I'm doing research and I need to find out how many HORSES are injured
or killed each year in the United States by all causes.  I'm
concentrating on injuries to the horse due to ill-fitting equipment,
but I need background on all injuries and deaths.  Most information
I've found refers to the injury or death of the rider, not the horse
itself.  I see that mortality statistics for horses are available from
the insurance industry, but not publicly posted.  Perhaps the Vet
industry would be a better place to look.

---

Clarification of Question by plf5403-ga on 02 May 2004 06:22 PDT

The specific injuries I'm concentrating on are halter and lead-rope
injures to the horse's head or neck which result in a visit to the vet
or death.  I suspect you are correct that this specific data-set has
not been gathered or I would have found it.  I was just taking a shot
here.  Regardless, how accurate are your numbers, are you basing them
on specific research or just pulling them out of thin air?  If the end
result is euthanization, I'd still consider that valid data if the
cause was ill-fitting or ill-used equipment.  I suppose nobody would
admit to not using their gear properly on the horse resulting in its
untimely demise...

It seems unlikely that any one has carefully and accuratetly gathered
the data you want. I will guess one million injuries occur anually
that are noted by a vet, within 12 months of the date of injury.
10,000 of these could be concidered the principle cause of death, if
an autopsy was performed. 90% of the death's were hastened at least
slightly by an injury at some time during the horses life.
My guess is fewer than 1000 horses die per year as the direct result
of ill fitting equipment. How indirect do you want to conscider? I'm
having trouble getting a grasp on how euthanizing horses skews the
data you want.   Neil