US Census of Agriculture: 40% fewer horses/ponies in 2022 than 2007

[Libby2563]

This table is from a Washington Post article about honeybees and based on data from the 2022 Census of Agriculture, which is available here: https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/. I knew there was a decline in hobby and race breeding around 2008, but wow. 40% is a huge decline! Especially since horses seem to be living longer than they did when I was growing up in the 80s/90s and a 30-year-old horse was almost unheard of.

I’m in a horse-rich area and don’t notice evidence of industry shrinkage in my daily horse life, but I have been starting to have some existential concerns about the horse industry. This has been discussed on other threads but I think there are a lot of factors that could shrink the industry in the next few decades. Rising cost of horsekeeping, urban/suburban sprawl, climate change, the burnout or aging out of equine professionals, lack of interest/means in young people, social license to operate, etc. Maybe this is too bleak but with all the angst about climate change I wonder if land, water, fuel, and agricultural resources will become scarce/expensive enough that spending any of it on horses is just too indulgent (like Arizona has suddenly realized they should not be allowing Saudi Arabia to export massive quantities groundwater in the form of alfalfa). Another thing I personally wonder is whether as our understanding of veterinary medicine advances, we might realize it’s not in horses’ best interest to be ridden. I love my two current riding horses but have been thinking I might not replace them when they go, for some of these reasons plus some other personal ones.

Hmm, kind of dark, sorry, but I was a bit shocked at the 40% number. Have you seen signs of a 40% decline in horses in your area? Do you think it’s okay if the industry settles into a smaller homeostasis? Is the decline in horse population continuing?

[Posting_Trot]

Thanks for posting this! 40% less is a huge number, and it makes me wonder about riding and owning a horse as a hobby is going to be possible in the near future.

If very few people even have minimal exposure to horses, then that seems likely to depress any tolerance for horses even in the countryside.

[NoSuchPerson]

@Posting_Trot

it makes me wonder about riding and owning a horse as a hobby is going to be possible in the near future.

I’m kind of pessimistic by nature, but I think in the not too distant future, riding and owning horses as a hobby is going to be a limited to the very rich. There have been several discussions here about the decline of lesson and boarding stables and the many reasons why it’s happening.

[clanter]

An overall 40% decline in horse population is questionable, NASS only mailed the 2022 Census of Agriculture questionnaires to ag producers in November/December 2022 to collect data for the 2022 calendar year.

A hobby horse owner would never had even seen this questionnaire.

[fordtraktor]

I own a boarding barn and just got my form for 2023. The boarded horses are recorded on my form, but not backyard owners most likely. If you have a hobby farm you can reach out to USDA and add yourself! Everyone should!

[Texarkana]

@Libby2563 and I are in the same state.

I definitely feel the 40%, although it’s shocking to see the number in black and white.

Some ways I feel the 40%:

The racing industry is a pittance of what it once was.

When professional trainers or boarding barn owners retire or pass away, there aren’t as many people coming up the ranks to replace them.

We have been steadily losing tack stores, feed stores, vets, and farriers.

One of the most telling for me: I few years ago I helped out at my old job at a major veterinary hospital during foaling season. Foaling season was formerly their busiest season; we’d have so many foals sometimes that we would be making temporary stalls in the aisles. While the hospital is still busy overall, the number of foals admitted has declined considerably. It was the heart of foaling season and they only had a couple in house.

[Texarkana]

@clanter

An overall 40% decline in horse population is questionable, NASS only mailed the 2022 Census of Agriculture questionnaires to ag producers in November/December 2022 to collect data for the 2022 calendar year.

A hobby horse owner would never had even seen this questionnaire.

Good point, but do you think hobby horse owners have made up for the deficit? I don’t. Hobby horse owners aren’t increasing in numbers nor do they have the same level of impact on the overall population.

[Incantation]

Near me backyard horses are definitely decreasing. The town I grew up in had horses everywhere, but now, a special permit is needed to have a horse, unless you own 5+ acres and are running a business. That is a state requirement that the town didn’t want to uphold.

My trail riding club is seeing a large decrease in members and in entries in recent years. Many members are older riders. Very few junior riders attend events.

[Janet]

@clanter

A hobby horse owner would never had even seen this questionnaire.

I am “hobby horse owner” and I regularly get, and fill out, that survey. (I had 4 in 2008 and 2 now, so that is a 50% decrease). But I expect the proportion of “hobby owners” reporting is about the same now as in 2008, so would not account for the overall decline.

[Djones]

I got the survey. As farm land and properties continue to get gobbled up by housing and retail, of course horses are declining in number.

[Bonnie2]

Agreed. I never saw it and I have a toe in many waters…

[Bonnie2]

Also keep in mind the late aughts/early 10’s were difficult financial times. Three breeders of low level racing thoroughbreds in my area went out of business. Then of course there was covid. Many breed registries have shown declines and that is not an entirely bad thing. I live in an area where there used to be alot of backyard horses and few large barns and now there are a few backyard horses and alot of large boarding barns. The horses are much better cared for now. The numbers are interesting but do not paint the whole picture.

[Alterwho]

When I moved into my neighborhood 10 years ago there were 13 homes with horses, now there are only 5 and that’s including me. Of those 5 all of the owners are over the age of 50 and I don’t believe any of them will be replacing their horses once they’re gone, including me.

I gave (free) lessons to two horse-crazy neighborhood girls over the years. They were both very interested, doing well and seemed to be having fun for a couple of years until they got in their teens and totally lost interest.

[Jarpur]

Just about the same statistic here, and it’s only five owners if I count the grandparents with the outgrown pony, and the new people with mules.

[awaywego]

I was just thinking recently about how many former small hobby farms I drive by daily that no longer have horses on the property. I was sad to see a property I looked at to buy a few years ago tore down the little barn recently. “There goes another one…” I thought at the time. It seems like just about every small farm I see that goes up for sale is bought by people who do not have horses.

The 40% decline just seems to be putting a number on what I’ve been seeing for a few years. I believe the last 4-H club in our county gave up last year. When I was a kid, there were 4+ horse clubs in the county, mostly made up of kids (like me) who kept their horses at home.

[candyappy]

@clanter

An overall 40% decline in horse population is questionable, NASS only mailed the 2022 Census of Agriculture questionnaires to ag producers in November/December 2022 to collect data for the 2022 calendar year.

A hobby horse owner would never had even seen this questionnaire.

We also have what is called " personal property" taxes here yearly in which you are supposed to list all the ag animals you have/ had on farm ( not taxed thankfully) for the year previous. I imagine there are plenty of people thinking that the state and government in general has no business knowing what I have.

So in states that have this way of counting horses ( as well as any livestock & poultry) it all depends on who fills it out at all and if they are honest.

I can see numbers in cities/ urban areas where boarding is a need to be declining but not necessarily rural landowners.

[Larksmom]

Some thing that may or may not fit in here: I had my horse for 29 years. When ever I got my personal property notice, I never once claimed her. It was more ignorance, but not entirely. I wonder how many others do the same?

[Old_Mac_Donald]

@NoSuchPerson

I’m kind of pessimistic by nature, but I think in the not too distant future, riding and owning horses as a hobby is going to be a limited to the very rich.

My personal belief is that in a hundred years, horses will be functionally extinct outside of “menagerie collections”. Racing will not survive except maybe in the Emirates.

The reason will be: every bit of room not used for farming will have high density housing; and crops will be only for human consumption or feeding food-producing livestock.

In short, we will eat and reproduce until there is no room for horses.

The scary thing is that affordability is looking like it will outpace my income in my lifetime! Once I can no longer afford a horse and a dog, that is my tap-out time.

[2DogsFarm]

@Libby2563

lack of interest/means in young people,

I’d vote for this as a #1 reason for the decline.
The “means” being parents who cannot afford the luxury item horses have become.
Along with not as many kids having a lasting interest in a sport that’s so demanding of their time.
Add lesson barns becoming dinosaurs & 40% gets more understandable.

[Incantation]

Agreed. I know multiple people who have sold due to rising care costs, and others who grew up with horses in their yards, and now live close to work where they can’t have a horse, and they can’t afford the expense of boarding one for their children.