Facial expressions are commonly used to assess pain and other emotional states in humans, but can the same be said for horses?  Researchers have been trying to streamline an effective and accurate way to detect pain in horses.  Grimace scales have been designed by monitoring the appearance of facial changes from individual or a combination of muscles of the face.  These grimace scales are species-specific, and are said to be more advantageous than other methods generally used to detect pain in animals.

A 2005 census taken by Deloitte Consultingtold us: 9.2 million. That's a hair smaller than the population of North Carolina!

So, what are all these horses doing? The data was surprising. While there is a strong group of racehorses and show horses out there, there are also many pleasure horses that have recreational careers. In fact, recreational equines make up the largest section of the horse population in America - 3.9 million horses.