Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! The park is home to some 100 horses representing more than 25 different breeds during our main summer season. These horses are divided between the Mounted Police Barn, Breeds Barn. Big Barn, Hall of Champions, and the horseback trail ride barn. They are not all in their barn daily. Our equine team rotates the horses in the barns and presentations to provide the best care possible for our horses. Literally thousands of additional horses ship into the park to compete in horse shows throughout the year. We have fewer horses in the winter season since some horses, on loan from different owners across the United States and Canada, go home at the end of the season.

There are a number of opportunities where visitors will be invited by handlers to pet our horses. Please listen to our equine team on how to pet their horse properly. Please do not put your hands into horse stalls. (Your fingers may look like carrots!)

The horses that live at the park come from a variety of sources. Many of the horses are on loan from their owners for a specific amount of time. The loan of horses by owners, breeders or associations allows the park to present a large variety of breeds and types of horses for our visitors to see. In some instances, horses may be donated to the park. Some horses are purchased by the park according to need, often through funding from generous donors.

At the Kentucky Horse Park, our horses are our family, so their health and happiness is our utmost concern. If a horse reaches retirement age, or for any reason can no longer perform its normal duties, its original owner is contacted to initiate a return home. If the original owner is unable or unwilling to take back the horse, then the park finds a suitable adopted home. Most horses do not do well without a job, if only as a family pet and need one-on-one attention. Horses with special needs, making them unsuitable for normal adoptions, are often adopted by individuals who had cared for them at the park. In some cases, the best option is for the horse to remain at the park for the remainder of its life, many times performing a much less stressful job such as being petted and groomed in our Kids Barn.

The great Man o’ War, the most famous Thoroughbred race horse of the 20th century, is buried at the park in a memorial with a statue dedicated to his life. Buried with him are some of his offspring, including Triple Crown winner War Admiral, who was upset by Seabiscuit in their famous match race in 1938. Other famous horses buried at the park can be found at the park’s Hall of Champions and include: Thoroughbreds Forego, Bold Forbes, John Henry, Alysheba and Kona Gold; Standardbreds Rambling Willie and Cam Fella; Saddlebred show horses CH Imperator, CH Sky Watch and CH Gypsy Supreme; and, Quarter Horse racehorses Sgt. Pepper Feature and Tailor Fit. The great European race mare Allez France is also buried at the park, as is the European Steeplechaser, Jay Trump. A complete listing of all horses buried at the park can be found under Park Memorials.

Many guests have heard that some only bury the head, the heart and the hooves of a horse, and have the rest of the horse cremated so that the ashes can be scattered over the farm. The head represents the horse’s intelligence and personality; the heart represents the spirit or will to win; and, the hooves represent their speed or agility. Horses here at the Kentucky Horse Park are buried in their entirety.

This may have been a tradition well before the industrial revolution, when heavy machinery was not available to bury livestock, and rendering of livestock was common. Although it is possible a horse owner may have requested certain “parts” to be returned from the renderer, it was not common practice for a farmer/horse owner to treat a beloved equine in this manner, even in death.

The “head, heart, hooves” story just doesn’t reflect reality. It’s become a gruesome trope that misleads the general public about the proper way to “respect” and “honor” an otherwise respected animal.

Here at the Park, we never disrespect the body of a deceased equine. Horses that pass away are treated with dignity and honor. They are either buried whole, or cremated and interred in a place of honor.