Horse enthusiasts attending the American Horse Council (AHC) meeting were presented with heady figures concerning the economic impact of the U.S. equine industry. They also heard sobering reports involving the importation of horses with contagious equine metritis (CEM) and diminishing government funding for equine research.

The meeting was held in Washington, D.C., so that delegates could spend time with congressional representatives. The AHC is the equine industry’s chief lobbying voice. As such, a healthy portion of the program was devoted to lobbying. A pamphlet entitled ‘The Horse Industry’s Guide to Grassroots Lobbying’ is available from the AHC office at 1700 K Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, D.C., 20006.

Presented to the AHC attendees were the results of the economic impact study sponsored by the American Horse Council Foundation. Study highlights include the following information:

• There are 6.9 million horses in the United States.
  
• There are 7.1 million Americans involved in the industry as horse owners, service providers, employees, and volunteers. Tens of millions more participate as spectators. That means one out of every 35 Americans is involved with horses. Participation is broken down this way: racing, 941,000; showing, 3,607,900; recreation, 4,346,100; and other, such as ranching and farming, 1,607,500.
  
• ­ There are 1.9 million people who own horses.
  
• ­ The horse industry directly produces goods and services valued at $25.3 billion annually.
  
• ­ The horse industry pays $1.9 million in taxes to all levels of government.
  
• ­ The median income of horse-owning families is around $60,000. Horse ownership is broad, with 38% of owners earning under $50,000 and 21% over $100,000.

Also, broken down further in the study was the impact of three specific types of horse ownership—racing, showing, and recreation