There are two main reasons why equine research is needed and they are: 1) the horses and 2) the people that work with the horses. A large percentage of equine research is done to improve the health and welfare of the animals. From the determination of nutrient requirements to figuring out ways to prevent disease, a great deal of research focuses on ways to improve the lives of horses. The majority of the rest of equine research deals with ways to aid horse owners. These issues often involve trying to find more cost effective ways of managing animals or examining methods to improve the performance of horses in competition. In a lot of cases, the research serves both purposes. For instance, by finding ways to reduce injuries, suffering by animals decreases and the financial costs or losses associated with injuries are reduced which is advantageous to the horse owner. Furthermore, an injury preventing the horse from being ridden or, even worse, resulting in the destruction of that animal can often be emotionally devastating for those who have great fondness for their animal.