Highlights from an American Horse Publications survey that is sponsored by Zoetis show the state of the equine union in this article. It’s clear that the equine industry has stabilized and is perhaps growing slightly in terms of the number of people competing and the number of horses people own,” C. Jill Stowe, Ph.D., director of the University of Kentucky Agriculture Equine Programs, says.
Source: Horse Illustrated, January 2016, page 45. (direct link unavailable)
A total of 65 percent of survey respondents viewed their horses as family members. 62 percent also see them as companion animals.
Who is the typical horse owner? Based on the survey demographics:
- More than half are ages 45 to 64
- 93 percent are female
- Slightly more than one-quarter have a gross household income of less than $50,000
- Slightly less than one-quarter earn $50,000 to $75,000 each year
- The average horse owner or manager has 6.6 horses
- 88% train their own horses
- 44% pay for riding lessons
- Slightly more than 50 percent do not board their horses
- 71 percent ride their horses for pleasure and trail riding
- 29 percent have retired horses
- Dressage, lessons and natural horsemanship are the next-largest user groups