses and burros populations is 9,096,319, very close and at the same time sustaining the that have been placed with private to AHC’s count of 9,222,847 for health and productivity of public owners since 1973. The remainder 2003. The AHC’s broader-ranging lands (BLM 2006). left in BLM holding facilities were to sampling method appears to have Wild horse and burro popula- be offered for adoption three times captured both companion/recre- tions are now held to population before being deemed unadoptable ational and production owners limits that will prevent overgrazing and made available for unrestricted for the most accurate and com- or other destruction of their range sale. Until the December 2004 legis- plete numeric snapshot of today’s lands while still leaving adequate lation, unadoptable horses were equid population. herd numbers for a healthy gene kept as government property for the pool. Each management area has remainder of their lives. The BLM’s an upper population limit deter- 2005 budget for the Wild Horse and Wild Horses mined by available resources, and Burro Program was $39.6 million, herds are subject to periodic with $20.1 million used to maintain and Burros culling to maintain optimum pop- gathered animals in short- and long- None of the censuses cited above ulations. Additionally, birth control term holding facilities. The legisla- includes equidae roaming on federal measures are now being applied to tion allowing unrestricted sale was lands or maintained in government wild horses to lower their repro- intended to eliminate the expense of holding facilities. This unowned duction rates and reduce the num- lifetime care for the unadoptables. population originated from domesti- ber of excess animals needing Where it has jurisdiction over cated horses and burros who removal. The BLM (2006) disposes national seashores, the National escaped or were freed onto range of excess horses and burros from Park Service (NPS) either removes lands, starting in the sixteenth cen- federal lands as follows: feral horses there as non-native tury with the first Spanish explorers. • “adopting” them out to pri- species or attempts to maintain The Atlantic barrier islands, from vate citizens with restrictions barrier island horse populations at coastal Maryland down through the to assure adequate care and levels that do not harm the ecologi- Georgia coast, have also harbored prevent their being sold cal balance. On Assateague Island, feral herds since the colonial era. to slaughter; for instance, the NPS now uses con- Even under seemingly harsh condi- • maintaining them in holding traceptive injections to reduce the tions, these feral equidae reproduce facilities until adoption or in Maryland herd’s reproduction rate quite successfully, with modern-day long-range pasturage if they to maintain a population of 150 herds capable of doubling in size are not adopted; and adults (Kirkpatrick 2005). On the every five years, given the absence of • since December 2004 dispos- Virginia portion of Assateague, the natural predators in most of today’s ing of the unadoptable popula- Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Com- ranges (BLM 2006). Until the 1960s tion through unrestricted sale, pany conducts an annual July “pony free-ranging horses and burros were meaning that buyers can deal penning” to cull that herd to the considered wildlife of sorts, fair with the animals as they would same target number (NPS 2003). game for public taking for taming, after a private transaction, Horse herds on barrier islands far- selling for pet food or slaughter, or although challenges were sub- ther down the coast have met with killing to reduce grazing competi- sequently made to this man- a patchwork of population-control tion for domestic stock. agement change. measures as coastal development

178 The State of the Animals IV: 2007 has overrun their ranges, and of critters on hobby farms or as ported by a newspaper writer in awareness of their damage to the work animals on secluded proper- 2004 for the Yakima Indian Reser- fragile barrier-island ecology has ties. Not all horse owners compete, vation alone (Palmer 2004). By grown. Over the years some herds register, join up, subscribe, or shop BLM standards Washington State have been removed entirely from for horsey things and thus reveal has no “wild” horses because they the islands, others have been fenced their whereabouts for enumerators. are not on BLM-managed federal away from the new communities If these “below the radar” animals lands, but the herds kept on the built on their former ranges (with equal just 1 percent of the known vast reservation acreages there and only marginal success), and others equine population of the country, throughout the West and the Plains still are managed by the NPS or pri- that’s another hundred thousand are certainly less clearly defined vate entities to maintain a viable added to the true total. and probably more numerous than presence on their historic ranges Two more definable equine pop- the NASS count suggests. (Hause 2006). If the various target ulations are most likely under- populations have been met and reported because they are legally Amish Horses, maintained, the current horse pop- and/or culturally outside the Mules and Donkeys ulation on barrier islands along the American mainstream. These are canvassed for NASS enu- Atlantic coast appears to number merations, as long as they are on around a thousand, a far cry from Horses on Indian properties that meet the $1,000- the National Geographic Society’s Reservations production standard. While the 1926 estimate of six thousand wild These horses throughout the majority of the Amish in communi- horses roaming the Outer Banks country actually live in sovereign ties now spread across twenty-five just from Currituck to Shackleford lands and thus are not directly states do remain in agricultural (Hause 2006). subject to state or national regu- production to some degree, mem- Government agencies now man- lation or oversight. Many Western bers are increasingly turning to age most unowned horses roaming tribes maintain large numbers of carpentry, manufacturing, and free on public lands. The BLM’s horses for stock work on their other nonfarm work for their liveli- 2005 fiscal year count of wild horses range lands and also because of hoods (Milicia 2004), thus remov- in ten Western states was 27,369; deep cultural and ceremonial sig- ing them from the NASS survey the number of wild burros ranging nificance attached to the species. pool. With church tenants holding in five of those states totaled 4,391 For the 2002 agricultural census, them separate from the “English” (BLM 2005). With the East Coast which did survey reservations, (non-Amish) world, Amish horse barrier horses added in, approxi- NASS performed a special enu- owners may not respond readily to mately 33,000 free-roaming meration of Native American agricultural censuses and are un- equidae are currently in the United farms/ranches and merged those likely to have any presence at all in States. Another 27,000 are living as results with full reservation data other forms of polling. wards of the state, so to speak, in to produce “Appendix B,” detail- In lieu of reliable enumeration, holding facilities, for a total feral/ ing the agricultural characteris- the current number of Amish once-feral population of 60,000. tics of American Indian and horses and mules can be esti- Eskimo farm operations. mated by applying the horse-to- According to NASS, Native Amer- human ratio that existed in premo- “Invisible” icans on 12,174 properties produc- torized America. In 1910, two ing $1,000 or more in agricultural years after the first Model T rolled Populations goods owned 115,464 horses in onto the roads, there were As large as horses are, they do go 2002 (USDA 2002). Yet because 24,042,882 horses/mules and undetected by government and reservation horses are often han- 92,228,496 people for a 1:3.8 association enumerators alike. An dled as communal property rather ratio. Today’s Amish population, untold number of equidae live as than individually owned and be- 70 percent of which lives in Ohio, pets or pensioners in places, such cause large herds on Plains and Pennsylvania, and Indiana, is esti- as semisuburban smallholdings, Western reservations are often mated to number around 180,000 not normally associated with live- managed as range animals, that and is rapidly growing (Milicia stock keeping, and many urban enumeration may be very approxi- 2004). If this statistical time travel centers have an equestrian pres- mate. For instance, the NASS count has validity, there are at least ence, such as police horses, riding given for horses on Indian-operated 47,000 Amish horses and mules in stables, and carriage operators, ranches in Washington State in the United States. that exists outside the norm. Other 2002 was 4,018, yet that statewide equidae “hide” amid a menagerie figure is less than the 5,000 re-

The Demographics of the U.S. Equine Population 179 in age between five and twenty. The which they could make mating deci- How Many U.S. random animal’s breeding, usually sions that would improve their ani- Horses Are There? discernible to experienced horse- mals’ production and performance. Although current equine enumera- people by its physical characteris- Today DNA testing is required by tions can be faulted for limitations tics, or conformation, would most the more rigorous organizations to in their focus, methodology, and likely be quarter horse, the coun- assure authenticity of parentage. results, their data, considered try’s preponderant type by all meas- The Thoroughbred studbook (The cumulatively, point to the accuracy ures. The second most likely en- Jockey Club), started in England in of the American Horse Council esti- counter would be with a somewhat the early seventeenth century, is the mate. Projecting the AHCF horse more streamlined-looking horse in oldest and most carefully main- population figure for 2003 two a “plain brown wrapper”—a sixteen- tained of any, closely guarding the years into the future (1.3 percent hand bay or dark brown Thorough- bloodlines and racing data of the growth in ’04 and ’05 = 9,464,200), bred type, with perhaps a touch of breed. Other studbooks are “open,” and adding overlooked ponies and white on face and foot. meaning that occasional outcross- asses (200,000), the country’s feral But in the United States, diversity ing is allowed with a few other spec- equidae (60,000) and the “invisi- rules the equine as well as the hu- ified breeds. The quarter horse stud- ble” populations (200,000) produce man population, so that random book, for instance, has permitted a figure of 9,924,000 for the 2006 sighting might instead be of a four- matings with Thoroughbreds, among U.S. equine population. foot-tall critter with a white and others, particularly in producing brown coat, very long ears, a bray, racing stock. Crossbred registries The Future not a neigh, and registration papers either specify one type of mating With institution of a National Ani- from an organization called the pattern (for instance, Andalusian + mal Identification System by 2010, American Council of Spotted Asses. quarter horse = Azteca horse, a reg- all uncertainty should be removed Or the sighting could be of a large, istrable “breed”) or register any from the equine-counting business. high-headed black horse with feath- type of offspring from the specified In the planning stages as of 2006, ery legs and flowing mane hitched purebred parent (for example, the this USDA initiative will permit to a cart: a Friesian, one of many im- half-Arabian registry). tracking of all U.S. livestock from ported sorts increasingly brought In addition to or in lieu of re- first breath to last for the sake of dis- into the country by horsepeople cording by bloodline, breeds are ease control and bioterrorism pro- seeking something more exotic now defined by other parameters. tection. Each animal will be identi- than the prevailing breeds for activ- Almost a quarter of the registries fied through a standard coding ities outside the norm. The United listed in the AHC directory accept system indicating place of origin, States unquestionably has the most horses on the basis of physical appear- along with an individual identifier. variegated collection of equidae on ance, usually coloration, such as Microchipping is the likely technol- earth. The American Horse Coun- palomino and buckskin, or marking ogy that will be applied to equidae, cil’s Horse Industry Directory listed patterns, such as Appaloosas and reporting all horses, ponies, and 106 registries for horses, ponies, or pintos, but there’s even a registry asses to a single database where asses (AHC 2003). Some are multi- for curly-coated horses. Pony and population figures will be actual ples drawing registrations from the miniature registries restrict entry hooves-on-the-ground numbers, not same pool of animals, but an equal by height as well as parentage. statistical extrapolations. number of smaller organizations Gaited horses who move in a vari- probably missed out on inclusion in ety of less common footfall patterns, What Does the U.S. the directory. with names like walker, paso, sin- Equine Population glefooter, mangalarga, and foxtrot- Look Like? ter, belong to a subset of registries In a random encounter with a mem- Breed Registries that have increased in popularity ber of the equine species in the Of the hundred or so U.S. registries, along with recreational horse use United States, this is the most likely most record bloodlines to maintain because they produce a bounce- sighting throughout much of the a “pure” genetic pool by requiring free ride. Sports and activities, such country: a riding horse, standing that newly registered animals be the as flat and harness racing and per- about fifteen hands (sixty inches offspring of two parents who are formance/sport horses bred for measured at the shoulders), either already in the studbook. The origi- eventing and jumping, are the female (a mare) or neutered male nal purpose of recording livestock organizing principle for some of (a gelding)—but certainly not a bloodlines and maintaining them the oldest and some of the newest stallion—probably sorrel, tending generation after generation was to registries. Finally, historically sig- toward a stocky build and ranging give breeders information with nificant and geographically distinc-

180 The State of the Animals IV: 2007 tive horses get their own associa- services and show-ring results than profiling the national equine popu- tions, including Spanish mustangs, with actual breed improvement. lation. Viewing registration trends Icelandic horses, and a recreated over time provides insights into the medieval charger going under the waxing and waning of particular name Spanish-Norman horse. In Registry Tallies horse types and equestrian inter- the modern proliferation of equine Tracking the tallies of annual regis- ests. In both 2006 and throughout registries, record-keeping more trations entered into the nine the past decades, American Quar- often has to do with membership major U.S. registries is one way of ter Horse Association (AQHA) reg-

Table 2 Annual New Registrations for the Nine Largest U.S. Horse Breed Registries

Tennessee Quarter Thorough- Standard- WalkingSaddle- Year Horse Paint bred Arabian Appaloosa bred Horse bred Morgan

1977 94,445 5,565 27,551 18,797 19,316 13,929 6,212 3,855 3,700

1983 168,346 14,626 43,787 18,391 22,184 20,298 7,561 2,787 5,317

1985 157,360 12,692 46,635 30,004 16,189 18,384 7,812 4,351 4,538

1988 128,352 14,929 45,256 24,578 12,317 17,393 8,400 3,811 3,526

1989 NA 14,930 44,250 21,723 10,746 16,896 8,850 3,708 3,732

1990* 115,000 15,000 40,333 13,000 10,000 15,000 8,000 3,700 3,400

1991 101,390 18,648 38,149 12,993 9,902 13,617 8,092 3,570 3,392

1992 102,843 22,396 35,050 12,544 10 033 13,029 8,123 3,048 2,408

1993 104,876 24,220 33,820 12,349 9,079 12,086 7,510 3,353 3,120

1994 106,017 27,549 32,117 12,962 10,104 12,204 7,856 3,192 3,038

1995 107,332 34,846 31,882 12,398 10,903 10,918 9,450 2,300 3,063

1996 108,604 41,491 32,242 11,645 10,067 11,589 10,991 2,142 3,053

1997 110,714 50,440 32,115 11,594 11,030 11,336 12,256 3,213 3,415

1998 125,308 55,356 32,944 11,320 9,100 10,881 13,250 2,952 3,100

1999 135,528 62,186 33,838 11,501 10,099 11,183 13,375 2,705 3,220

2000 145,936 62,511 34,719 9,660 10,906 11,281 14,387 2,908 3,654

2001 150,956 56,869 34,705 9,266 9,322 11,261 14,479 3,050 3,475

2002 156,199 60,000 32,941 9,394 9,092 11,699 14,865 2,931 3,976

2003 160,980 51,000 33,671 9,400 9,200 11,050 14,978 2,578 2,938

2004** 162,590 52,000 34,070 9,000 9,200 11,500 15,000 3,200 3,500

2005** 165,000 44,000 34,070 8,000 7,000 11,000 13,500 3,000 3,400

*Approximate, except for Thoroughbred. **Registry estimates.

Sources: Thoroughbred registrations for the U.S. only: The Jockey Club (2006); other breeds, years 1992–2001: AHC (2003); remaining years: EQUUS (1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2004).

The Demographics of the U.S. Equine Population 181 istrations exceeded all others by study, supported largely by the ment, conducted in 1998 for the tens of thousands (Tables 2 and 3). Thoroughbred and quarter horse USDA’s National Animal Health Mon- The American Paint Horse Associ- associations, characterized the itoring System (NAHMS) (USDA ation (APHA), formed in 1965 to makeup of the 2003 U.S. horse pop- 1998). However, the 1998 sample of register quarter horse types with ulation using only three broad pro- owners, selected from twenty-eight more white coat markings than are files: Thoroughbred, quarter horse, states accounting for 78 percent of permitted for AQHA registration, is and “other,” which included other the national equine population enu- now the second-largest breed reg- registered and nonregistered merated by NASS for 1992, reported istry. During the past fifteen years, horses. The survey respondents an even greater concentration of registered quarter horses and paints reported ownership for 2003 in the quarter horses—40 percent—than combined made up almost three- following proportions (AHC 2005): the more recent AHC study. The quarters of all registrations in that • Thoroughbred—14 percent, NAHMS survey included all equidae nine-breed cohort. It is safe to say or 1,291,807 found on U.S. properties and de- that the multipurpose, American- • Quarter horse—35.6 percent, tailed the “other horses” that were made breed derived from bloodlines or 3,288,302 lumped together in the AHC study. that excelled in sprint racing during • Other horses—50.3 percent, Table 4 shows the NAHMS-deter- colonial days (hence the “quarter or 4,642,739 mined composition of the U.S. mile” designation), then seasoned Identical 50–50 proportions for equine population by type and breed as stock horses on the Western the combined Thoroughbred-quarter as percentages of the total and as ranges represents the preferred horse cohort and the other-horse current head counts, based on a using type for today’s American group were also found by the only 2005 population of ten million. owner. Quarter horses are just what scientific survey yet done of the U.S. Comparison of Tables 3 and 4 the recreational market wants: horse population and its manage- shows little agreement between medium in size, comparatively easy- going and low maintenance, and capable of performing a variety of Table 3 activities, particularly as the registry Fifteen-Year Total Registrations for has allowed outcrossing to create Nine Major U.S. Registries, 1991–2005 the more streamlined physiques favored in the “English” disciplines (an equestrian style based on a flat Association Percentage of Registry Total Nine-Breed Total saddle that includes hunters, jumpers, dressage, and polo, and American Quarter “saddleseat” style riding) to the Horse Association 2,844,273 59.6 original, stockier cattle-horse type. American Paint Horse Association 663,512 13.9

The Jockey Club Breed Numbers (Thoroughbreds) 506,333 10.6 Quarter horse/paint dominance is indisputable, but the diverse U.S. U.S. Trotting Association equine population cannot be char- (Standardbreds) 174,634 3.7 acterized by registration numbers Tenn. Walking Horse Breeders’ alone. Despite the opportunities to and Exhibitors’ Association 178,112 3.7 “paper” just about any variety of equid, a portion of the population— Arabian Horse Registry of America 164,026 3.4 probably a significant one—was never registered, or its registrations Appaloosa Horse Club 145,037 3.0 have gotten lost with changes of American Morgan ownership. Membership and regis- Horse Association 48,752 1.0 tration fees are expensive, and the majority of Americans are involved American Saddlebred in horse activities that don’t require Horse Association 44,142 0.9 registry/association affiliation, thus Total 4,768,821 papers are not a compelling need throughout the horse-owning popu- Source: Calculations from Table 2. lation. The AHC economic impact

182 The State of the Animals IV: 2007 the population percentages in the attempt to keep an exact count of face value, the breed populations two lists, but they diverge most each year’s new entries; the produced by NAHMS percentages strikingly for quarter horses and NAHMS percentages derived from and the two breed counts specified paints. The NAHMS quarter horse a sample consisting of fewer than in the AHC study cannot be recon- percentage derived from owner three thousand respondents taken ciled with reality. Even if every sin- data was 20 percentage points from little more than half the gle quarter horse and Thorough- lower than the registry’s share of states. Yet a more significant rea- bred registered in the past fifteen the nine-breed total; for paints the son for the differences is probably years were alive today, there would farm count was 5.4 percent, while timing. Since the 1998 survey was still have to be an additional the registry proportion equaled conducted, AQHA and APHA have 643,577 surviving older registered 13.4. Only the Standardbred was experienced strong growth, while quarter horses and another close to the same percentage on most of the remaining registries 394,327 aged Thoroughbreds to both lists, while the remaining have nudged upward very little, fulfill the NAHMS percentage allot- specified breeds were a little to a remained steady, or declined. ments. The overages are flipped lot higher on the farm than the The three windows onto U.S. using AHC calculations: 444,000 registry numbers would indicate. breed numbers seem impossibly for quarter horses and 785,400 for One explanation for this dispar- contradictory when actual popula- Thoroughbreds. All of the other ity is the methodologies. Registries tion figures are compared. Taken at breed counts derived from NAHMS percentages exceed the cumulative registry figures as well. Table 4 Horses do not really have to be U.S. Breed Distribution Using immortal to make these numbers work. The more realistic explana- Percentages Determined by tion for the breed population infla- USDA/National Animal Health tion reflected in survey results is Monitoring System, 1998* recreational horse owners’ disre- gard for the formal papering process. When questioned, as they Percentage Approximate Type/Breed of Population Population were on both surveys, about how many of each breed they own, they Donkeys/burros 2.7 270,000 usually respond with the animals’ known or suspected origins, not Mules 2.0 200,000 strictly with their registration sta- Miniature horses 1.6 160,000 tus. Given this tendency to report by type, not registry affiliation, the Ponies 5.4 540,000 U.S. horse population probably has Horses 88.3 8,830,000 a much greater proportion of unregistered horses than the 9 per- Quarter horse 39.5 3,487,850 cent designated “other, not regis- Thoroughbred 10.2 900,600 tered” in the NAHMS results. That particular group probably includes Other, registered 9.1 803,530 primarily horses, often called Other, not registered 9.0 794,700 “grade,” who are of unknown origin and no discernible type. All Arabian 7.8 688,740 others are probably enumerated in Appaloosa 5.9 520,970 whatever standard breed category they most closely resemble. Paint 5.4 476,820

Draft 4.8 423,840 Special Populations The NAHMS study was uncom- Tenn. Walking Horse 4.8 423,840 monly inclusive and provides a useful glimpse of less visible equidae Standardbred 3.5 309,050 found on U.S. equestrian proper- *Based on a current total equine population of ten million. ties. The nonhorse group, including ponies, miniature horses, and Source: USDA (1998) asses, represented little over 10

The Demographics of the U.S. Equine Population 183 percent of the equine population Unless the retired Standardbred is only 13.8 percent under age five, on the surveyed properties in used for breeding—not an option compared to the 33.2 percent of 1998. Miniature horses, which con- for geldings—he or she must be con- the total sample and an exception- stituted the smallest fraction at verted to pleasure or carriage use or ally high percentage—81.7—in the 1.6 percent, are clearly the growth disposed of. As riding animals, five-to-twenty group and only 4.3 group in this niche. Between 1992 retired Thoroughbred runners percent over age twenty. Miniature and 2001, the American Miniature may have more opportunities horses and donkeys were well out- Horse Association recorded 83,361 for second careers as performers in side the age norms in the opposite new registrations, with the trajec- other sports or as recreational ani- direction (though the small sample tory being upward throughout the mals, but temperamentally they sizes leave room for larger standard decade (AHC 2003). Even though are not always suitable for pleasure errors): nearly half of each group they were the smallest population mounts. was in the eighteen-month to five- recorded by NAHMS in 1998, The NAHMS survey excluded race- year group, and they exceeded the annual registrations of these pet track populations from its analysis norms for the two younger groups equidae now exceed those for Ara- of age patterns in 1998. At that time as well; their percentages in the bians, Appaloosas, saddlebreds, the survey group fell into the follow- over-20 group were markedly less and Morgans. ing age ranges (USDA 1998): than the norm (2.7 for minis; 0.9 • 58.8 percent were five to for donkeys). Age Characteristics twenty years of age, the Today’s equine age profile no Equidae are quite long-lived com- horse’s average working life; doubt follows the same basic bell pared to livestock and small-pet • 23 percent were eighteen curve, but the percentages are likely species. They commonly live into months to five years, the to have undergone some adjust- their twenties, even into their forties maturing and training period; ments. Except for quarter horses and beyond. According to the Guin- • 8.9 percent were six to eight- and paints, production in the larger ness Book of World Records, the old- een months, horse adoles- American breeds has been pretty est documented horse was sixty-two, cence, so to speak; flat or in decline for the past decade the oldest pony, fifty-five (Equine • 7.8 percent were twenty or or longer. That would indicate an overall aging of the population. Yet World Records 2006). Health-care more years old, generally re- the loss of business in established advances and ownership attitudes tirement time; breeds may simply mean that Amer- have combined to extend the aver- • 1.3 percent were under six ican tastes/interests have splintered age life span of recreational/com- months, the period foals are off in many new directions, where panion equidae. In a 2000 special normally at their mothers’ smaller breeds registering a few report on the aged equine popula- side; and hundred horses annually and impor- tion, EQUUS magazine reported • 0.5 percent were of unknown age. tation of “exotics” from other coun- that, according to their registries, When applied to a current tries are taking up the production 52 percent of Arabians and 57 per- equine population of ten million, slack. Another possibility in the cent of Morgans were over fifteen these percentages would produce slowing of established registries is years of age, compared to 30 per- the following age profile: an increase in “backyard” cross- cent of quarter horses, 25 percent of • 8,180,000 of training and breeding. Pleasure owners have a saddlebreds, and 15 percent of paint using age; propensity to grow one or two of horses and Standardbreds (EQUUS • 1,020,000 under using age; and their own from a favorite companion 2000). In general, breeds register- • 780,000 over age twenty and mare. The motive usually has more ing an increasing number of animals likely in retirement. to do with sentiment than produc- in the last five to ten years would The different equid types in the ing to a breed standard, and regis- have a younger population than 1998 sample had some quite dis- trations would not be sought across would those with declining registra- tinctive age patterns. Horses, mak- the board. tions in the most recent decade. ing up nearly 90 percent of the sam- The Standardbred youthfulness ple, were right on the norm in all does not reflect recent breed growth, age groups. Ponies were the most The Future however. Instead, it is the conse- aged, with twice the percentage As of mid-2006, NAHMS was in the quence of the relatively short pro- (15.2) of over-twenties and half the process of preparing to publish a ductive life of racehorses. Standard- percentage (0.6) of sucklings in 2005 version of its horse manage- breds tend to race longer than their numbers, though they were ment and health survey. It will be Thoroughbreds, but even then a trot- close to the average in the five-to- interesting to see how the current ter or pacer still competing at age twenty age group. Mules also lacked from-the-farm population profiles twelve is considered an old-timer. an up-and-coming population, with differ from the 1998 findings in

184 The State of the Animals IV: 2007 light of changing production pat- The NAHMS study, another Someone driving through Mary- terns of registered stock during USDA effort but concerned not land would be twice as likely to the intervening years, shifts in so much with enumeration as encounter horses as would some- minor populations, particularly of with surveying horse manage- one traveling through Kentucky, miniature horses, and the aging— ment practices for health-monitor- and New Jersey and Connecticut or not—of U.S. equidae. ing purposes, reported 1998 pop- residents live with readier geo- ulation patterns by region graphical access to horses than do (USDA 1998): residents of Texas and California. Where Do U.S. • Ten southern states, including The human-to-horse ratio defines Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, the states’ horsiness in yet another Horses Live? and Kentucky, accounted for way. The ten locales with the Ranking states by the numbers of 40 percent of the surveyed fewest number of people for every horses residing within their bound- equine population. horse are aries is the usual way of examining • Seven Western states, includ- 1. Wyoming 5.1 people equine population patterns and ing California and Colorado, per horse their significance. Both the AHC’s accounted for 26 percent. 2. South Dakota 6.4 national economic impact study • Seven North-Central states, 3. Montana 7.1 and numerous state-generated eco- including Missouri, accounted 4. Idaho 8.8 nomic valuations use raw horse for 20 percent. 5. North Dakota 10.7 numbers as primary data on which • Four Northeastern states, includ- 6. Oklahoma 10.8 all other calculations are based. It ing Ohio and Pennsylvania, 7. Nebraska 11.6 makes sense that the more horses accounted for 13 percent. 8. New Mexico 12.9 who are maintained within a state, Any useful assessment of loca- 8. Kentucky 12.9 the more economic activity will tion’s effects on the lives horses 9. Iowa 14.8 take place around them. Reckoned lead has to take into account more Residents in these ten states are by head count only (AHCF 2005), than raw population numbers. The far more likely to have direct con- the top ten horsiest places in the very largest states in terms of land tact with horses than are people in country are area are going to hold more horses more populous areas. Kentucky is 1. Texas 978,822 horses than the medium to small states, the anomaly in the listing for not 2. California 698,345 but are horses also a large pres- being a wide-open-spaces Plains 3. Florida 500,124 ence to the human population in or Western state. Human-to-horse 4. Oklahoma 326,134 the very large state and of little ratio is better proof than the head 5. Kentucky 320,173 significance in the small state? count alone that a state is truly a 6. Ohio 306,898 The state tallies by themselves horsey area. In all the other low- 7. Missouri 281,255 don’t say. A more meaningful ratio states, both the human and 8. North Carolina 256,269 approach is to add two more fac- equine populations are sparse. 9. Pennsylvania 255,763 tors to the analysis: how many Even then, the two species knock- 10. Colorado 255,503 horses and how many people are ing around in an expansive land The USDA’s equine-specific census on how much land? Viewed area have closer associations than of 1998 and 1999 arrived at a rather through this multifocal lens, the do tiny Rhode Island’s 308 people different state ranking based on its U.S. horse population looks quite for every one horse. population estimates (USDA 1999). different (Table 5). New England, home of less than None of the state figures below is in The top ten horsiest states in 2 percent of the national horse any way comparable to the AHC’s terms of number of horses per population is, far and away, the numbers (see the earlier discussion square mile of land area are least horsey area in the forty-eight concerning methodologies): 1. Maryland 15.6 per square contiguous states. Expanding the 1. Texas 600,000 mile of land region to coincide with the U.S. 2. California 240,000 2. New Jersey 11.2 Census Bureau’s Northeast designa- 3. Tennessee 190,000 3. Connecticut 10.7 tion by including much horsier New 4. Florida 170,000 4. Florida 9.3 York and Pennsylvania and the little- 4. Pennsylvania 170,000 5. Kentucky 8.0 bit-horsier New Jersey improves the 4. Oklahoma 170,000 6. Ohio 7.5 horse presence to 8 percent of the 5. Ohio 160,000 7. Virginia 6.0 national total. At the same time, 6. Minnesota 155,000 8. Indiana 5.7 this region contains 19 percent of 6. New York 155,000 8. Pennsylvania 5.7 the human population (USCB 6. Washington 155,000 9. North Carolina 5.3 2000) and includes the nation’s

The Demographics of the U.S. Equine Population 185 four most densely populated states: Table 5 New Jersey, at 1,134.4 people per State Horse Population Characteristics square mile; Rhode Island with 1,003.2; Massachusetts with 809.8; Horse Horses/ Number of People/ and Connecticut with 702.9. New Population* Square Mile Horse*** York is sixth and Pennsylvania tenth United States 9,222,847 2.7** 31.8 Northeast in population density. The conclu- Maine 37,854 1.2 34.8 sion seems unavoidable: a reverse Massachusetts 37,529 4.8 171.0 correlation exists between an area’s Rhode Island 3,509 3.4 308.0 human population density and its Vermont 24,540 2.7 25.3 equine population density. The New Hampshire 14,681 1.6 88.5 Connecticut 51,968 10.7 67.4 cause, too, seems obvious: more New York 201,906 4.3 95.2 human inhabitants per square mile New Jersey 82,982 11.2 104.8 mean less physical space for keep- Pennsylvania 255,763 5.7 48.5 ing large animals and for the Southern Region services, such as hay production, Delaware 11,083 5.7 74.9 Maryland 152,930 15.6 36.3 needed to sustain them. In addition, West Virginia 89,880 3.7 20.2 higher population density translates Virginia 239,102 6.0 31.2 to higher living costs, making horse North Carolina 256,269 5.3 33.3 hobbies less affordable. South Carolina 94,773 3.1 44.3 Georgia 179,512 3.1 49.2 As general principles, those con- Florida 500,124 9.3 34.8 clusions are true, but reality does Kentucky 320,173 8.0 12.9 not fall tidily into the either-peo- Tennessee 206,668 5.0 28.6 ple-or-horses dichotomy. Maine, for Alabama 148,152 2.9 30.6 instance, has the largest land area Mississippi 113,063 2.4 25.7 Louisiana 164,305 3.8 27.5 of all the New England states and Texas 978,822 3.7 23.0 is, in fact, almost the same size as Arkansas 168,014 3.2 16.4 South Carolina, with less than a Oklahoma 326,134 4.7 10.8 third of that state’s population. Midwest Region Even with plenty of room for lots of Ohio 306,898 7.5 37.3 Michigan 234,477 4.1 43.1 horses, this northernmost state Indiana 202,986 5.7 30.7 has only 1.2 horses per square mile Illinois 192,524 3.5 66.0 and just one for every 35 people, Wisconsin 178,636 3.3 30.8 a lower than middling placement Minnesota 182,229 2.3 28.0 Missouri 281,255 4.1 20.5 in the national ratio rankings. North Dakota 59,391 0.9 10.7 New Hampshire also has the physi- South Dakota 120,878 1.6 6.4 cal space for horses, but its per- Iowa 199,220 3.6 14.8 square-mile horse population is Nebraska 150,891 2.0 11.6 almost as low as Maine’s, and the Kansas 178,651 2.2 15.3 Western Region human-horse ratio, at 88.5:1, is New Mexico 147,181 1.2 12.9 one of the country’s highest. Yet Arizona 177,124 1.6 32.4 neighboring Vermont, sharing Nevada 51,619 0.5 42.1 many of New Hampshire’s charac- Colorado 255,503 2.5 18.0 Utah 120,183 1.5 19.9 teristics except for its spillover Idaho 158,458 1.9 8.8 population from Boston, is a much Montana 129,997 0.9 7.1 horsier place, still below the Wyoming 99,257 1.0 5.1 national average with only 2.7 California 698,345 4.5 51.4 horses per square mile but with Oregon 167,928 1.7 21.4 Washington 249,964 3.8 24.8 a better human-horse ratio. The Alaska 11,449 0.0**** 57.2 small state of Connecticut and very Hawaii 8,037 1.3 157.0 small state of New Jersey break the many humans/fewer horses *AHCF (2005). rule in the opposite direction **Land area for forty-eight contiguous states. ***USCB (2004). by fitting proportionately large ****Fewer than 0.1 percent horse populations into very suburbanized landscapes.

186 The State of the Animals IV: 2007 greatest concentration of the U.S. • Quarter horses were the domi- Culture equine population—41 percent—is nant breed everywhere except and Climate in the Southern region (AHCF the Northeast, where they rep- Physical space in a state or region 2005), where only 36 percent of resented 24 percent of the is a major equine population deter- the U.S. population lives (USCB population, 16 percent less miner, but human demand decides 2000). In twelve of the sixteen than the norm. If the survey the density rate. Maine, with its Southern states, the median house- had not included Ohio in this smallholdings of poor agricultural hold income in 1999 was a little— region, the proportion would land and New England rectitude, or a lot—lower than the national have been even less. has a comparatively short history median (USCB 2000). Along with • Draft breeds made up only 1 with horses as work animals and as its warmth, the Southern region is and 2 percent of the popula- recreational presences. Its climate historically horse country from its tions in the Southern and does not invite year-round horse long and, in some areas, continuing Western regions, respectively, enjoyment or make horse keeping dependence on live horsepower in but accounted for 11 percent an easy, inexpensive venture. Main- agricultural and ranch work and its in the Northeast and 12 per- ers would apparently rather be sail- horse-sport-and-socializing legacy. cent in the Central region. ing or snowshoeing than horseback The eleven Pacific Coast and • Standardbreds had a negligible riding. Vermont’s distinction as the Mountain states in the Western presence in the West (0.9 per- birthplace of the Morgan breed and region and the twelve states in the cent) and the South (2.1 per- continued home of its registry Midwest region (as defined by cent), but approached 10 per- probably contributes to that state’s USCB, not by the NAHMS study) are cent in the Northeast and 6 greater equestrian involvement. closely matched in horse numbers, percent in the Central region. Marylanders have no demographic with 25 and 26 percent, respectively, The inclusion of Ohio as a North- reasons for their higher-than-aver- as well as human population, with eastern state has distorted the age horse interest. They live in the 22 and 23 percent, respectively. In results, as the Standardbred reg- most densely populated state out- the northern tier of states, weather istry is located in Columbus, and side the Northeast, ranking fifth in may put a damper on horse enjoy- the breed has more of a follow- the country, with 541.9 people per ment, but both regions offer bound- ing in the Midwest. square mile. With less than a third less space for equestrian activities, • Thoroughbreds comprised the land area of Maine, Maryland and horses have always been an more of the Southern horse has four times its horse population essential element in Western and population than elsewhere and the nation’s highest horse den- Midwestern work and culture. In the (14.2 percent) and had the sity. The small state’s more congen- states in these two regions with the smallest presence in the Cen- ial climate and better soil are fac- lowest human-horse ratios, the tral states (4.3 percent). tors, but its historical associations median household incomes in 1999 • As could be expected, Ten- with horse sports back to the colo- were also below the national average nessee Walking Horses were nial era have encouraged commer- (USCB 2000). As long as an area has found in greatest concentration cial horse production and profes- lots of open space, horses are not in the Southern region (8.2 per- sional operations, and well-paid the luxury items that they are often cent of the population there), workers in two major metropolitan perceived to be. In fact, a state’s but their second strongest areas have the disposable income median income appears to be a poor showing was in the Northeast, to spend on horse enjoyment. predictor of horsiness, given the fact accounting for 4.3 percent of A warm climate apparently has that New Jersey, Connecticut, Mass- that area’s population. greater appeal to horse owners achusetts, and New Hampshire had • Arabians made up about 10 overall than do large incomes. among the highest median house- percent of the horse popula- Horses themselves adapt quite well hold incomes in the country in 1999 tion in the Northeast, Western, to cold climates and are probably (USCB 2000) and only a small frac- and Central regions, but only healthier in the north, where tion of its horses. 4.5 percent in the South. there’s less opportunity for biting • Appaloosas were consistent insects to spread several serious throughout, ranging from 5 equine diseases and where heat- Breeds by Region to 7 percent. associated conditions, infections, Regional breed differences re- • Paints had their greatest concen- and skin disorders are less com- ported in the NAHMS study (USDA tration in the Northeast, at 8.8 mon. But horses cluster where peo- 1998) reflect the use patterns and percent, while they accounted ple want to use/enjoy them, prima- equestrian preferences character- for around 5 percent of the rest rily in outdoor activities, and the istic of each area: of the regions.

The Demographics of the U.S. Equine Population 187 • As for the nonhorse populations, to go directly to slaughter, al- there were fewer ponies but though the “nonpurebred” division Commercial more miniature horses in the could include performance horses Producers Southern region than there not intended for breeding [USDA The AHC Economic Impact Study were elsewhere in the country. 2006a; FAO 2006].) Instead of examined breeding in only the rac- Mules had the smallest presence shopping elsewhere, the nation’s ing and showing sectors, and then in the Northeast and the largest horsemen grow their own, compar- only for its financial implications. Of in the West, and donkeys/burros atively few of them on massive the country’s approximately eight made up 4 percent of Southern farms or ranches producing some- hundred fifty thousand Thorough- equidae but only 1.4 percent of times more than a hundred foals breds in the racing industry, about the Western population. annually, many more on moderate- half were in training/competition Wild horses and the “invisible” size operations with a dozen or two and the other half in the breeding populations are particularly tied broodmares, and, as discussed ear- sector, including mature producers, to their locales. Table 6 shows the lier, a great many on hobby proper- their immature offspring, and mares top locations for BLM, reservation, ties producing occasional foals for and stallions returning from the and Amish horses, with population personal satisfaction. track to become breeding stock. In figures where available. In their show horse production, the division geographical niches, they are pro- between competitors and breeders tected from mainstream assimila- Amateur was not at all even: more than two tion and influence. million were competing, while a Involvement third that many were producing new Size factors into the high level of show stock (AHCF 2005). Horses amateur involvement in U.S. horse bred to race have a much shorter Where Do U.S. production. In European countries competitive life than do most show breeding is generally left to the pro- Horses Originate? and competition horses, so produc- Despite economic- and tax-related fessionals, often with a national tion turnaround has to be quicker to slumps—and downright slides in standard and performance evalua- keep up a stream of starter horses. some of the major breed registration to ensure a quality product for Speed over short distances is not tions starting about twenty years specific uses. In the United States, enhanced by age, so successful run- ago—the U.S. horse population has the national tendency toward inde- ners are usually at their peak before expanded steadily overall since the pendence/self-reliance, combined age five. In other competitive disci- mid-twentieth century. As some big with plenty of rural and semirural plines requiring schooling in behav- bubbles burst, particularly for Ara- land, allows practically anyone with iors more “sophisticated” than bians and Appaloosas, and as race- the urge to do so to become a horse all-out running, age four or five is horse production reversed, particu- breeder. Perusal of reader profiles often the earliest starting point in larly for Standardbreds (Table 2), for four of the country’s largest gen- show careers. the small and medium breeds just eral interest, all-breeds horse publi- The NAHMS horse management kept on registering babies at the cations supports that assertion: study assessed the prevalence of usual rate and sometimes at a little • 39 percent of EQUUS’s professional or semiprofessional better than that. There was still 149,647 subscribers own one horse breeders among all equine that host of recreational owners or more broodmares (Equi- operations, but the percentage may and its every-now-and-then produc- Search.com 2006). well have changed in the intervention pattern. The U.S. market has • Almost half of Horse & Rider’s ing years. Of all sectors of the horse had plenty of horses to go around 169,077 subscribers report industry, larger-scale breeders not since the 1960s. Of that number, owning at least one broodmare backed by financial reserves from importation from other countries (EquiSearch.com 2006). other sources are most susceptible accounts for only a tiny fraction. • One-quarter of Practical to economic downturns and finan- In the past decade, only 19,541 Horseman’s 78,224 readers cial setbacks. Breeders’ production live horses classified as purebred own one or more broodmares decisions take place at least two breeding animals, divided about (EquiSearch.com 2006). years, and usually longer, before equally between mares and stal- • One-quarter of Western Horse- sales can bring in enough cash to lions, have come into the country man’s 181,764 horse-owning cover production costs. Equine ges- (USDA 2006a). (The remaining readers uses horses for breed- tation lasts eleven months, and the 300,000 or so live horses imported ing, whether professionally or foal is usually four to six months old during that same period appear to as a hobby not specified (West- at weaning. Occasional weanling have been brought into the country ern Horseman 2006). sales are made, but in the racehorse

188 The State of the Animals IV: 2007 Table 6 Primary Locations of Three Special Equine Populations and Population Numbers, Where Available

Bureau of Land Management Amish Horses Horses Burros Reservation Horses (top county)

Nevada 13,251 Arizona 1,542 Oklahoma 17,826 Ohio (Holmes)

Wyoming 3,991 Nevada 1,464 Arizona 15,598 Indiana (LaGrange)

California 3,079 California 1,228 South Dakota 10,695 Pennsylvania (Lancaster)

Oregon 2,670 Utah 142 Montana 8,230 Maryland (St. Mary’s)

Utah 2,420 Oregon 15 Texas 6,938 Communities in 20+/- other states

Sources: BLM (2005); USDA (2002); Milicia (2004). world, yearlings are the first mar- in the response to both oversupply for 1998, the under-six-months ketable commodity. In recreational and undersupply. In the former sit- group (1.3 percent of the total) sales buyers generally look for a lit- uation, the horses are likely to be would include 104,000 foals on the tle or a lot of training put into an caught in the squeeze when they ground during the polling. Yet the animal who can perform satisfacto- cannot be sold, and bills for their total new registrations (264,211) rily in the desired activity. Training care continue to mount. recorded by just nine registries for does not begin until the youngster that year was more than 2.5 times is at least two years of age, and the number suggested by the basic to intermediate training for Production NAHMS results. some disciplines can take years. If One explanation for the disparity the market shrinks in the interim Trends in foal production figures is the sur- At the time of the NAHMS survey, between the mating and the age at vey procedure, which gathered data almost ten years ago, horse produc- which the offspring can be sold, the through phone interviews between tion was beginning to regain some “product” continues to need expen- March 16 and April 10, 1998. Al- momentum after the 1980s bust, sive feed, shelter, and care without though many commercial breeders which resulted from a combination much prospect for recouping the aim to produce foals in the first of unfavorable tax changes, reces- expenses, let alone making enough quarter of the year for competitive sion in the oil industry and the U.S. to cover capital expenses. Even advantage in juvenile races and economy, and deflation of hyped when production is cut back or futurity competitions, May is the markets for some fancy show stock stopped in response to current mar- peak month for U.S. horse births, (Kilby 1989). The survey identified ket pressures, the foals conceived which then trail off in June and con- 5.2 percent of the sampled opera- just before the decision will still be tinue at a low rate into early fall. tions with breeding as their primary born and still need raising. During But even doubling the percentage function, the second-smallest sec- the shutdown, maintenance or dis- as compensation still does not add tor after boarding/training stables posal of the production “machin- up to the registration indicators of (USDA 1998). At the same time, ery”—mares and stallions valuable breeding activity in this country. the horses on these operations for their pedigrees, and often for Taking the major breeds’ 1998 total made up 14.8 percent of the total, emotional reasons as well—poses a and adding a conservative hundred for a higher-than-average per-farm further difficulty for strapped breed- thousand more for small-breed reg- count. As an indicator of U.S. breeders. When financial times and the istrations and the unregistered ing activity, the age profile for U.S. horse market improve, production foals produced in 1998 indicates a equidae produced by NAHMS raises is equally slow to rebound. Horse 4.6 percent reproduction rate for some questions when examined in reproduction, maturation, and that year. When applied to the 2003 light of breed registry figures. Using training to usefulness take no less population (9.2 million), that rate eight million as a generous esti- than three years, and there is no would indicate a foal crop of mated national equine population way around the resulting lag time 423,200. The known registrations

The Demographics of the U.S. Equine Population 189 with the nine major breeds was mares would be expected to have ticated situations. Apparently minis, 265,795, leaving a remainder of at least 650,000 foals running at weighing much the same as their 157,405, which would have to be their sides by season’s end, which, handlers and standing considerably accounted for through unregistered of course, they did not. Two explana- shorter, do not inspire the same offspring and those entered into tions could account for the sur- urgency to eliminate the hormone- smaller studbooks. That remainder vey’s divergence from reality: either driven behavior with castration. may be an inflated version of the respondents cited the number of Interesting, too, is the above nor- production reality for the year, but, mares on their operations consid- mal number of entire asses (jacks) clearly, the U.S. foal crop has been ered to be breeding stock but not all in the gender profile but without a closer to 4 percent annually than to of them were pregnant at that time, corresponding rise in pregnant jen- 1.3 percent of the total population. or the sample of respondents over- nies (female asses). It may well be The gender makeup on NAHMS- represented the active breeding sec- that donkeys/burros are maintained surveyed equine operations for tor in the country as a whole. Ten as one-of-a-kinds on most horse 1998 (Table 7) shows some inter- percent of the U.S. horse population properties, whereas miniatures live esting differences among the sev- may be thought of as broodmares, in pairs or herds. Both of these small eral populations and again raises but they are not cranking out foals populations of small animals are the questions about its portrayal of every year. purest examples of what can be cat- U.S. horse-reproduction activity. Other than that unlikely percent- egorized as “pet” equidae, with little First, the questions. If 10.6 per- age of pregnant mares, the most use as typically defined. Their cent of the surveyed population striking feature in the NAHMS gen- diminutive size reduces the dan- were pregnant mares (754,720 of der profile is the reproductive impli- ger/difficulty of maintaining the an estimated horse population of cations for miniature horses. The males intact, saves on castration 7.12 million that year), the outcome fact that more than one-quarter of costs, and results in especially cute would be a virtual population ex- the males remain intact into breed- and not very expensive mini babies. plosion that year. The live foal rate ing age is mirrored in the high per- The reproductive picture of these in bred domesticated mares is not centage of pregnant females, a rate pet horses begins to resemble that 100 percent by any means, but it is that, in this special population, pre- of pet dogs and cats. no longer the dismal 50 percent sumably could be true, especially posited in the prereproductive tech- coupled with the upward trend in nology era (Loch and Massey 2006), annual registrations cited earlier. Reproduction so there is no way that many preg- Horse and even pony stallions, with nant mares could have produced the their large size and testosterone- Technologies likely number of foals born, starting driven behaviors, can range from dif- The physical risks and management with the 264,000 registered in the ficult to dangerous to handle and difficulties of dealing with the male nine breeds. That late in their gesta- manage, requiring special housing half of the reproductive effort has tions, more than 755,000 pregnant and separate turnout in most domes- pretty much disappeared through-

Table 7 Gender Makeup of a Sample Equine Population, Eighteen Months of Age and Older, 1998

Males Females Intact Castrated Not Pregnant Pregnant (Stallions) (Geldings)

Horses 7.4 40.4 39.7 10.6

Ponies 7.1 30.4 48.7 12.5

Miniature horses 27.0 26.8 24.7 14.5

Donkeys/burros 17.8 28.0 44.6 8.5

Note: Remaining percentages in each category “unknown.”

Source: USDA (1998).

190 The State of the Animals IV: 2007 out the equine industry. Horse produce some “worse” along with • Do all this in the company of breeders still produce foals the old- the “betters,” creating a popula- a half-dozen or so congenial fashioned way by what is called “live tion of reject animals and spurring herd mates. cover” (during which both animals another try for the next “better” if • Roam over topography suffi- are typically under human restraint not “perfect” horse. The accessibil- ciently varied and vegetated to during the mating to lessen the risk ity of modern reproductive technol- provide protection and comfort of injury), and some remain even ogy in U.S. horse breeding, not to zones throughout the seasons. more old-fashioned and “pasture mention the expense and manage- The open-air wanderings hold breed,” running a band of ten or so ment demands on owners who contagion and parasitism at bay, mares with a stallion and letting choose to use it, would seem to be while all the unshod footwork nature take its course. These two strong influences in reducing the keeps the hooves in trim, and the more or less natural methodologies wastage of “unwanted” horses pro- endless grazing of coarse roughage usually result in higher conception duced in this country. If every wears continuously erupting teeth rates, but there are more risks of equine pregnancy is planned so evenly for trouble-free nipping and injury—kicks, bites, falls, internal painstakingly and paid for so dearly, grinding. It’s a simple, healthy tears—to the animals in the process each offspring would be all the plan not often available in domesti- than some owners care to take. For more valuable than the foals mass- cation due to lack of space, con- safety’s sake, many breeders collect produced each year from mediocre flicting work schedules for the semen from stallions and inject it in stock in hopes that there will be a horses, and owners’ fear of injury the mares even when the two mat- standout or two in each crop. and blemishing. ing animals are on the same prop- Currently, all breed registries, Horses across the country can be erty. But the real incentives for except for The Jockey Club for found living entirely antithetical horse breeders’ interest in manipu- Thoroughbreds, allow some form existences—tethered without suste- lated matings is in widening breed- of reproductive manipulation in the nance amid junk and clutter; shut ing choices that previously were matings of their registered stock, if away perpetually in dark barns; limited by geography and extending only the use of artificial insemina- swaddled in blankets inside opulent, reproductive possibilities once lim- tion involving a mare and stallion heated stables; striving all day in ited by biology. on the same property. Most stud- harness, then standing in narrow tie Today any mare owner anywhere books accept foals produced by any stalls. But these are the extremes in who has sufficient funds, a capable of the modern means up to cloning, an equine population that usually veterinarian, and moderate dis- which is too recent and too uncom- gets at least a taste of the natural tance to an airport can breed to the mon for rule book action. After all, way for part of each day. The best (though stallion owners can the more foals registered, the bet- NAHMS survey found 85 percent of insist on a certain quality of mare) ter for the association. DNA tests its sample population living under by using cooled, live transported can now assure the parentage of their owners’ care either at nonagri- semen or, with somewhat less suc- foals no matter how the egg was fer- cultural residences or on farms/ cess, thawed frozen semen. Embryo tilized or whose uterus nourished ranches involved in other agricul- transplantation into surrogate the foal. That’s the fundamental tural pursuits. Northeastern horse dams allows competition mares to concern of all bloodline registries. owners were 12 percent less likely produce a foal or more each year than other regions’ owners to reside without having to miss any shows with their horses on farms/ranches, or allows good mares with faulty/ How Are U.S. producing related bumps in the per- damaged organs to reproduce. centage of horses at residences and Finally, the births in 2006 of the Horses Managed? boarding/training stables in the When horses manage themselves first commercially cloned horses region. Horses in the Central region in free-range situations, their take equine reproduction to the were the least likely to be under maintenance plan is simple: point where owners can produce commercial care, and Western • Drink at least five gallons of exactly the individual they want by horses were the least likely to be at fresh, unpolluted water daily, making an identical genetic copy breeding farms. Overall, the distri- more when sweating. of an existing horse. bution of U.S. horses according to • Take a lick or two of salt every Regardless of the technology, the their residences looked like Table 8 once in a while to sustain min- goal has been to make a better—or in 1998. eral levels. even perfect—racehorse, show The agricultural bent of this sur- • Graze sufficient forage to keep horse, polo pony, draft horse, or vey’s sampling technique, plus the a light layer of fat over the ribs miniature. Like unplanned mat- escalation of suburban ownership and backbone. ings, planned matings inevitably in more recent years, probably

The Demographics of the U.S. Equine Population 191 fed concentrates specially for- Table 8 mulated for ease of chewing and better digestibility for geri- U.S. Horse Residence Patterns, 1998 atric horses. • Socialization, a very important Percentage Number of Resident aspect of herd-living equidae, of Equine Equines Per was guaranteed on at least half Location Population Location of the reporting operations and Residence with equidae probably to some degree on the for personal use 55.0 5 or fewer majority where three to twenty Farm or ranch 31.0 5 or fewer or more horses lived and thus offered ample intraspecies Breeding farm 5.2 6–19 awareness, if not direct con- Boarding/training stable 3.9 6–19 tact. Management on more than a third of operations did divide up the acreage into Sources: NAHMS (1998). smaller lots specifically to permit segregation of different means that a greater proportion of percent of operations that fed groups of residents, but even U.S. horses is kept in commercial hay at least three months of the visual contact satisfies the boarding establishments today. The year, the preferred variety was equine need for company. respondents in this survey may also grass hay but by only narrow Almost half of the noncommer- have been more experienced in margins over alfalfa, a protein- cial respondents reported keep- horse management than were the rich legume, and a grass-alfalfa ing just one or two equidae on full gamut of owners, as only 9 per- mix. Nutritionally, grass hay their residential or farm proper- cent of the reporting operations matches the horse’s digestive ties. In these small populations, were newer than three years old, needs most closely. Hay is usu- horses at least paired are often and the largest group had owned ally distributed twice daily, if not more content than horses kept horses for twenty years or longer. more frequently, or continually, solo, but socialization outside Keeping in mind, then, that the matching the natural plan most their own species, including NAHMS management findings closely. Minus the physical effort with owners, can make up for probably are not as suburbanized as needed in ranging to find the lone horses’ isolation. they should be and do not repre- food, domesticated horses tend • The freedom to range and the sent the naive, negligent, and unen- to overindulge and be over- responsibility to seek one’s own lightened sector of ownership, the weight. The feeding of grain, comforts were not year-round horse’s natural maintenance plan particularly in winter, also is options for many U.S. horses. in U.S. domestication has been commonplace in U.S. horse Instead, their cut of the exercise adjusted as follows (USDA 1998): keeping plans, but with no real areas (number of acres divided • Water for horses on at least 60 parallel in the natural model, by the number of animals graz- percent of operations came out other than occasional snacks ing/roaming there equals the of wells, except for those in the on the mature seed heads of stocking rate) on operations in Southern region, where surface grassy plants. These concen- all of the regions equaled about water (streams and ponds) was trated energy sources, primarily 1.25 acres. In most areas of the used more frequently than it was doled out from commercial country, they were confined in other areas of the country. bagged rations formulated to inside buildings for some part of • Along with essentially universal nutritional standards for differ- their days as protection against salt-block availability, close to 40 ent classes of horses, may be the weather, more so in some percent of horses receive supple- necessary to fuel hardworking areas than others. During mental vitamin-mineral mixes. horses. At least as often and for Northeastern winters, 40 per- • Feed is generally provided, as recreational owners particu- cent of operations kept their opposed to expecting the ani- larly, the addition of grain is animals confined more than mals to maintain themselves by more of a bonding mechanism half the time, and another 40 foraging alone. In fact, pas- than it is a nutritional necessity. percent stabled them fairly turage is more often thought Only 5.6 of operations reported often but less than half the of as exercise space than as a feeding no grain, while 7.6 time. In contrast, Western source of nourishment. On 87 percent of the large majority horses got the most freedom

192 The State of the Animals IV: 2007 year-round, rarely or never being breeding sectors. Hoof care, In imputation of state show activ- confined in summer in 86 per- one of the major sources of ity, for example, Alaska received a cent of management situations equine lameness and disability, 0.7 in the statistical weighting and remaining unstabled during was not surveyed. schema, while Maryland show winter in 76 percent of the oper- activity rated a 0.5; Maryland may ations. Central and Southern have fewer quarter horse shows, horses were about midway be- How Are U.S. but it certainly does not have less tween the two regional ex- overall show activity than Alaska. tremes in their confinement Horses Used? The NAHMS survey identified six Horses and their kin are the patterns—unconfined in sum- primary uses for horses in its sam- champs of multitasking among all mer on about 60 percent of ple, making breeding a separate the domesticated animals. They operations, with only a 5 per- activity as well as farm/ranch are partners in work, partners in cent increase in confinement work, which AHC included in play, professional athletes, ama- during winter. “other.” The respondents were teur athletes, beauty contestants, • Management practices on com- asked to identify the primary use cultural icons, beasts of burden, mercial operations reflected of the horses on their property, marathon runners, service ani- awareness of the health impli- but the specific count of animals mals, baby makers, boon compan- cations of unnatural confine- in the varous “occupations” was ions, basic transportation, school- ment of a large population of not solicited. masters, financial investments, equidae in relatively small With most pleasure respondents animated lawn ornaments, and areas. Residential and farm keeping five or fewer animals and more. The AHC economic impact owners with just one or two ani- the commercial operations gener- study boils their many roles down mals did the least to protect ally maintaining larger populations to four categories, folding breed- their animals against infectious (Table 8), U.S. horses are not ing animals into the activity for diseases through vaccinations nearly so removed from competi- which they’re producing, and cal- and potentially serious effects tion and commerce as the percent- culates their financial contribution of parasitism through routine ages might indicate at first glance to the gross domestic product. It deworming. Less than half of (Table 12). adds up to billions nationally. that group’s caretakers had at Even so, the AHCF and NAHMS Tables 9, 10, and 11 show the divi- least one animal vaccinated in surveys again seem to be reporting sion of all U.S. horses and those in the previous year, while 90 per- on two different horse worlds. selected states by their uses. cent of operations with more And, in fact, that was true to a The numbers given were not than twenty residents had met degree. The economic impact head counts but were calculated the same criterion. Deworming study follows the money (and pos- statistically, with extrapolation due was performed more universally sibly accentuates/inflates it, too) to poor response to the show man- (86.7 of all operations), most in the horse world; the NAHMS agement survey, which may have likely because owners can per- survey studied the minutia of produced some data flukes not form the treatment themselves horses’ everyday worlds, focusing reflected in the tables in states at small expense. Fecal testing not on show rings and racing ovals where quarter horses do not rule. found that 83 percent of the sampled horse populations were shedding only a low level Table 9 of parasite eggs or none at all, National Equine Use Patterns, 2003 suggesting the management programs were effective. The Western region, where confine- Use Percentage of Total Number of Horses ment was lowest, also had the Recreation 42 3,906,923 lowest levels detected of parasite eggs. Dental care for horses Showing/Competition 29 2,718,954 (primarily periodic filing, or Other 19 1,752,439 “floating,” of teeth to remove sharp protrusions and level the Racing 9 844,531 grinding surfaces) was sought Total 9,222,847 by only 44 percent of the total

sample, and most of that was Source: AHCF (2005). in the performance, racing, and

The Demographics of the U.S. Equine Population 193 but on barns and fields. The like search for the perfect circle or Horses in the recreational/pleas- NAHMS vision sees the world the half pass (a lateral movement in ure category may do everything majority of U.S. horses inhabit— dressage) to the discovery of inner the pros do, though rarely so well out of the limelight and out on peace as a volunteer in a therapeu- and usually not quite so seriously. the trails or out to pasture. tic-riding program. The joiners They may be kept in top working have plenty of equestrian organiza- trim and put on as many miles as Recreational Horses tions, local to national, to add human commuters being trailered One woman’s recreational horse is some socializing to the picture. to various events or riding venues. in the trailer and on the go to a The reclusive types can ride off into The NAHMS study reported that trail ride here, an overnight camp- the sunset on solitary trails. That is the second most common reason ing adventure there, and a special a major appeal of horse involve- for trailering horses was attending training clinic way out there, week ment—something for everyone. shows/competitions (21 percent), in and week out. Another woman’s And for a surprising number, the with transportation to work being recreational horse is one of a half something is tending to their the first, and though practically all dozen at her home, and she might horses at least twice daily, forking commercial operations had trans- get a saddle on and ride over to the manure and heaving hay bales; wor- ported at least one horse during neighbor’s place a couple of times rying over ailments, injuries, and the previous year, 46 percent of the a month, if she is lucky enough to feeds bills 365 days of the year; and purely pleasure group had done so squeeze in some time for it. With having little time left over to actu- as well, the greatest portion of horses, recreation can be just ally use the animals. They do this which was for recreation (USDA about anything you please, from year after year, and, when asked 1998). That was almost ten years primping and pampering to rough- what they do with their horses, the ago; the rate of trailering by recre- ing it in the outback; from a zen- answer is “just for pleasure.” ational owners has increased

Table 10 Horse Involvement by Activity in Selected States, by Region

State Racing Showing Recreation Other Total

New York 23,216 60,746 89,223 28,721 201,906

New Jersey 7,271 27,061 39,581 9,070 82,982

Maryland 41,805 29,032 47,337 34,756 152,930

Florida 134,406 158,641 160,696 46,381 500,124

Kentucky 58,755 88,176 100,185 73,057 320,173

Louisiana 20,815 59,669 58,793 25,027 164,305

Texas 104,836 310,988 340,383 222,615 978,822

Oklahoma 22,225 118,513 113,776 71,620 326,134

Ohio 33,477 98,660 119,102 55,659 306,898

Indiana 14,339 61,024 105,695 21,929 202,986

Missouri 9,742 65,345 145,674 60,461 281,255

New Mexico 10,076 36,746 63,955 36,405 147,181

Colorado 10,113 76,979 106,624 61,787 255,503

California 82,236 191,945 315,261 108,903 698,345

Source: AHCF (2005), state breakouts.

194 The State of the Animals IV: 2007 steadily since, as they avail them- Table 11 selves of public trails, educational clinics, and riding vacations along Percentage of Selected States’ 2003 with showing. Recreational horses Horse Populations, by Primary Use* in the United States are often the center of a nonstop lifestyle. State Recreation Showing Other Racing On the other hand, recreational horses may do nothing at all except Northeast be the object of someone’s deepest New York 44 30 14 11 affections, naive neglect, or irra- tional cruelty. Not a single criterion New Jersey 48 33 11 9 exists for being a recreational/ South pleasure horse in the United States. Any breed, age, size, capability, or Maryland 31 19 23 27 appearance that catches a potential buyer’s interest or appears to Florida 32 32 9 16 match the requirements for the Kentucky 31 28 23 18 dreamed-of activity, and the buyer is a recreational horseperson after Louisiana 36 36 15 13 hundreds—or hundreds of thou- Texas 35 32 23 11 sands—of dollars change hands. Horses do not need to be well Oklahoma 35 36 22 7 trained or sound of limb, wind, or Midwest even mind for a recreational match to be made with a willing owner. Ohio 39 32 18 11 Too often the first-time buyer, par- Indiana 52 30 11 7 ticularly, sees the kind eye but not the puffy ankle and slight limp that Missouri 52 23 21 3 go with it, or the golden palomino West coat but not the head-flinging response to a hand approaching the New Mexico 43 25 25 7 lovely face. Perhaps he sees the Colorado 42 30 24 4 retired harness racer’s “snap” that will take the carriage down the road California 45 27 16 12 with style but not the trench worn along the paddock fence, indicative *Calculated from Table 9. Note: Rounding responsible for over/underages in percent totals. of a compulsive pacing that will make the horse a hard animal to keep weight on and/or live with in general. Worst of all, a well-mean- Table 12 ing parent may think a young, Primary Use of U.S. Horses, 1998 untrained horse will make an ideal mount for a young, inexperi- Primary Use of Percentage of enced child so “they can grow up Resident Horses Surveyed Operations and learn together.” Pleasure 66.0 Somehow, a lot of rank begin- ners and their inappropriate horses Farm/ranch 15.2 make it through the steep learning Showing/competition 6.5 curve of first-time ownership, and a lifetime hobby/need is estab- Breeding 6.0 lished. Of the nearly two million Other 3.6 horse owners in this country (chil- Racing 1.9 dren under eighteen were not included in the survey), as calcu-

Source: USDA (1998). lated by the AHCF study, 83 percent were over thirty, with the

The Demographics of the U.S. Equine Population 195 largest block (41 percent) between and courses as they improve. Few the animal pays the fees to enter the ages of forty-five and fifty-nine rise to the international level, but a competition, even if it is only an (AHCF 2005). The elastic bound- equestrian sports such as these egg-and-spoon race with twelve- aries of recreational horsemanship that are physically and mentally year-old competitors. On any given have room for even truly elderly challenging and based on a long weekend, spring through fall, and people if they wish to go there. It’s working relationship with one maybe throughout the winter, the place for older horses, too. The horse appeal to many in the recre- too, hundreds of thousands of recreational sector takes in past- ational world. The past twenty horses and their handlers/riders/ their-prime pros from racing and years have seen large increases in drivers are going round and round upper-level sports and recycles most equestrian activities, but in dusty rings, being judged, get- their talents to compete at lower sports that test brains—training, ting pinned or shown the gate. levels of the same sport or retrains skill, and strategy—not just beauty Others are testing their limits on them for other activities. have seen some of the steepest challenging cross-country jump- Recreational riders and their rises (Table 13). ing courses or in polo arenas; horses make up the broad base of cutting cattle, roping calves, rac- Olympic sports, such as dressage, Show Horses ing cloverleaf patterns around eventing, and reining, taking on Every horse is potentially a show three barrels; or having their en- progressively more difficult tests horse if whoever happens to use durance tested in all-day judged

Table 13 Selected Competitive-Sport Association Memberships over Two Decades

1985 1995 2005

U.S. Equestrian Federation* 45,238 62,000 87,050 (multidiscipline oversight)

U.S. Pony Clubs 8,999 13,000 11,800 (youth horsemanship education)

American Driving Society 850 2,500 3,016 (international discipline)

U.S. Trotting Association 55,075 35,196 24,650 (harness racing)

U.S. Dressage Federation 18,543 40,000 33,044 (international discipline—English)

U.S. Eventing Association** 8,346 10,900 13,800 (international discipline—English)

National Cutting Horse Assoc. 14,363 11,500 16,000 (competitive cattle work)

National Reining Horse Association 2,050 7,000 13,000 (international discipline—Western)

American Endurance Ride Conference 2,000 5,050 6,570 (international discipline—100-mile contests)

Total 155,463 178,146 208,930

* Formerly American Horse Shows Association. **Formerly U.S. Combined Training Association.

Note: Members of all international disciplines who compete in their sports must also be members of the USEF; therefore, yearly totals include duplicate counts for those sports.

Sources: EQUUS (1995); EQUUS (2006).

196 The State of the Animals IV: 2007 trail rides. The AHC 2003 direc- millions more are currently in- and abusive training techniques tory listed forty horse association vested for the 2006–2011 funds are used when the characteristic, and event organizers that spon- (AQHA 2004). such as the “big lick” and the quar- sored more than 10,500 competi- Only a small fraction of U.S. ter horse’s automaton-like show- tions attracting in excess of ten horses are full-time show horses, ring movement, proved impossible million class entries. but they, in particular, are at risk to develop through genetics. Not all of these organizations pro- because of all that cash. The outlay vided their counts (AHC 2003). And of huge sums of money to partici- Racehorses countless tiny shows are put on by pate and/or the prospect of win- Although six registries conduct riding stables as a goal/reward for ning immense payoffs puts a some sort of racing program for the students or to bring in outside must-win cast on a competition their breeds, Thoroughbreds, Stan- participants and make some money originally intended to improve the dardbreds, and Quarter Horses are from entry fees. Many organizations breed through comparative evalua- historically the pari-mutuel con- mount elaborate multiday shows tion. As showing was conceived, tenders. Appaloosas, Paints, and each year, with income that some- the stallion who got the blue rib- Arabians do most of their running times goes to charities. Most sport- bon or whose offspring won the tro- at small venues, such as county fairs specific groups and larger breed phies had more mares brought to in the West. Internationally and in registries/associations encourage him, and the quality of the stock this country, Thoroughbreds, origi- participation and ownership by improved to everyone’s benefit. nating four hundred years ago in sanctioning restricted shows; re- But competition for cash and England, are the prestige runners, cording results; and creating point acclaim rarely improves human whose Triple Crown races—at the systems, futurities, jackpots, and nature, and the horses involved least, the Kentucky Derby—most the like to heighten competition can bear the brunt. In the 1990s, Americans would recognize. Har- and motivate continued participa- for instance, hunter-jumper train- ness racing (Standardbreds were so tion, often culminating in days-long ers were killing horses for insur- named because they had to trot or national championship events. ance money (Chronicle of the Horse pace to a certain time standard to The cost for a local riding-school 1998), and for decades, despite be entered into the registry regard- show might hit $50 a day; the big- laws specifically banning the prac- less of their parentage) grew out of time competitors can spend tens of tice, Tennessee Walking Horses’ this country’s democratic, agricul- thousands for a show season, and trainers have “sored” the horses’ tural heritage, which continues that’s not counting the horse. Tra- forefeet and legs to cause them to strongest in the Midwest, and Quar- ditionally, showing in the English move in an extreme fashion that ter Horse racing, though originally disciplines has been done for the wins the big prize. contested on East Coast main sole tangible reward of a ribbon, Shows can have a wider-reaching streets in Colonial times, evolved in if one was lucky enough to negative effect on all horses pro- the West with cowboys pitting their get pinned, and the pride in one’s duced for a particular competitive stock horses against each other in superior horsemanship. Western style even if they don’t ever enter a sprint races. competitions and some jumping show ring. Judging standards orig- When men and their horses events sweeten the pot with cash inated to define the ideal type for gather, it seems, racing is inevitable. winnings, usually derived from futu- that breed’s conformation and way Betting is, too, and throughout the rity money collected from breeders of moving, all based on a particular twentieth century, horseracing was early in their prospective competi- job the horse would be expected to the one legal outlet for the betting tors’ lives, then two or three years’ carry out in real life. Yet as the blue urge, at least in states that allowed worth is paid out in big bucks to ribbon, rather than the functional pari-mutuel meets. Until the 1980s, the top finishers in the event. The performance, came to be the ulti- horseracing was the most popular AQHA, a huge corporate operation mate concern, breeders produce sport of all in terms of attendance. sponsoring, among other things, what judges will pin, and when Only at the end of the century did 2,500-plus approved shows and judges select for extremes, such as state governments begin permitting events annually attracting close to the Tennessee Walking Horse’s other forms of legalized gambling ten thousand entries, oversees the exaggerated “big lick” gait, the and, by then, too, broadcasting was collection, investment, and dis- quarter horse’s bulging muscles offering a ceaseless parade of faster- bursement of an incentive fund, atop trim, tiny feet, or the Ara- moving spectator sports for every- based on points earned during rec- bian’s wild-eyed “animation,” the man’s entertainment. Racing has ognized competitions. Between nonfunctional or antifunctional been in decline for about twenty 1986 and 2003 the fund distrib- winning characteristics spread years. Since 1990 Thoroughbred uted $43,690,096.14, and many through the breed. Drugs, devices, races run annually in North America

The Demographics of the U.S. Equine Population 197 (approximately 90 percent of them week after week just keep on going or all of their horses against in the United States; 10 percent in for as long as they bring in an occa- their wishes. Canada) declined steadily, from sional check. After that, they may • The animals become physically 79,971 to 57,495 in 2005, and the recycle into the recreational or show incapacitated and no longer number of North American Thor- world. With fewer races being fit for the intended purpose, oughbreds starting in races those offered, U.S. Thoroughbreds ran, on or they are too unruly or dan- same years went from 89,716 to average, only 6.5 races in 2005 (The gerous for the current owners 72,780 (The Jockey Club 2006). Jockey Club 2006). Racing appears to handle. Steeplechasing, in which Thorough- to be nearing its finish line, at least • Their special caretaking needs breds race over jumps on longer as the prestige sport of the eques- become a burden, particularly cross-country courses, has actually trian world. with the aged or those with enjoyed some growth during this chronic health conditions. same period, probably because of The NAHMS survey gathered the festival-like ambiance cultivated What Becomes data on the comings and goings of in the country settings. The thirty- of U.S. Horses? the resident populations of com- nine steeplechase events run in U.S. horses are as mobile as the mercial, work/ranch, and recre- twelve states in 2006, during prima- country’s human population. As ational establishments studied and rily spring and fall seasons, paid with the majority of people, horses found that in the previous year, just out a total of $4.5 million in purses rarely grow up and die where they 13.4 percent of the animals perma- (NSA 2006). Quarter Horse racing, were born or even in their home- nently left those operations (USDA mostly run in the West, has also suf- town. Unlike much of the pet pop- 1998). Table 14 ranks the destina- fered substantial declines in races ulation, which moves into human tions of the departed animals by and starters since 1990, but the homes at weaning time and percentage of the surveyed popula- recent trend is somewhat upward remains with the same people tion and converts the percentages (AQHA 2004). Harness racing has throughout the rest of their lives, to head counts based on a current been in free fall for years, as wit- horses tend to go through a series national population of 10 million. nessed by the deep membership of owners. The serial ownership of Table 15 does the same for the rea- drop in the U.S. Trotting Association horses occurs not just because sons the respondents gave for dis- (USTA), the Standardbred registry they are produced and dealt in as persing the animals. to which breeders, owners, trainers valuable commodities. Once they In the years since the study was and drivers must belong (Table 13). get into the equestrian pipeline, done, dispersal patterns have prob- The horses of the racing world are multiple factors cause them to ably remained consistent. Eco- exceptional athletes when bred well, move from owner to owner: nomic forces have not been suffi- trained intelligently, and managed • The animals’ size and manage- ciently negative to cause owners to carefully. They are also subject ment requirements restrict liquidate or trim their herds for to stress-related illnesses, such as where they can live. Even financial reasons. The most likely ulcers, from their unnatural though a great many horse- change in these percentages would lifestyle, and to stress injuries when people do arrange the rest of be an increase in the number of not well trained or if there’s a mis- their lives around the keeping horses sold privately for business step during the all-out gallop. The of horses, not all owners can profit to accommodate the rise in prime years for a runner are ages take the animals along when registered foal production since three to five. Most stallions with out- they must relocate. 1997. Assuming the study results standing race records in their three- • As owners’ interests change, are a true reflection of the larger year-old campaigns are retired to horses are traded in for new world, today’s horses change own- stud immediately afterward. Insur- models or dispersed when the ership, aside from commercial ing such animals against a fatal or hobby/business is abandoned. transactions, almost four times life-threatening injury, such as that This happens commonly with more frequently because of owners’ suffered by Kentucky Derby winner youth involvement, indulged by personal problems or, considerably Barbaro during the 2006 Preakness nonparticipating parents for less significantly, for financial rea- Stakes (Bloodhorse.com 2006), is the interest span or depend- sons, than because of the horses’ extremely expensive and the loss of ency of the child, then dissolved shortcomings. That only 10 per- breeding income from such an upon college attendance or cent of horses changed ownership occurrence makes the risk too great independent living. because of temperamental difficul- to bear. The everyday runners who • Personal or financial pressures ties, physical problems, and old age fill the lower-level “claiming” and force owners to give up some combined must mean either that “allowance” categories of races the country’s equine population is

198 The State of the Animals IV: 2007 just about perfect or the country’s Table 14 owners are pretty willing to stick with their horses for worse as well Destination of Permanently Removed as better. The latter is the likelier Equidae on Surveyed Operations, explanation, given the volume of by Percentage and Equivalent Count equine business attended to in university veterinary clinics in 2005. in Today’s National Population* As reported to Veterinary Medical Databases (VMDB), a central data- Destination Percentage 2006 Number base for clinical data contributed 1. Sold to private party 55.0 737,000 voluntarily by the nation’s 27 veterinary schools, 16,441 horses re- 2. Moved to another facility 17.5 234,500 ceived diagnosis/treatment at six institutions in 2005 (D. Folks- 3. Sold at public auction 13.3 178,220 Huber, personal communication, 4. Removed for other reasons 9.7 129,980 March 24, 2006). If the visitation rate applied across all schools, that 5. Given away to private party 2.5 33,500 would be 75,600 equine medical 6. Donated to charity/research 1.1 14,740 visits for generally expensive and/ or more heroic healthcare meas- 7. Sent direct to slaughter/ 0.8 10,720 slaughter buyer ures than most horses ever require. Horses who are sold in this coun- 8. Stolen 0.1 1,340 try have had three possible destina- tions: *Based on 13.4 percent permanently relocated in ten million population. • new residences, the majority Source: USDA (1998). in noncommercial operations, • slaughter in three U.S. plants (which were closed in 2007) for human consumption overseas; Table 15 • export to other countries, some as performance or breed- Reasons for Permanent Removal of ing stock, but the majority Equidae from Resident Operations, for slaughter either in Canada by Percentage and Equivalent Count or Mexico. Reports from USDA, the over- in Today’s National Population* sight agency for both animal imports/exports and slaughter in- Reasons Percentage 2006 Number spection, indicate that approxi- 1. Business profit 52.0 696,800 mately 10,000 purebred breeding animals are exported each year, but 2. Situation change (e.g., owner, a much greater number—approxi- children moved, owner illness) 34.9 467,660 mately 1 percent of the U.S. equine 3. Temperament problem 4.5 60,300 population in recent years—leaves the country intended for human 4. Aged 3.3 44,220 consumption. In 2004, 111,500 5. Too expensive to keep 2.6 34,840 horses met this fate, 60 percent exported as horse meat and the 6. Lameness/injury 1.2 16,080 rest live to neighboring countries 7. Problem with horse not for slaughter there (Table 16). otherwise listed 0.9 12,060 Without reliable national equine population counts through previ- 8. Reproduction problem 0.6 8,040 ous decades, it is difficult to deter- *Based on 13.4 percent permanently relocated in ten million population. mine earlier slaughter percentages with any accuracy, but it is safe to Source: USDA (1998). assume that a much greater percentage of U.S. horses was sold to

The Demographics of the U.S. Equine Population 199 slaughter for human consumption 10,284 head in 1984, with a portion the surveyed operations during at the end of the 1980s and early of them exported as breeding and three twelve-month periods was 2 1990s than is the case in the cur- performance stock, after 66,886 to 2.5 percent. Adding some statis- rent decade. That was a peak live horses had been exported just tical wiggle room with a “confi- period in exports of metric ton- three years before (USDA 2006a; dence interval,” the study deter- nage of horse meat (1 metric ton FAO 2006). In the first quarter of mined that in any given year, 1.5 to equals 2,205 pounds, and horses 2006, almost 1,300 live slaughter- 3 percent of American horses die average 400 pounds of dressed bound horses entered Mexico from either of natural causes or euthana- meat, meaning 1 MT equals New Mexico and Texas (USDA sia in the following order of likeli- approximately 5.5 live horses) and 2006b), projecting a total of 5,200 hood (USDA 1998): for live nonpurebred animals as by year’s end. Canada, with four • age twenty or or older, well (Table 16). horse-slaughtering plants, was • between birth and 6 months, Following the reduction of expected to process at least five • between five and twenty years slaughter capability in this country times that number of U.S. animals of age, through the closing of plants in Tex- imported live (Dudley 2006), • between six months and five as and Illinois, live shipments for though previous years’ total exports years of age. slaughter, presumably all to Mex- would indicate well more than As with the human population, ico and Canada (ocean-going ship- 25,000 U.S. horses are processed the very old and the very young are ment for slaughter horses is in that country (USDA 2006a; most at risk for fatal health condi- banned and air freight for live ani- FAO 2006). tions. Foal deaths mostly went mals would be prohibitively expen- The bulk of the U.S. horses unexplained at the earliest stages, sive) have increased. Yet export num- remaining within the country are with a host of genetic and perinatal bers had been quite variable as of old, by equine standards, when they complications that could prove 2006 throughout the previous thirty die. The NAHMS study found that fatal. During the suckling stage, years, reaching the lowest count of the death rate of horses resident on however, respiratory conditions

Table 16 Twenty-Year High- and Low-Point Periods, U.S. Horses Sold to Slaughter

Peak Metric Tons Equivalent Live Exports Total Years, High Horse Meat Number Horses for Slaughter* Horses

1990 55,373 304,551 73,686 378,237

1991 48,284 265,562 81,994 347,556

1989 59,000 313,482 29,350 342,832

1988 51,864 285,252 18,063 303,315

Total 1,371,940

Peak Metric Tons Equivalent Live Exports Total Years, Low Horse Meat Number Horses for Slaughter** Horses

2002 8,094 44,517 38,540 83,057

2003 8,861 48,735 42,932 92,667

2001 11,940 65,670 35,993 101,663

2004 12,085 66,467 45,039 111,506

Total 388,893

*Slaughter exports calculated by subtracting 10,000 from total exports reported as the approximate number of performance and breeding animals included. **Actual numbers, USDA (2006a).

200 The State of the Animals IV: 2007 (often called “foal pneumonia”) out human intervention. When movement and rarely duplicated in were the most common cause of applied to current estimated popu- modern domestication and use. death, followed by injury/wounds/ lation of 10 million, the study’s trauma and leg/hoof problems. mortality figures would translate The elderly population contributed to between 150,000 and 300,000 How Are U.S. the single greatest cause of death “at home” deaths annually, the afflicting the entire population— preponderance of which would be Horses Faring? “old age” at 22 percent—but the at age twenty or over. Look hard enough in any commu- next most common mortal condi- The equine digestive tract and nity in the country, and you can find tions were colic (18 percent) and locomotion systems are the biggest individual horses, ponies, or asses in injury/wounds/trauma (14 per- problems during the lives and in the distress of one sort or another. You cent), which affect horses of all deaths of U.S. horses, according to may not have to look very hard at all ages. According to this study, 64 the NHMS survey (Table 17). Both in some places, but the nationwide percent of the horses dying of old systems are subject to management indicators disclosed in this exami- age were euthanized, most com- practices far removed from the nation reveal the resources and monly because of weight loss and species’ innate biology, which is capabilities for providing our equine the inability to ambulate, while the predicated on near-continuous population with better-than-ade- remainder died on their own with- grazing and moderately strenuous quate care. The equine species’ fence-straddling situation—half livestock, half companion animal— has produced a mix of benefits not Table 17 available to the “either-or” species. Prevalence of Equine Health Conditions Horses are commercially valuable by Percentage of Operations Affected* enough to earn agricultural-research funding from government sources that aren’t available to Conditions Affecting Conditions Affecting Foals Under Equidae Six Months purely pet species. At the same Six Months, and Older, time, the emotional attachments Percentage Operations Percentage All formed between many owners (and With Foals Operations Surveyed not just recreational owners exclu- Digestive/Diet-related problems: sively) and their horses assure a greater sensitivity to equine well- Colic 2.7 13.6 being than generally develops be- Diarrhea/Other digestive 13.4 2.8 tween livestock keepers and their animals. The larger American cul- Overweight/Obese 1.2 4.5 ture is also more inclined to hold Chronic weight loss 0.7 2.7 horses in higher regard than the food species and invest them with Total Digestive 18.0 23.6 somewhat more gravitas than the lap-pet set. Injury/wounds/trauma 12.7 17.9

Leg/hoof problems 2.8 16.0 Basic Management and Handling Respiratory problems 3.6 6.3 Horses today are well-served by Eye problems 1.3 7.4 their half-and-half status only when they’re maintained true to their Skin problems 1.5 6.0 nature, as neither feed animal nor Reproductive problems 1.8 3.2 pet. Some of the original nutritional research performed on Behavioral problems 0.1 1.7 horses in their new role as recre- Neurological problems 0.3 1.6 ational creatures in the 1960s chose the same goals for feeding Generalized infection 0.6 1.1 programs that applied to feeder

*Adapted from USDA (1998). cattle: grow ’em big, and grow ’em fast, getting the most inches and pounds added on in the shortest

The Demographics of the U.S. Equine Population 201 time for the fewest dollars spent enough even to care that isn’t tool—the Coggins test (so named (Ensminger 1969). When you’re always in its biological best interest. for its developer and now required aiming to get a young steer to mar- These animals have also been for all equidae being transported to ket, that approach seems to have subject to a genuine revolution in events, sales, and across states no consequence because the steer handling and training, which is lines)—national and state agricul- won’t live long enough to go particularly interesting because it ture departments could identify through all the stages set up by the arose among Western horse han- and isolate or destroy carriers as the nutritional program. With young dlers, primarily associated with only means to eliminate the incur- horses, particularly easy gainers “breaking” horses in a tradition of able disease from the horse popula- like quarter horses and superath- animal handling based on domina- tion. In 1972 the infection rate, letes like Thoroughbreds, the tion, intimidation, and outright mostly inapparent carriers, was 3 results are ruinous. Most immedi- fear. In the past twenty years, a cot- percent of the horse population; in ate are serious digestive upsets, tage industry of “horse tamers,” 2004, only 333 samples from such as ulcers and colic, but also, able to connect with, gentle, and 2,013,376 horses were positive, an according to recent biologically climb aboard an unhandled horse infection rate of .017 percent based behavioral studies, the life- in a few hours, using no equipment (Cordes and Issle 1996; USDA long compulsive oral behavior other than body language and pos- 2006c). The destruction of seem- called “cribbing.” Worst of all, sibly some simple props makes the ingly healthy positive reactors was overfed youngsters often suffer rounds of the country teaching and is a hardship and aberration to developmental bone diseases, ordinary horse owners how to “join the people who care for the individ- sometimes requiring euthanasia up” (Dorrance 1994; Roberts ual animals, but elimination of a because the condition is not 1997; Miller, Lamb, and Downs once intractable killer and waster of reversible and the animals will 2005). A lot of what sells is the the- horses may result in a greater good. never be sound and comfortable ater, but for horses, the recogni- It’s unlikely that such medical for as long as they live. Horse own- tion and development of communi- measures could ever be taken to ers are still learning the hard way cation techniques derived from eradicate the similar feline about this nutritional truth. “Pet- their own “language” has made leukemia, for instance, partly fed” horses get too much of too training a lot more understandable because USDA funding does not many good things provided by too- and easier. apply to companion species but loving owners and suffer obesity mostly because pet owners would and all the attendant problems Health Care not allow test-and-destroy practices. (except for heart disease) that With twenty-seven U.S. university A more positive approach to human beings experience. Horses veterinary clinics and numerous pri- horse health occurs when new dis- have the additional difficulty of not vately owned equine hospitals oper- ease threats receive rapid responses being able to take excess weight off ating in the country, plus several in prevention. When Potomac horse their feet by sitting down, and their thousand practitioners specializing fever, a severe diarrheal condition soundness and mobility, the most in the species, diagnosis and treat- with often fatal secondary effects, essential ingredients in equine ment practically as sophisticated as was first recognized in central Mary- well-being, are compromised. those of their human counterparts land about twenty-five years ago, Feeding and nutritional problems are available for horses everywhere, the veterinary establishment saw are just one manifestation of a clus- if their owners care to seek them only variations of already named ter of common conditions that can out and pay for them. U.S. horses conditions. Only with great pres- be labeled diseases of modern don’t die en masse from plagues, sure from frightened and frustrated excess. An excess of horses crowded thanks to research attention paid to horse owners did the scientific com- into a small area increases para- equine diseases, primarily those munity begin to study the disease sitism, infectious-disease outbreaks, also affecting human beings and for cause and treatment. The cause injuries, and stress symptoms. The those with significant economic is still not entirely understood, but excess isolation experienced by implications, and strict monitoring the infection was eventually recog- horses kept solo out of their owners’ of animal health status. Equine nized to be a national problem, and ignorance or excess transportation infectious anemia (EIA), a blood- a vaccine was developed several for excess participation in competi- borne disease with some similarity years after the outbreaks began. tive events can sicken and possibly to AIDS in its mechanism and The most recent “new” equine kill horses. As witnessed by the good resilience, caused several large fatal threat, West Nile virus, arrived by survival rate of U.S. horses, however, outbreaks in the United States in airline via a mosquito “hitchhiking” the ever-adaptable equine species the middle of the twentieth century. from south Europe in 1999. Devel- appears to have adjusted well With the advent of a screening opment of an equine vaccine began

202 The State of the Animals IV: 2007 almost as soon as the regulatory Land Grant university system, is the 78, attack the problem of “unwant- community recognized the threat longest running educational institu- edness” in several ways: to both horse and human, and the tion regarding large-animal hus- • taking in equidae, through fatality rate dropped considerably in bandry. More recently, equine veteri- legal action and/or owner horses beginning in 2004. The dif- narians and their professional relinquishment, and placing ference in response had much to do organization, the AAEP, have incor- them in new, permanent pri- with the zoonotic capabilities of the porated formal healthcare and man- vate homes West Nile virus, but also can be agement programs into their prac- • taking in equidae by the same attributed to commercial and recre- tices along with the standard mechanisms and placing them ational horse owners having be- horse-side discussions. Equestrian in permanent sanctuaries come a block of educated con- magazines are generally a source of • purchasing animals in the sumers who demand responsive reliable medical and management pipeline for slaughter, at either health care for their investments information, but the Internet is now auction or another stop in the and their recreational partners. a primary information and advice- supply chain, and reselling seeking resource for horse owners, them to good homes at cost Disaster Management as well as a sale barn, stable-aisle • serving as brokers, of sorts, The Mississippi’s Great Flood chat site, and equestrian soapbox. between owners/trainers with of 1993, the West Coast’s perpet- The following sites offer a sampling horses, mostly from the track ual wildfire dangers, Hurricane of opportunities for electronic com- but sometimes specific breeds, Andrew’s devastation of south munity and commerce available to to dispose of and potential buy- Florida in 1992—natural disaster riders and owners. ers, leaving the transaction to is always looming somewhere in http://chronicleforums.com/ continue between those parties. this country. Forum/ In the grand scheme of things, Andrew was the first time a killer http://source.bloodhorse.com/ 400 grass-roots efforts intervening tropical storm threatened a large thehorse/ in cases of ten or twenty unwanted recreational horse population. The http://www.equisearch.com horses annually can’t make much of lessons learned at the time in pro- http://www.horseweb.com/ a dent in the number of slaughter- tecting, identifying, and reuniting http://ww.netequine.com/ bound animals, for instance, let animals and owners initiated com- horses-for-sale. alone all of the neglected and mis- munity and veterinary efforts to used horses in the country. Rescue develop coherent disaster plans for Humane Treatment efforts can improve the quality of life managing the domestic animal pop- The ready accessibility of equine for animals in their immediate vicin- ulation along with the human popu- information and equestrian com- ity, but the burnout rate has to be lation. When the megastorms Kat- munication provided by the Inter- high. From the web site descrip- rina, Rita, and Wilma hit in 2005, net is, in fact, probably the primary tions, many of these efforts begin as equine organizations, including the motivating force in a groundswell personal missions, with no long- American Association of Equine of action taken on behalf of horses term sources of income to pay for Practitioners (AAEP) and breed and their welfare. Twenty years rescued horses’ basic needs month associations, provided assistance, ago, only two national equine-wel- in and month out. Ryerss Farm for and rescue and animal-protection fare efforts had been organized: Aged Equines, the country’s longest organizations from other areas one to oppose soring of Tennessee running large-animal sanctuary, has moved in to stricken areas to assist. Walking show horses and the other an endowment to maintain the facil- The National Conference on Ani- to protect wild horses and burros. ity but still charges a lump sum of mals in Disasters, held in the Wash- Today, a few more equine-protec- several thousand dollars for horses ington, D.C., area in June 2006, tion groups operate on a national to enter the facility, then solicits included a session on large-animal level, but the real revolution is the donations for the continued upkeep issues in disasters (The Humane appearance, since the mid-’90s, of based on expenses of $15 a-day Society of the United States 2006) hundreds of mostly small, inde- (Ryerss Farm 2006). For concerned for horse and livestock owners/ pendent efforts focused on what but not rich rescuers to rely on responders. are often called “unwanted horses” uncertain volunteer labor, donated Horse owners who care to learn within their region. These organi- supplies, and cash donations while have every opportunity to become zations, approximately 300 of tending to ill, starved, difficult ani- expert in all horse-care and manage- which have attained Internal Rev- mals, with more needy ones always ment areas, and many amateurs do enue Service (IRS) tax-exempt sta- in the pipeline is a stressful life that just that. USDA’s agricultural exten- tus, as listed on IRS Publication most people cannot withstand indef- sion service, working within the initely, no matter how strong their

The Demographics of the U.S. Equine Population 203 will to help. Additionally, the mere jured. www.bloodhorse.com/ ———. 1991. Production jumps existence of Good Samaritans in an articleindex/article.asp?id= and slumps. Equus 169: 38. area tends to encourage less respon- 33651. ———. 1994. Trends at a glance. sible animal owners to dump their Bureau of Land Management Equus 205: 30–31. problems for the rescue to manage. (BLM). 2005. Herd area statis- ———. 1995. Trends at a glance. Results of a small, informal sur- tics, FY 05. http://www.wild Equus 217: 28–31. vey of these grass-roots rescues horseandburro.blm.gov. ———. 1997. Trends at a glance. showed a very similar set of motiva- ———. 2006. Fact sheet on the Equus 241: 102–103. tions behind the dispersal of BLM’s management of wild ———. 1999. Trends in breed reg- horses to rescues as applied for the horses and burros. http://www. istrations. Equus 193: 64. dispersal of horses in general, wildhorseandburro.blm.gov. ———. 2000. Trends at a glance. described in the NAHMS survey. Chronicle of the Horse, The. 1998. Equus 277: 56–57. Horses came to rescues not neces- Final insurance fraud defen- ———. 2004. Trends at a glance. sarily because they were treated dants have their day in court. Equus 325: 44–45. cruelly, or at least intentionally so. The Chronicle of the Horse, May ———.2006. A decade of change. They were generally not irreparably 29, n.p. Equus 339: 42–43. damaged goods, either physically Clancy, E.A., and A.N. Rowan. Food and Agriculture Organization or mentally. The weak links were 2003. Companion animal demo- (FAO) of the United Nations. mostly on the human side: igno- graphics in the United States: 2006. http://faostat.fao.org/ rance of proper care, personal and A historical perspective. In The fastat/serviet. financial difficulties, or failure to state of the animals II: 2003, Hause, Eric. 2006. The Corolla wild properly train the animals. Good ed. D.J. Salem and A.N. Rowan, horses. http://www.coastalguide. intentions and love of horses with- 9–26. Washington, D.C.: com/packet/thecorollawild out accompanying management Humane Society Press. horses.shtml. capabilities are as likely to move Cordes, T., D.V.M., and C. Issel, Humane Society of the United horses into rescue facilities as is D.V.M., Ph.D. 1996. EIA, equine States, The. 2006. National Con- pure commercial greed. infectious anemia: A status ference on Animals in Disaster The larger issue is balancing the report on its control. Riverdale, 2006 conference schedule. pressures of horse ownership, both Md.: U.S. Department of Agricul- http://www.hsus.org/hsus_field/ commercial and recreational, that ture. Animal and Plant Health hsus_disaster_center/national- arise from keeping a large species Inspection Service. conference-on-animals-in-disaster in a shrinking and increasingly Dorrance, T. 1994. True unity: Will- 2006/ncad06_schedule.html# costly world. ing communication between Wednesday_May_31_2006. horse and rider. Sanger, Calif.: Kilby, E. 1989. Progress...and pain. Word Dancer Press. EQUUS 145: 58–64, 106–109. Literature Cited Dudley, W. 2006. Horse slaughter Kirkpatrick, J.F. 2005. The wild American Horse Council (AHC). ban could lead to more neglect. horse fertility control program. 2003. 2003 Horse industry direc- The Alberta Express. Alberta, In Humane wildlife solutions, ed. tory. Washington, D.C.: AHC. Canada: January 31. http://www. A. Rutberg, 63–75. Washington, American Horse Council Founda- agcanada.com/custompages/. D.C.: Humane Society Press. tion (AHCF). 2005. The econom- DuTeil, K. 1992. The elusive recov- Loch, W., and J.W. Massey. 2006. ic impact of the horse indust r y ery. Equus 181: 36–37. Horse breeding arithmetic: 2 + 2 on the United States. Wash- Ensminger, E.M. 1969. Horses and = 1. Univ. of Missouri Extension. ington, D.C.: AHCF. horsemanship. Danville, Ill.: http://www.muextension. American Quarter Horse Associa- Interstate Printers and Publish- missouri.edu/explore/agguides/. tion (AQHA). 2004. Show statis- ers, Inc. Milicia, J. 2004. Rapid growth tics. 2004 AQHA Annual Report. Equine World Records. 2006. brings change to Amish commu- http://www.aqha.com/press http://www.ultimatehorsesite. nity. Dover-New Philadelphia room/index.html. com/info/worldrecords.html. (Ohio) Times Reporter. May 7. American Veterinary Medical Asso- EquiSearch.com. 2006. http://equi http://www.timesreporter.com. ciation (AVMA). 2002. Veteri- search.com/. Miller, R., R. Lamb, and H. Downs. nary market statistics. http:// Equus Magazine. 1989. Adjusting 2005. The revolution in horse- www.avma.membshp/market production. Equus 145: 61. manship: And what it means to stats/. ———. 1990. Production patterns. mankind. Guilford, Conn.: The Bloodhorse.com. 2006. Bernadini Equus 157: 61. Lyons Press. takes Preakness, Barbaro in-

204 The State of the Animals IV: 2007 National Park Service. 2003. Assa- teague’s wild horses. Assateague Island National Seashore. http:// www.nps.gov/asis/ horses.h t m . National Steeplechase Association. 2006. http://www.nsa.org. Palmer, L.L. 2004. A grandfather’s tales of wild horses come true. Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Decem- ber 18. http://www.seattlepi. nwsource.com. Roberts, M. 1997. The man who listens to horses. New York: Ran- dom House. Ryerss Farm for Aged Equines. 2006. http://www.ryerss.com. The Jockey Club 2006. Factbook. http://www.jockeyclub.com/fact book. U.S. Census Bureau (USCB). 2000, est. 2004. State and county quickfacts. http://quickfacts. census.gov/qfd/. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Vet- erinary Services, National Ani- mal Health Monitoring System. 1998. Equine ’98 study. http:// www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/ cahm. ______. 1999. 1999 U.S. equine estimates. http://www.nass. usda.gov/. ______. 2002. Census of Agricul- ture. http://www.nass.usda.gov/ Census_of_Agriculture. ______. 2006a. Foreign Agricul- tural Service (FAS). BICO Import Commodity Aggregates. Live horses. http://www.fas. usda.gov/ustrade/. ______. 2006b. Market News Ser- vice (MNS). http://www.ams. usda.gov./lsmnpubs/txHorse. htm#reports. ———2006c. National Animal Health Reporting System. http:// www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/ ncahs/. Western Horseman. 2006. Advertis- ing rate card. http://www. westernhorseman.com/ad_ rates/index.shtml.

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