A study is to be carried out to determine the extent of the unwanted horse population in Ireland.
It is being undertaken by the Irish Equine Centre at the request of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, which will co-fund the research along with Kildangan Stud.
Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney is putting up funding of €10,000.
The study will examine a number of factors including capacity of equine sanctuaries operated by welfare groups, the number of interventions by Local Authorities and usage of equine abattoirs.
Mr Coveney said the study is timely in that there has been media coverage at home and overseas recently, much of it unsubstantiated, regarding the fate of unwanted horses.
He said this is unhelpful to the image of Ireland as a caring and horse producing society.
