Animal Welfare: Information on the U.S. Horse Population, GAO-17-680R: Published: Jul 17, 2017. Publicly Released: Aug 16, 2017. “There could be as many as 9.2 million domesticated equines—including horses, burros, and mules—in the United States, and at least 200,000 free-roaming equines on federal and tribal lands.

• Managing equine populations poses several challenges, including Affording care for them
• Finding new homes for unwanted equines
• Protecting equine welfare, including when they are in transit for commercial slaughter
• Controlling population growth
• Addressing the potential environmental effects of free-roaming equines

We collected information on equine welfare to help federal and state agencies and nongovernmental stakeholders address some of these challenges.”