a caustic ointment just above the hooves of a Tennessee Walking Horse to make it pick up its feet higher. However, in spite of a federal law in the United States prohibiting this practice and routine inspections of horse shows by inspectors from the United States Department of Agriculture, soring is still widespread and difficult to eliminate. Some events themselves are also considered so abusive that they are banned in many countries. Among these are horse-tripping, a sport where riders chase and rope a loose-running horse by its front legs, throwing it to the ground. Secondary effects of racing have also recently been uncovered. A 2006 investigation by The Observer in the UK found that each year 6,000–10,000 horses are slaughtered for consumption abroad, a significant proportion of which are horses bred for racing. A boom in the number of foals bred has meant that there is not adequate resources to care for unwanted horses. Demand has increased for this massive breeding programme to be scaled back. Despite over 1000 foals being produced annually by the Thoroughbred horse industry, 66% of those bred for such a purpose were never entered into a race, and despite a life expectancy of 30 years, many are killed before their fifth birthday. Horse riding on coinage Horse riding events have been selected as a main motif in numerous collectors' coins. One of the recent samples is the €10 Greek Horse Riding commemorative coin, minted in 2003 to commemorate the 2004 Summer Olympics. On the composition of the obverse of this coin, the modern horseman is pictured as he jumps over an obstacle, while in the background the ancient horseman is inspired by a representation on a black-figure vase of the 5th century BC. For the 2012 Olympics, the Royal Mint has produced a 50p coin showing a horse jumping a fence. See also Glossary of equestrian terms List of equestrian sports Sidesaddle Classical dressage Equestrian use of roadways Equestrian at the Summer Olympics List of horse accidents United States Equestrian Federation International Federation for Equestrian Sports Equestrian helmet Mounting block Cowboy Mounted Shooting Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club for a description of urban riding traditions Riding hall Jinba ittai References External links International Federation for Equestrian Sports FEI official homepage United States Equestrian Federation USEF Official web site Equestrian Federation of Australia Equestrian Federation of Australia web site Equestrian Federation of Ireland – EFI