Published research says horses aged 20 and over die at a rate of 3.1%[1] a year. Our live polls show how owners are preparing, in their own words.
Before you look
Every figure below is a live count of votes from visitors to this site. Each person gets one vote per question, nobody is asked for a name, and nothing is estimated, weighted or filled in by us. When a poll is new, the numbers will be small and can swing a lot with a handful of votes.
That makes the results a conversation, not a statistic. They tell you how people who read a horse aftercare guide are thinking. They don't tell you what all horse owners do. If you haven't voted yet, the polls page has every question.
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The bigger picture
Where research exists, we put it beside the polls so you can see whether readers look like the wider population. Three reference points matter most for horses: how many die each year, what each aftercare option costs, and how old the horses are.
92,400 horses per year[2]
About 92,400 U.S. horses would be expected to die or be euthanized each year (6.6 million horses x 1.4% annual mortality).
$600-$1,000[3]
Cremating a 1,000-pound horse was reported to cost about $600-$1,000, depending on location and the price of propane.
3.1%[1]
Equids aged 20 years or older had a 3.1% annual mortality rate in the 2015 NAHMS study, the highest of any age group.
On our estimate, around 92,400 horses per year[2] die or are euthanized in the US, based on the mortality rate in USDA's NAHMS equine study. Many of them are seniors. If a large share of poll voters say they have no plan yet for an older horse, that's worth noticing, because that group carries the most risk.
Reading the budget poll
The budget poll is most useful next to the actual cost bands. Equine extension figures put a rendering pickup at $75-$200[4], on-farm composting at $170-$380[5] and backhoe burial at $250-$500[6]. Cremation sits above all of them, and transport comes on top.
If many voters pick a budget below the cremation range but say they'd choose cremation, it may suggest the full cost is easy to underestimate. The cremation cost calculator shows the realistic range for your horse's weight.
Free tool
Cremation cost calculator
Estimate a realistic price range for your pet's size, location and the type of cremation.
Reading the keepsake polls
Horse keepsakes are unusual in one way: the most treasured ones, like a tail braid or a last shoe, cost nothing and must be saved before collection. If those options are popular in the results, it's a reminder to plan them early, whatever aftercare you choose. Our mane and tail memorials guide shows how.
For the ashes poll, remember the scale. A 1,100 lb horse can return around 38.5 lb[7] on our estimate, so scattering most of it and keeping a little is a practical choice as much as a sentimental one. The ashes sharing planner shows how far the ashes go.
If your horse's ashes came home, what would you do with them?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
A useful contrast
The largest US survey of aftercare wishes asked dog and cat owners, not horse owners. Asked about their preferred future care, they split as 40.4% cremation; 34.9% home burial; 1.9% aquamation[8]. Those owners can carry their pet to the car and have a crematory in most towns, so the comparison has limits.
Horse owners face a different set of trade-offs. Burial at home needs machinery and suitable ground, cremation often means a long haul, and rendering is a real option that small-pet owners rarely consider. If the horse choice poll leans further toward burial or rendering than the dog and cat research, that's a likely reason, not a sign that horse owners care less.
The access and boarding polls help explain the rest. A boarder may want burial but have no land to bury on; a farm owner may want cremation but face a two-hour drive to the nearest chamber. Our farm access and trailer logistics guide covers the practical side of both.
Using the results
If the results leave you with a practical question, our questions to ask a horse cremation provider turns it into something you can ask on the phone. Or send us your details and we'll look at your area.
Behind the numbers
Poll answers look tidy on a chart. The situations behind them rarely are. In the RSPCA's large pet-loss survey, 75.4%[9] of bereaved owners felt grief before their pet died, which fits what many horse owners describe while caring for an aging horse. If that's you, the grief after losing a horse article is written for exactly that stretch.
Reader polls
Vote anonymously and see how other readers answered. The results are live counts from people who visit this site, so they show real opinions, not a scientific sample.
If your horse's ashes came home, what would you do with them?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Is your horse a senior, and have you made an aftercare plan?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
What helped you most in the first weeks?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
No. They're live counts from visitors who choose to vote, with one vote per person per question. The people who find a horse aftercare guide aren't a random sample of all owners, so treat the results as a snapshot of readers, not a measure of the whole horse world.
New questions start at zero and fill up over time. With only a few votes, a single answer can swing the percentages a lot. We never add or estimate votes to make a poll look fuller, so small numbers simply mean the poll is young.
USDA's NAHMS equine studies measure mortality by age, and university extension services publish cost and disposal guidance. We cite those sources throughout the site and list them on our research page, alongside our own labelled estimates.
Yes, for the general polls that run across our network, such as questions about expected costs and grief. Horse-specific polls only run here, because the choices, like rendering or burial on your own land, don't apply to most small pets.
No. We may mention in general terms that a poll is getting lots of votes, but we don't turn live results into claims like most horse owners choose cremation. When we state a fact on this site, it comes from a published source and is footnoted.
Tell us what you need and where you are. We'll reply by email with clear options and prices so you can decide in your own time.
