Horses Spur WI Economy; results from the WSHC Equine Survey

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, AUGUST 7, 2008

HORSES SPUR WISCONSIN’S ECONOMY

Horses, in addition to being a source of fun for thousands of Wisconsin residents, help boost the Wisconsin economy by billions of dollars per year, according to a recent study commissioned by the Wisconsin State Horse Council (WSHC).

Some of the key findings from the study are that:

• there are an estimated 620,727 horses in the state that are worth between $2.5 to $3.0 billion

• horse owners report generating between $1.6 and 1.9 billion in revenues from boarding, training, prizes and other sources

• annual expenses exceed revenues and are estimated to be between $2.4 and $2.9 billion

• horse operations pay upwards of $200 million in state and local taxes on their enterprises and employ about 5,000 full-time and 20,000 part-time workers.

Karen Kroll, President of WSHC, said, “Those of us involved with horses always felt that our industry was an important part of the state’s economy and culture and this study does an excellent job of documenting our impact.”

The study indicates that between 116,000 and 127,000 households currently own at least one horse. Horse ownership is spread fairly evenly across the state except for somewhat lower concentrations in the relatively sparsely populated northern tier of counties.

Dr. David Trechter, Director of the Survey Research Center (SRC) at the University of Wisconsin – River Falls and lead author of the report, says, “I was surprised at the size of the horse industry’s footprint in the state. U.S.D.A. reports that there are about 76,000 farms in the state, which means there are more residents with horses than there are farms in Wisconsin!” A farm, according to U.S.D.A., is any business that sells at least $1,000 worth of agricultural products in a normal year.

The results of this survey indicate that horseback riding is one of the top four outdoor recreational activities in Wisconsin in terms of the number of annual participants. More than 700,000 Wisconsin residents go horseback riding at least once a year, which is slightly less than those who report going snowmobiling, but more than the number of licensed hunters in the state.

The biggest challenge facing Wisconsin’s horse owners is finding places to ride. Sixty percent of horse owners reported that recent housing developments have limited where they can ride and nearly as many cited a lack of horse trails in their area. Given their economic clout, local areas might find catering to the needs of horse owners an attractive way to stimulate their economies.

In short, horseback riding in Wisconsin is an activity that many residents enjoy and plays a surprisingly big role in the state’s economy.

The full report, which is available in the link below, is based on two surveys carried out by the SRC. The first survey was sent to a random sample of 10,000 households throughout Wisconsin and was designed to determine how many households own horses and how many of the state’s residents go horseback riding at least once during a normal year. The study is expected to provide estimates that are accurate to within plus or minus 2 percent.

The second phase of the WSHC study looked at the economics of horse ownership. Surveys were completed by 764 horse owners from around the state, which produce estimates that are expected to be accurate to within plus or minus 3.5%.

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