HORSES ARE THE BEST FARM ANIMAL

Join us in our dedication toward better horsemanship and advocacy for all horses.

Horses are without a doubt the most important farm animal!

Here are recent statistics which serve as testament to this statement:

• The horse industry contributes $50 billion to the US economy.
• There are 90,000 wild horses in just 10 western US.
• The horse population in the US counts over 10.31 million horses.
• The number of horses worldwide is almost 60 million.
• The state with the highest number of horse population is Texas.
• There are 350 recognized horse breeds in the US.
• The most paid for a working horse was $112,500.
• Horses need 2–3 hours of sleep every 24 hours.
• The oldest horse recorded lived to 62 years old.
• The Earth has had horses for over 50 million years.
• There are about 350 nationally recognized horse breeds.
• Horses were used for food before riding or carting.
• Horses providing support to humans has been documented for at least four thousand years.

There are 30+ different sports which involve teamwork between the horse and human connection.
Here are some examples of different equestrian sports:

• Horse Showing
• Gymkhana Games: Barrel racing, Pole bending, etc.
• Show Jumping
• Polo
• Steeple Chasing
• Mounted Racing
• Harness Racing
• Mounted Shooting
• Dressage
• Endurance Riding
• Rodeo
• Trail Riding

Many horses have become famous television stars.
Here are some examples:

• Amigo, Cordell Walker’s horse in the TV series Walker, Texas Ranger
• Argo, from Xena: Warrior Princess
• Bandit, buckskin from Caitlin’s Way
• The Black Stallion in Adventures of the Black Stallion
• Blue Jeans, Miley Stewart’s horse in Hannah Montana
• Buck, the buckskin horse of Ben Cartwright on the TV series Bonanza
• Buck, the buckskin horse ridden by Trampas in the TV series The Virginian
• Champion the Wonder Horse, the eponymous hero of a 1950s television series
• Chico, also his real name, Queen of Swords’ horse
• Chub, Chubb, or Chubby, the horse of Hoss Cartwright on the Bonanza television series
• Cochise, Little Joe’s horse on the Bonanza television series
• Cocoa, Nick Barkley’s horse on The Big Valley TV series (Cocoa was retired at the end of the Hunter’s Moon episode in Season Four)
• Domino, the pinto ridden by Bill Longley, played by Rory Calhoun in The Texan TV series
• Fury, the eponymous black stallion of the 1950s TV series
• Joe D., the horse ridden by the Virginian in the TV series The Virginian
• Katy, the paint mare belonging to The Kid from The Young Riders
• Li’l Sebastian, the little horse beloved by Pawnee, Indiana in the sitcom Parks and Recreation
• Mister Ed, eponymous horse of the CBS series, 1961–1966.
• Meindert het Paard, a horse who is a character in the Dutch TV children’s puppet series De Fabeltjeskrant.
• Pie-O-My, Ralph Cifaretto’s horse from Episodes 44 and 48 of Season 4 of The Sopranos
• Phantom, Zorro’s white horse in the Disney series Zorro
• Scout, Tonto’s horse
• Silver, the Lone Ranger’s horse
• Sophie, Colonel Potter’s horse on M*A*S*H
• Spartan, Amy Fleming’s horse from Heartland
• Sport, the chestnut gelding of Adam Cartwright on the television series
• Bonanza
• Superstar, the real name of the black horse who played James West’s horse in the TV series The Wild Wild West
• Tornado, Zorro’s black horse
• Wildfire, from ABC Family’s Wildfire

Many horses have become famous movie stars.
Here are some examples:

• Aldebaran, Antares, Rigel and Altair from Ben-Hur (one of four from the chariot race)
• Arizona Pie, Sarah Brown’s horse from International Velvet
• April Love, from April Love (1957)
• Artax, Atreyu’s Horse from The NeverEnding Story
• Bad Horse, from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
• Beau, from True Grit with John Wayne
• Beric, Lancelot’s horse, from Knights of the Round Table with Robert Taylor
• Big John, from For Richer or Poorer
• The Black Stallion, from The Black Stallion and The Black Stallion Returns, based on Walter Farley’s books; played by the Arabian stallion Cass Ole
• The Young Black Stallion from The Young Black Stallion film based on Walter Farley’s book.
• Blue Boy, race horse from Laurel and Hardy’s 1929 comedy short, Wrong Again
• Bucephalus, from The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Alexander
• Checkers, from Moondance Alexander
• Cisco, John Dunbar’s buckskin gelding from Dances with Wolves
• Cochise, the Appaloosa stallion ridden by John Wayne in the movie El Dorado
• Conquistador, the General’s horse stolen and rescued by Pablito from The
• Littlest Outlaw
• Copper, one of the horses ridden by Eddie Dean in his films
• Denny, the buckskin gelding of The Man From Snowy River (also appeared in the sequel, The Man from Snowy River II)
• Diablo, the black and white pinto from the Cisco Kid movies
• Dollar, the horse of John Wayne’s character (John Bernard “J.B.” Books) in The Shootist, 1976
• Don, talking horse from Hot to Trot
• Dover, race horse from My Fair Lady (does not appear on screen)
• Flash, from Flash
• Flicka, from Flicka (based on the book My Friend Flicka)
• Ginger, from Black Beauty
• Goliath, from Ladyhawke
• Gulliver, from The Horse Whisperer book and film of the same name
• Gunpowder, Constable Ichabod Crane’s horse in the film The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
• Gypsy, Meggie MacWade’s horse, which undertakes a 500-mile journey over treacherous terrain to be reunited with her in Gypsy Colt
• Hidalgo, paint stallion from the movie of the same name (disputed)
• The Horse of a Different Color, from The Wizard of Oz
• Joey, from the movie War Horse
• Little Blackie, from the John Wayne film True Grit
• Lucky Number Slevin, from the movie of the same name
• Khartoum, the ill-fated horse from The Godfather
• Maximus, horse featured in the animated film Tangled
• Napoleon, Snoe’s gray cart horse and The Black’s stable mate in the film The
• Black Stallion
• Nurah and Thebes, the horses of Pharaoh Ramses from Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 The Ten Commandments
• Oliver Hardy, at the end of Flying Deuces; after he died in a plane crash, he was reincarnated as a horse
• Pepper, from Two Bits and Pepper (1995)
• Phillip, Edmund’s horse from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Pie, Velvet Brown’s horse from National Velvet
• Pilgrim, troubled, injured horse from The Horse Whisperer book and movie
• Shadowfax from Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
• Sonny, Joe’s horse in My Outlaw Brother
• Spirit, buckskin stallion from Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
• Sprout, from The Parent Trap
• Sylvester, from Sylvester (1985)
• Taff/Bo, the main horse character in Disney’s Ride a Wild Pony
• Tír na nÓg from Into the West
• Tolo, gelding from The Long Shot
• Two Bits, from Two Bits and Pepper (1995)

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_horses
https://petpedia.co/horse-statistics/
https://worldanimalfoundation.org/advocate/how-many-horses-are-there/