Equine economics

The horse industry in America has a large impact on not only the national economy but also on jobs. The American Horse Council estimates that there are 9.2 million horses in the United States. The vast majority are used for recreation. Those in the “other” category below are police horses, farm or work horses, carriage horses, etc. According to a study by the council, the industry has a direct impact of nearly $40 billion on the country’s gross domestic product. Indirectly, that impact is increased to $101.6 billion. The chart below also shows the industry’s direct impact on jobs, measured in full-time-equivalent positions. Indirectly, the industry creates more than 1.4 million jobs across the United States. For more information on the horse industry in the United States and California, log onto www.horsecouncil.org and click on “Economics.”

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Use Number involved Impact on GDP Employment Racing 844,531 $10.6 billion 146,625 Showing 2.7 million $10.8 billion 99,051 Recreation 3.9 million $11.8 billion 128,324 Other 1.8 million $5.5 billion 79,612 Total 9.2 million $38.8 billion 453,612