AHC: Horses Generate $122 Billion in Economic Impact

The American Horse Council Foundation Feb. 28 announced results of its 2017 Economic Impact Study of the U.S. Horse Industry, a study that indicates an additional $20 billion in annual economic impact compared with a dozen years ago.

The equine industry in the U.S. generates approximately $122 billion in total economic impact, according to the study, which is an increase from $102 billion in the 2005 Economic Impact Study. The industry also provides a total employment impact of 1.74 million jobs and generates $79 billion in total salaries, wages, and benefits. 

The current number of horses in the U.S. stands at 7.2 million. Texas, California, and Florida continue to be the top three states with the highest population of horses.

"Those involved in the equine industry already know how important it is to the U.S. economy. Having these updated numbers is critical, not only to the AHC's efforts up on Capitol Hill, but also for the industry to demonstrate to the general public how much of a role the equine has in American households," said AHC president Julie Broadway. "While the number of horses in the U.S. has decreased, this was not entirely unexpected, due to the decline in breed registration trends over the last few years."

Another bright spot for the industry from the study was that 38 million households—30.5% of U.S. households—contain a horse enthusiast, and 38% of participants are under the age of 18. Additionally, approximately 80 million acres of land is reserved for horse-related activities.

"For this update of the study, we wanted to get a better picture of the number of youth in the pipeline, which is a number that we have not previously included in our economic impact studies," Broadway said. "Additionally, being able to put a number (to) the amount of land use for equine-related activities is essential to ensuring that we are able to continue to protect and preserve that land for its intended use."