Giddy up! New Jersey 18th best state for horse lovers

New Jersey is all about horses. Did you know that the horse is the official state animal of New Jersey? Did you know that New Jersey has more racehorses than Kentucky? Did you also know that New Jersey is home to about 42,500 horses of all shapes and sizes?

According to nj.com, there's one horse for every 323 people living in New Jersey, and four horses for every square mile. If you live near the Horse Park of New Jersey on Routet 524 in Allentown or Somerset Hills in northern Somerset County, you'll think there are a lot more.

If you're into horses, New Jersey is definitely for you!

In a recent survey done by Lawn Love on March 1, which is National Horse Protection Day, New Jersey came in 18th.

Here are some of the key metrics, with 1st being the best:

🐴   Number of College Equestrian and Equine Studies Programs - 9th
🐴   Number of Horse Shows and Competitions - 4th
🐴   Number of Horse Dealers - 7th
🐴   Number of Horse Boarding Facilities - 19th
🐴   Number of Horse Trainers - 16th
🐴   Annual Cost of Equine Care (as % of Average Household Income) - 3rd

You would think that, with all that we are when it comes to horses, we would have been ranked a lot higher.

To come up with their ranking, Lawn Love compared the 50 states based on 27 metrics; such as equestrian programs, horseback riding trails, horse shows, and museums. We also considered horses for sale, boarding facilities, veterinarians, trainers, and affordability. The full ranking can be found here.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise only. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.

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