cooling down a horse

Question
Is it always necessary to cool down a horse by walking it (like you see at the racetrack)? Or is it enough to let it cool down while just standing around (like you see at dude ranches) so long as you don't allow it to eat or drink during this time? Does it depend on the particular horse or its age or other factors? Plenty of times I see people at the barn where I ride put their horse on the cross ties, remove the tack, brush the animal down and then stand around talking another ten to fifteen minutes or until the animal is cool and then put it back in the stall. I've often wondered about this as I had been taught to always walk the animal.Thanks,
                     Daniela

Answer
Walking a horse to cool down is probably a good idea as it lets the muscles rid the acid that can cause tieing up. Having said that, I'm not really that sure it makes that much difference. I've seen race horses walked and pampered during their racing careers, that become a stable pony and got put right in the stall after excersizing the race horse they ponied. It never seemed to bother them,  while the race horse "had" to be walked. If the racehorse came back from the track lame, he went right into the stall also without any ill effects. You decide.