Equine industry may be recovering, according to survey
10,000-plus horse owners report stable, even increased, activity.
The equine industry has found stability and shows signs of growth, especially among young horse owners and event participants, according to results of a survey conducted by American Horse Publications and sponsored by Zoetis. The survey included responses from over 10,662 horse owners.
Among the highlights, the survey shows:
- 89 percent of respondents expect to own or manage the same number of horses or more in 2016.
- 93 percent of respondents plan to enter the same or more competitions than last year in 2015, and 95 percent expect to compete in the same number of events or more in 2016.
- 85 percent rely on their veterinarians for vaccination advice, and respondents increasingly rely on veterinarians for deworming advice.
“It appears the industry is beginning to recover from the Great Recession of 2008,” says Jill Stowe, PhD, in a release from Zoetis. Stowe is a professor of economics at the University of Kentucky who analyzed the data.
Respondents continue to identity veterinarians as integral to horse health decisions, with 85 percent saying they discuss with their veterinarian what vaccinations their horse should receive. Those discussions most often include vaccinating for West Nile virus, Western and Eastern equine encephalomyelitis, equine herpesvirus and equine influenza.
It appears the influence of veterinarians on deworming is increasing, as there was a slight increase in respondents who had a fecal egg count conducted and who said their veterinarian is involved in developing their deworming schedule.
