Economic Analysis of Tennessee Walking Horse Industry Gives Insight

February 15, 2014

In 2012 APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) contracted an independent research company for an analysis of the economic impact of the Tennessee Walking Horse and Racking Horse industry where the industry is prevalent.

The analysis produced several statistics concerning the revenue generated per horse, the cost related to showing a horse annually, the cost of shows, and other information pertinent to the economics of the cost of maintaining a show horse.

The study did not analyze the impact of residual expenses and revenue generated in areas of the country where shows and other events occur.  Such as: Hotels, restaurants, general and specific retail sales related to tourism.

The study did however produce some interesting information that we would like to share.

There are approximately 200,500 Tennessee Walking and Racking Horses in the United States.

11,410 of the total population of the 200,500 participate in shows.  That equals to roughly a little less than 6%.

There are an estimated 1869 owners that participate in horse shows.

There are an estimated 7007 exhibitors associated with Tennessee Walking and Racking Horses as of mid 2012.

There are an estimated 458 trainers as of mid 2012

The average trainer compensation is $40,000 per year.

The average value per SHOW HORSE is $8,000

The average revenue derived from the average SHOW HORSE is $6,666  (this includes average winnings and breeding revenues)

The average costs of owning and training a SHOW HORSE breaks down as follows:           
 (overall stats are broken down into 3 regions so an approximate weighted average has been calculated)
   
    Feed & Supplements                                                             11%
    Housing                                                                                     9%
    Training                                                                                   16%
    Veterinary, medicine, and farrier services                             7%
    Show participation costs including transportation             11%
    Insurance                                                                                  2%
    Advertising                                                                               44%

The average annual cost to the owner per SHOW HORSE is estimated to be $17,700

Using this average we can easily calculate the annual amount of money spent on the care and training of SHOW HORSES to be $201,957,000.00 per year in the United States.

If you break that down by region

Ohio Valley Region: $127,440,000.00
Southeast Region:    $ 69,030,000.00
West Region:             $    5,487,000.00

Total Value of SHOW HORSES as of mid 2012:  $53,328,000.00

All of the calculations above are based on averages from the report.

Click Here to view entire report.