# Equine industry statistics



## toffeesmarty (14 September 2008)

Here are some statistics relating to the British horse industry which show that British breeders have a broad and diverse marketplace. Perhaps these stats can be used to generate some questions and answers relating to the future of where British breeding should be working towards now, and in the future?

Number of horses in the UK 1.35 million
(British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) National Equestrian Survey 2006)

Sporting horse ownership by sector
Racing 16,000
Horse Trials 7,800
Show Jumping 17,900
Dressage 6,400
Hunting 52,000
additional 169 000 horses used for hunting in addition to other activities


Number of horse riders (People who have ridden at least once in the previous year) 4.3 million
(BETA National Equestrian Survey 2006)

Number of equine passports issued 970,000
(Defra (National Equine Database)

Estimated overall annual worth of the industry £4 billion
(BETA National Equestrian Survey 2006)

Money spent annually on buying horses £417 million
(BETA National Equestrian Survey 2006)

Money spent annually on horses and riding generally £2.6 billion
(BETA National Equestrian Survey 2006)

Riding lessons £732 million (35 million paid-for riding lessons annually)
(BETA National Equestrian Survey 2006)

Economic impact of British racing £2.8 billion (Deloitte report for British Horse Racing Board "Economic Impact of British Racing" 2006)


Horses per region of Britain
Scotland 94,500
N. East &amp; Yorks 202,500
North West 121,500
Wales / SWest 216,000
Midlands 256,500
Greater London 135,000
S.E / East Anglia 310,500


BETA National Equestrian Survey 2006
Number of riding school and livery yards 1,790


Number of people who play polo (registered players 2006) 3,025 Hurlingham Polo Association


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## Shilasdair (14 September 2008)

Can you tell us first, what was the methodology employed by BETA in collecting this information?
In the past, BETA surveys have distributed questionnaires to ascertain the importance/centrality of the hunting industry to the equine industry, by asking hunts to hand them out.....
S


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## toffeesmarty (14 September 2008)

Sorry don't know how the BETA data was sourced. I found it as part of my work as a careers writer looking up information on the industry. Some of the statistics here appear across a number of other horse related organisation sites. 

I am quite happy to try and find out tomorrow. Hope this helps.


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## toffeesmarty (15 September 2008)

...including the British Horse Society. 
I can understand your concern as this could affect the usefulness. The problem with any statistic is that it can be used to argue what you want, something I come across every day.

 'statistics damn statistics'.......


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## Shilasdair (15 September 2008)

[ QUOTE ]
Sorry don't know how the BETA data was sourced. I found it as part of my work as a careers writer looking up information on the industry. Some of the statistics here appear across a number of other horse related organisation sites. 

I am quite happy to try and find out tomorrow. Hope this helps. 

[/ QUOTE ]

I did use equine industry stats a little in a previous job, and when I looked more deeply into the methods employed, I often reluctantly had to discount them.
But it's an interesting start...
S


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