This has been all over my FB feed too.
I do think people’s perceptions can get a bit skewed based on where they sit in “the equine industry” or exactly which equestrian “sport” they are trying to participate in. I live in rural New England, most people I know (crossing age ranges and socioeconomic status) have small farms and their horses at home. We still have multiple good options for farriers, vets, and hay providers, though we won’t be immune forever from the worrying trends related to shortages of all three spreading across the country. My personal line in the sand is that if I no longer live in a place where a vet is willing to do emergency farm calls, I’ll be done with horses.
I am a happy hacker/intro-level endurance rider, and there are tons of rides in my area. If I didn’t want to compete, I could go ride 15 or 25 or 50 miles on dirt roads and trails without paying anything. I can enter a 15 mile intro ride for around $50, which may have a stall and meal included depending on where it’s held. If I was trying to compete at longer distances, that would set me back for an entry fee of around $200-400 for the weekend, depending on the distance and location. My perception is that a lot of the western sports can be similarly affordable? Not sure, that’s not a world I’m familiar with but seems to be healthy in terms of participants?
I guess one thing that could change to keep people in horses in some way is letting go of the higher level competitions and leaving those to the uber-wealthy. There are a lot of other ways to “do horses” without competing on the A circuit, and you don’t automatically become a sack of potatoes on a stumbling wooly mammoth just because you don’t keep your horse in a pro training program. It’s just going to be a really different experience of having horses than a lot of people have become used to. Might some people have to reassess their motivation and goals if they have been accustomed to the show scene? Sure. And is it easy to find a quality barn of any type, full training board or no, if you don’t have your own farm? Nope, and I know that is harder or easier depending on where you live.
But like so many things, I think the equine industry is hitting an inflection point where the middle has fallen out- it’s becoming either the highest of high end or the questionably poor low end. There’s not a lot left in the middle. So where do we go from here? I suppose my hope is that as some people decide the highest of high end isn’t desirable or feasible any more, that revives some of that middle eventually. But if it’s either high end or nothing, the pressure in the middle just worsens.
Really interested to hear what others think about this.