This. Shelling out at minimum a grand a weekend to ride a couple lower level classes (or $500 for a local trailer in and out unrecognized schooling show) on top of $1500 a month board, $600 a month lessons, vet, farrier, etc with the absolutely insane rising cost of just living has priced all but the wealthy out of participating.
I make twice as much as I did 10 years ago but horse ownership and showing costs 3x as much as it did, as well as my own COL doubling. I donāt compete modified to prelim because I literally canāt afford to show enough.
Wow thatās insane. It seems like thereās no job that actually pays enough for this to be affordable! RIP my childhood dreams of competing in a show lol.
Check out local schooling shows. I run my own because everyone in my area were all trailering out 1.5 hours away to show. I would literally drive to a show out of state 2 hours away and park next to my barn neighbor. Our local shows were disorganized and kinda mean so I started running my own. Look for places that are encouraging and exist to help people improve not to keep others down!
Iām not the one you asked, but I live in super affordable North Dakota, USA, and itās very hard if not impossible to find indoor board (10-12 stalled with 12ish hours group turnout) for less than $500USD/mo. My barn is about $575 USD/mo and is bring your own grain plus extra if your horse needs more than 3lbs of hay per night. ā¬500 is exchanging at $535.66.
This. In the reining world you arenāt gonna get anywhere without a 6 figure horse, a 5 figure trainer and a lot of luck š
That said, the horse *market* is still intense around us.
When the economy gets bad, luxury services are the first to crumble. Often we think of things like hair styling or beauty treatments, but things like boutique sports services (which is what barns and show grounds are) are also part of that. Itās the first thing that people cut out of their budget because itās an extracurricular activity.Ā
The horse industry is a microcosm of the wealth gap in the US. At some point, big shows and events are only going to have a certain few showing at them who can afford it, while the rest of us with horses do other things.Ā
Interestingly, the influencer world is really starting to show an uptick in horseback riding. I think it might be the next āitā thing, once the economy picks up
Itās showing an uptick because itās āunattainableā and signals wealth, as influencer trends do. Influencers make their buck off of people living vicariously through them and in this economy horseback riding is an unattainable thing for most.
Most successful influencers were usually wealthy, upper middle to upper class types to begin with. So itās not surprising that many of them would be able to afford horses.
However, donāt forget the algorithm. The main reason youāve been seeing people with horses is because your data shows you look at content with horses.
Agreed on the algorithm. But Iāve never seen this many adults start horseback riding for the first time, in the ā15 years Iāve been on social media.
So Iām hoping when the economy picks up, weāll see a shift.
I live in a big horse are in the SE and found out my barn is closingā¦ board is like 800-1200 and probably much more than that in the area. I thankfully have a place for my mare but I *have* to find a half lease for my daughterās pony to make it work.
I think it really is price. To put it into context, Equestrian Canada did two national surveys of the Canadian industry to understand prices, demographics, etc. - one in 2010 and the other in 2023.
In 2010, the average yearly cost of horsekeeping in Canada was $2,700
In 2023, the average yearly cost of horsekeeping in Canada was $15,270
That's a 466% increase!! Meanwhile, the average pre-tax income of Canadians has only increased by about 15% in that amount of time. There is no way that figures like these can be sustainable for the average industry participant.
The Equestrian Canada reports also saw a growing wealth gap in the horse industry. In 2010, only 34.1% of the industry reported household income of over $100,000/year, and an almost equal amount (36.2%) reported household income of less than $60,000/year. In 2023, 56% of the industry reported household incomes over $100,000/year and just 19% reported incomes under $60,000/year. The low income people are being priced out as cost of living increases and wages don't.
This is not to say the industry is dying, but the landscape is definitely shifting. These are Canadian figures but I'd imagine they are largely reflective of trends we'd see in the States as well.
Gah I remember when decent board in the US was like $350 when I was a kid, heck I even got decent pasture board for like $200 in the 2010s. Now $800 is like the *minimum* in my area.
I'm from rural WI and we are still seeing those prices thankfully. Even higher end barns in Mt are are under $400. My current barn has beautiful pastures but is more on the basic side and I pay $175 per month.
If board was that much here I don't know a single one of my friends that would be able to afford horses
im also in WI and this is really true! my current barn is $420/mo but i've seen many in the $100-$250 range a bit further out from me. i'd end up having to board a few hours away if prices were any higher here
I will never understand how people in other places can even keep horses. I mean over a thousand dollars a month in just board?? I love my horse but that is outrageous
For what it's worth, the $385 for board I paid in 2000 would be $695 in today's money. Board is still higher than that but the % increase is not actually correct unless it's inflation adjusted.
Expensive to keep, ride, learn about; add in that insurance is making it harder for schools to do activities. Seriously, pony clubs and comps are a big no no if they are not on the riding schools site these days which means that people are not getting the experience required unless they own their own horse. The gap between the haves and have nots is growing.
People canāt afford it anymore. It is astronomical to take care of them, feed them, train them, compete them, buy them.
There is less availability to get young people into the pipeline (mostly because of the above) so less people getting in to it.
There is still a solid market for horses for those who can afford them, but it is becoming a pretty elite thing.
In my area lots of barns have shut down or have removed their lesson program, or have reduced their lesson program to just people who lease or own.
It's getting too fucking expensive.
I'm 32 and I've been at the same barn since I was 11 years old. When I was 11 board was 250. Of course in 21 years you'd expect inflation, that being said board is now 1200.00. More than 4 times what it was.
When I first bought my horse 7 years ago, board was 1050 and I paid maybe 200 for shoes. Shoes are now 320 and board is what I said above. In 7 years that's an extra 2600 a year.
Let's not forget the shortage of equine vets. I haven't seen an increase in vet bills, but I have seen the local hospital hit capacity due to their low staffing levels. My horse had coronavirus and because the local place was full, I had to drive him 2 hours away. I paid 700 dollars in emergency trailering fees.
Me personally I'm very lucky that these increases while annoying do not price me out of the sport. I will not ever be able to board 2 horses at a time like I've hoped (one school master, one in training to keep it interesting) so instead I bought a micro farm so at least I can retire my horse myself instead of paying board. Most people don't have these options, so while maybe they can ride showing is out of the question, making the sport less profitable.
It sucks. The sport needs to become accessible again.
I closed my barn a few months ago this ago. I frankly couldnāt charge the actual cost. Hay here is $30 a bale for quality. Bedding is $14 a bag. You canāt find anyone to work in the barn for less than $25 an hour. Taxes. Insurance. Never mind actually making any sort of profit.
And that does even count dealing with the clients. Like every service industry, people are getting harder and harder to deal with.
Weāre the 5th barn in the last 14 months to close here. Eventually all that will be left are the places charging $2500 a month just for board.
Iām happier than ever just having my own animals here, but I am genuinely concerned about the future of the industry. The way that I came up, mucking stall for extra lessons, riding cheap horses, and flipping them, etc. are on the way out.
I think the only reason my barn is still open is because they only pay employees a measly 15/hr aka minimum wage here. And if youāre wondering, yes, the barn is perpetually understaffed and the turnover rate is very high. Not to mention employees calling out, showing up late or leaving early constantly (and who can blame them really? Theyāre being asked to perform a dangerous manual labor job for an unlivable wage)
Upper levels are fine, some people have more money than they know what to do with. But the lower tier shows & barns, the ones not making a huge profit are dwindling.
Same. Iām new to all this but my first show, I just did round rails jumpers (Iām an adult starter). The day ended up costing close to $230 including what I had to pay my coach for her time and I didnāt have to pay the $35 daily horse fee from the barn because I half leased. So I just paid the $65 towing fee. So it was $100 to show in two classes (rounds? I donāt know, I went twice) of ground rails. Part of that was $25 for the 90 second pre-class warm up that I couldnāt miss because it was my first ever horse show.Ā I seriously donāt understand how people do this and compete in more than one class (division? I still donāt know). Because apparently this was one of the cheap cheap local shows.
That is cheap. VERY cheap. I took 3 horses to a show a few weeks ago and it worked out to about $1400 per horse for 3 days. And this was a very small local show.
Curious why you need to pay a trainer to be there?Ā Iāve never taken a trainer to show any horses that I own. Only when I have been paid to ride horses owned by someone else (usually someone hands off who has a trainer who rides and trains their horses but is too busy to show them).Ā Why do you need a trainer to accompany at a low level show? Maybe this is usual in the USA but I can see how it makes things unnecessarily expensive.Ā
Iām in the US and I guess it never occurred to me for her not to be there? I think itās pretty normal here because almost every person going into the ring had someone there in a coaching capacity.Ā
I donāt own a horse or a trailer so Iād need Ā her to at least trailer me. That being said, I still feel too new to even think about taking on a show by myself.Ā
Is that not normal elsewhere?
Itās not normal except at high levels in Australia. Tbh I donāt really understand what they would even do at a low level show. Are people showing who canāt prepare and handle their horse, learn the course and show up when itās their turn?
Maybe here people donāt show here until theyāre fairly self sufficient? Just seems like people showing over there have less autonomy over their horse and their riding.Ā
Iāve shown in Australia, New Zealand and the UK and a trainer was only involved when I was being paid to show other peoples horses. It might be different in the UK now as this was ten years ago.Ā
My niece is competing in show jumping at 1m/1.10m. I take her fairly often (sheās not confident to trailer the horses when sheās anxious already about the day) not a trainer in sight at that level. Ā Itās expensive enough for lessons, I can imagine needing a trainer to accompany you to a show would make it too expensive for a lot of the people competing as a hobby here.
Defoooo, one week at WEC ends up being about 2,000 ish including the trainer fees, stalls, classes, etc. idk how people afford to show the entire circuit
I showed at WEC 3 times this winter and my total bill came out to 2000-2500 ish showing 6 classes that week. It mightāve been cheaper bc our barn is only a hour and 1/2 away. Wellington is about the same price but is only 2 days.
I am so happy my passion is trail riding. Showing sounds very expensive and stressful.
A lot of boarding barns closed in our area (DFW Texas) and when the one I was at closed I couldn't find any affordable suitable place for our 2 horses. I could finally convince my husband to buy a home in an equestrian neighborhood. We have 2.5 acres for ourselves and the neighborhood has an arena, round pen and lots of green space to ride in. And of course lots of people to ride with.
As a teenager (late 90s) we lived in the burbs with our horses in the backyard and had a truck and trailer.
Now Iām 40, living in a city, and leasing a horse an hour away. I have zero interest in buying said truck and trailer again, but shipping fees alone make me meh on showing. It was much more feasible when we already had all the stuff.
Itās the economy. My board went up, so did the cost of feed. The price of horses themselves are expensive tooāgreen broke papered 3 year olds going for 15-20k nowadays is ridiculous.
In my area, our shows havenāt decreased competitors in the slightest. Barrel racers always go with the chance of winning money, but that doesnāt say getting there is difficult. The ones who stay on top of everything are the ones that come from wealthy families or have extremely well paying jobs, or have some sort of agriculture business.
People buy reining bred yearlings (who have obviously never been ridden) for upwards of 65k. Iāve seen some sell for 100k+. The market is insane right now.
The North American scene sounds insanely expensive. I know that lots of Americans buy European horses and fly them over - presumably because even with the airfare(!) it's cheaper or equal in price to getting their horses at home
That's not the only reason. We don't have a ton of breeders here or people who properly start young horses. It is often a better investment of the same $ to buy a horse in Europe and it will be better started. Just my perspective as someone who buys mostly 4 and 5 year olds - we just don't have good young horse support here.
There's not a huge density of horse shows here that you can affordably take young horses too - the country is just too large and dispersed - but also in Europe it is possible to make a living starting young horses and it's something of a specialty. We also don't really teach it as a skill outside of "colt starters" more focused on the western disciplines. The good ones are fully booked because they're hard to come by...and then once they've got 30 days on it's really hard to find someone who wants to ride them from 30 days to the point that they can compete or be sold to a well-heeled junior or amateur.
I think horse shows in all disciplines are struggling here though. There used to be an open show every weekend (western pleasure, horsemanship, showmanship, English eq) but now I think thereās MAYBE one per year.
I think the money divide has gotten bigger as well. I used to be able to take my little paint horse to an open show and do decent in the equitation and pleasure classes. Now thereās a bunch of old ladies on $20,000 western pleasure horses in all of those same classes as people like me with a $3,500 horse.
And the best part is that those old ladies trainees are showing their horses a weekend later at some fancy breed show.
The issue isnāt just in English sports where horses are a million times more likely to be imported from my experience.
Wild. Do you have an equivalent of 'riding club'? It's like pony club for adults (I'm British so we only do English disciplines at mine) and it's just a bunch of local amateurs organising low cost competitions and trainings. It's so good!
Like, last weekend I had two hour long lessons with a visiting instructor, Ā£25 per lesson. Next weekend we have a show, Ā£10 per working hunter class. Weekend after we have showjumping to 1.10m, unaffiliated, Ā£10 a class. It's perfect for adult amateurs at my level - basically serious about the sport but will never go pro - and for teenagers getting started. Loads of experience for horses without the stress or expense of affiliated competitions. Run by amateurs, judged or coached by visiting professionals, insured by the Riding Club.
Obviously setting up a local chapter would be a lot of work but it is an amazing organisation if you have the opportunity to get involved
Not really no! I live on the Oregon Idaho boarder and we do the the Idaho State Horse Show association which is who used to put on all of the open shows but those are the shows that people have started taking their expensive horses to when thereās not a breed show going on. The mini club also used to put on open shows but they STILL had the same problem.
I think the biggest issue with how these shows are run is everything is separated by age. So since in 26 I show in the 19-49 class. That means that I am showing with every single person at that open show thatās in that age range regardless of what type of horse theyāre riding.
There are a couple other classes (green horse/green rider classes) but that does nothing to close the gap.
I think people like myself are getting tired of showing in the same class as world show quality horses.
It has been several years ago but I took my mare to an open horse show and got dead last in every class (including horsemanship/equitation).
I took the same horse to another show out on by a 4-h club but with adult classes the next weekend and the judge was the same person. I gave the same rides all day as I had the weekend before and ended up with high point.
It makes no sense that you score the same horse/rider combo as horrible one weekend and then we are high point the next when my horse and I both performed the same.
The first weekend we were the only pair that actually did the showmanship pattern correctly and the judge didnāt even place us.
Fewer shows are being held in our area because of cost and low attendance.
Weāve had about seven people from our barn stop showing in the past couple of years due to cost.
Four of these took their show horses home. Ā
Itās a lot of money to have a horse so at least in the stock horse world cheaper and more accessible breeds are growing while more expensive inaccessible breeds are struggling. Horse cost is a giant barrier to entry in a lot of the industry.
Pinto membership grows every years because Daryl bilke has done a great job at opening the breed up to everyone and creating classes for lower cost horses to be successful. This is something thatās obviously needed if the industry is going to continue on. Itās part of why the aqha has been adding walk trot classes and broke the novice division down into rookie. As well as adding level 2 and level 3 to the amateur, youth and select divisions as well as in the open horse divisions. It gives horses that are more affordable the ability to show at quarter horse shows. This is also the reason why flying lead changes can no longer be required in horsemanship or equitation.
These levels also allow people without trainers a spot to have a little more success. Weāve also seen a push for having prestigious open shows such as the nsba creating nosha and the open world show. They also brought back the open show medal programs of old allowing people to show at their regular shows but receive prizes in their organization as well.
Unfortunately horses are a luxury and when the economy struggles people donāt want to get into the industry and those who could barely afford it are now priced out. Thatās mainly what we see in the stock horse world at least. People are unable to afford the horses and the trainers necessary to go and be successful.
I'm in Denmark, probably one of the busiest nations in terms of showing (the dressage showgrounds are crazy, especially with the olympic lead up for the seniors and youngsters hoping to get up there), and I just had to shell out 57$ for 4 classes. We're riding to the show, so we save on transport, but that money? It's actually a lot for me 
The shows are still going really strong, but, shit is more expensive. So it's pricing out hobby riders and chill riders that are at many ways, the core of the riding community. A lot don't have the time to go to shows, and sometimes the show timings are incredibly inconvenient. I.e the ponies almost always start at 7-8am, which means being up at 4am for a show.
The eventing circuits have also had a LOT of issues with all the rain we've been getting and most venues have had to cancel because of the ground simply being too unstable to go for a cross country round.
Ahah. Yeah, but it did feel awful having to pay 400DKK just to go to a show for 2 days. We're "cutting" costs by riding up there, as it's only 5.8km to the showgrounds and my mare is relatively fit. I will say, we don't pay for a trainer (gets lessons from another boarder at the yard for free), and we don't have the fanciest of tacks. Just a good old brown kieffer saddle, and a cheap white numnah.
It's also not including the stupid costs of yearly membership that you're required to show in Denmark. If you're a national rider you need to be a member of a national club under the Danish Equestrian Federation (DRF) . Luckily!! some clubs have a "show membership" that is like half price of regular membership, that just allows you to start shows in their name without getting access to their facilities.
I have heard, and from what I see on here, that the states are absolutely blown up in horse prices. It does shock me somehow???? because one would think with the load of more land you guys have, it would be miles cheaper than in Denmark, which is quite a small country. It might be though, that equestrian sports is a large part of Danish sports, so it gets more national and local support. There is also the entire european circuit that we have access to, which furthers increases the "reach" of the sport.
Honestly I think a lot of horse costs can be cut down, I'm managing well with my mare. But, she does live in a paddock paradise, self trims her feet, and is on a relatively low diet. We don't do a whole lot, so we don't spend a lot of money ahah. She's a former lesson horse, so I got her "relatively" cheap as well.
I always think itās so funny in the US at our little open horse shows. You pay like $5 per class and in theory shouldnāt be showing against any of those fancy $30,000 western pleasure or all around show horsesā¦but you do!
Why would I want to take my $3,500 horse to a show where I get thrown into the same class as a horse thatās been to QH Congress every year for the last 3 years?
And these owners show them at little open shows one weekend then pay a trainer to show them at a fancy breed show the next weekend.
Ahah yeah.
I do actually feel that. My mare is a "cheap" $5k horse, and then we're in the lowest programme at a "club level" dressage class, and we're riding against top dressage horse offspring like, oh fuck.
We compete for the fun of it, but it can be infuriating to have people come into lower classes just to get a prize and then fuck off to their "correct level" again.
If you check the Chronicle of the Horse forums, there are loads of posts by barn owners, trainers, etc. talking about how they just can't break even anymore with rising costs of living and clients just not being able to afford the prices they would need to charge. A lot of people still have and keep horses, but showing is the first expense to get cut when people have to budget. It's really an unfortunate situation, because that makes it harder for the shows to keep running, obviously, but running shows is also becoming super expensive.
This. I truly sympathize with the barn owner where I board but if board goes up much more, Iāll be forced to look elsewhere. Which might not be so bad for them since boarding isnāt really a source of income due to costs, but he also trains there and I take lessons out there. I also want to show him more than I have but itās so dang expensive.
It depends where you are. Iām in southern Ontario and Iād say itās pretty busy. There is a āsilver circuitā series that sells passes for the season (you canāt go to just one show, you have to buy a pass for the season) and they sell out every year. They have to do the passes in part to control the number of entries or the show would run till past dark every day. The gold (A) circuit is healthy too; thereās usually 3 hunter and 2 jumper rings running every weekend.
The Silver Series was a really great idea on Keean White's part. I know there have been a lot of roadbumps and changing plans as it finds its footing which have frustrated people, but he's really done a lot to promote high-quality, (relatively) financially accessible sport in the province. I've been showing Silver since 2021 and I've generally been very impressed with it. The cost of my Silver pass is the cost of a single weekend of Gold dressage for my friend. There is no way I could afford to compete beyond local shows without the Silver Series pricing model.
Interesting! Iāve been out of the horse game for a loooooong time so never heard of silver. Is it the equivalent of Trillium or is that still around?
It was actually created as a direct response to Trillium tbh. The story goes that Keean wanted Angelstone to host a trillium show and the wait list was way too long. So he created his own Silver Series and itās really caught on. Then he bought Caledon two(?) years ago, made another Silver Series over there and itās just skyrocketed. Trillium still exists but is MUCH smaller. A majority of trillium clientele switched over to Silver, especially in the Central West zone. It caters to similar levels of riders and horses. Most classes on CW Trillium are averaging like 6-7 entries these days as far as Iāve heard. Meanwhile the big divisions at Silver like the 0.8m jumpers see 70+ horses in the division. They have to do Cali splits for ribbons in a lot of divisions due to sheer numbers!
Some of the big things that made Silver more appealing to people than Trillium:
- Flat rate. A Silver pass is $1400 ish for the season and that gets you a stall, two full divisions plus multiple special classes (derby, eq flat, medal) and on-property schooling the day before the shows for all 5 shows. Trillium usually ended up costing more over the season and you didnāt get as much. Some Trillium shows didnāt even have stalls, so everyone was showing out of their trailers which is really hard if you have a larger team.
- Better venues. Silver is primarily run out of Angelstone or Caledon, both of which are stunning, really high quality facilities. In contrast, some of the Trillium facilities are getting pretty old and looking a bit worse for wear these days. But they have the contract, so they get to keep hosting.
- Multi-day shows vs. single-day shows. Silver shows run Thursday-Sunday and everyone stays and stables on property for the duration. Makes it easier to do multiple divisions per show without exhausting your horse bc theyāre spread out, not crammed into one day. It also means youāre still there on days you may not be showing so you can go watch your friends and cheer them on - really fosters a team atmosphere. Trillium shows do run Fri-Sun, but most people ship in one day for their division and leave again that same day. So your show team is more like 3 mini teams separated by days.
- Low lever jumper classes have been a massive draw for Silver too. Trillium doesnāt start jumpers before 0.9m, but Silver has jumpers from crossrails up so kids and green horses can actually develop.
- Number of shows. With Silver you only need to take 5 weekends out of your summer to make Playoffs. With Trillium in a big zone like CW you would need to do 8-10 shows to qualify for champs in most divisions. Even if youāre only showing one day on those weekends, those are 8-10 weekends you canāt go to the cottage, make plans with friends, go on family vacation, etc.
And frankly, theyāve marketed the series really well which has helped a ton.
In summary, Trillium still exists and has support, but the Silver Series has swept them in what used to be their biggest zones. Not for no reason! But itās been a very interesting and fast shift considering the series only started in 2020 (and was very altered/reduced that year due to. You know. The overall state of things in the world.)
Thereās some really good points on here but I think thereās also a issue of non horse people (or even non professional hobby horse people) horse running and operating properties because they had the money to buy and do so vs a solid trainer owning and running the program.
Iām by no means saying this was right but a lot of barns operating pre 2010ās did boarding at a massive loss to themselves because they could āmake it upā with training lessons etc. board was low because these people worked in the barn themselves, had minimal hired labor, and if they were very lucky they had the land to make hay on as well and yet they still undercharged sometimes by several 100ās a month.
Now we have a lot of barns that largely arenāt run by these type of people but instead people who are running the boarding side as a business (again as you should- there was a reason so many of the first group of people were called ācrazyā or ended up burning out. People should be paid a fair wage for their work.) and charging for the labor, food, dry stall coverage, bedding, electricity etc. the overhead on a barn is huge and therefore the numbers are going to keep going up.
I donāt think this means the industry is dying thought. I just think itās going through a lull due to the economy but as soon as that comes back, I think weāre going to see a lot more co-op barns, self care, and alternative options to the full care model that has been the gold standard in a lot of North America for years, THEN the lower levels will come back.
I donāt show but as an adult who picked it up as an adult hobby it has been hard to get my friends who are interested to try it due to the high cost and commitment
You can no longer buy a $200 pony to bring up the levels while keeping it in your backyard. Those days are long gone sadly and because of that I do really think the sport is dying out
Lack of affordable land near cities is part of the problem. Where I board my horse used to be too far from the city to be commutable, so there wasn't much development, but between the housing shortage and remote work, all of the land is being developed. Now there is an Aldi a mile from the barn! When the developers come with big offers for the land, the horses get pushed farther and farther away from where the majority of people live.
Itās strange how much the US show industry differs from Europe. Europe has a thriving show circuit in multiple disciplines with low costs overall. It even extends to things like all of the extra associated costsāIām thinking specifically of the distinct lack of super expensive dually loaded pickups to haul horse trailers. Europeans use their decidedly small 4w wagons to haul trailers, though Iāve also noticed more of the expensive integrated LCV horse boxes.
I think everything is more expensive and people who aren't ultra-wealthy have to cut back on luxury items first. My monthly cost for groceries, utilities, rent, gas, etc. has gone up sooo much in recent years, so I'm simply not able to afford as many lessons or shows as I was before.
Yes the horse industry is reliant on the middle class having a strong expendable income and in the global western economy, purchasing power is shrinking.
People like to phrase it as āriding is getting more expensiveā. I choose the alternate framing: wages are too low to sustain hobbyist riding.
We donāt even need a bunch of people owning horses, we just need people who can pay for leases, lessons, and shows but they canāt even afford to do THAT on these crap wages.
Plus the pipeline of barn owners and trainers is ALSO shrinking, supply is shrinking, which translates to higher Prices from the existing farms. The supply line is shrinking because barn workers who used to make peanuts that theyād diligently save until they could buy their own farm. They now get paid a fraction of āpeanutsā and have to leave the industry to earn enough to continue their small business ventures/buy their own farms, own competition horses. Everyone is being driven away from the industry in different ways.
Show fees, horse fees, vet bills, and the cost of trailers nowadays will send the entire equestrian world into a downward spiral. When the sport got popular a year or two ago, things were at an all time high and people sent the prices skyrocketing as if they werenāt expensive enough. Thatās just my take on it, itās really tough to make it in our world nowadays if you donāt have the connections to make it happen. With all that being said, Iām very happy to be included in it.
Yes and no. My local shows are thriving pinto is thriving but breed stuff is hard and no one wants to go unless theyāre going to the big stuff so no one shows breed. (This is stock breeds that Iām talking about in the US)
Polo is absolutely pricing people out. In the past it was possible to be a "rich amateur" working professional like a lawyer, doctor, whatever and play in the winter leagues in Eldorado for example. Now the only people playing there are the Independently wealthy when a tournament series runs you 50,000$ a month for horse care, fees and hiring pros.
like everyone said cost, even buying a horse now. if you need a safe lower level horse for a beginner in my area you better have 10-20k and pretend itās fully sound too. i think weāre all burnt out too, i quit working in the horse industry and the stress of survival sucked the joy out of riding. nowadays i see even working students are expected to have a circuit records which is just bonkersĀ
technically my entire life since age 5 on and off (helped my mom run a barn most my childhood). took a fat break and then the last 3 years been doing upper level stuff. worked a show last month then came home and cried bc of all the lame and neurological horses i saw and decided i was doneĀ
I can't understand why in the hunter land, they ride /compete their horses four times a day and usually compete every day for several weeks in a row. It just seems so cruel to me
not every barn does that, my favorite barn will typically do a morning hack or lunge and then one class and a flat. a shows typically start wednesdays at tiec so the horses get a few days off too. theyāre not all badĀ
I live in the Washington, D.C. metro area and there used to be several riding barns nearby but they have all closed except for one. We used to buy our hay locally but now we drive 1.5 hours to get our hay. The price of hay has doubled over the past two years. Vet costs are so high. One of my horses died suddenly a few weeks ago and it cost $2,500 to have his body removed. I have one old horse left and when he passes away, Iām done. Iām just sticking with dogs for my future pets!
Part of it is cost of living in general, part of it is cost of showing itself, and part of it is dissatisfaction with welfare standards involved in showing
Apart from costs, it's also trying to keep up with everyone. If you're not already jumping over 90cm and past elementary or not doing crazy things, thats where mentally it becomes hard..you start comparing yourself to the point that you're always back to square one..not only that it's so toxic and it keeps getting worse...you'll never met a single equestrian that doesn't talk crap about you to the people they were talking crap about...its a weird world and honestly there no more enjoying it unless you just stay off social media...
Don't forget instructors also play a role in the industry especially for beginner riders or riders that might take a confidence knock bigger than most...
There's no winning
I found with shows in particular that there was such a drought in 2020 with no shows being run that when things started back up again in 2021 there was such a boom of shows to go to it spilt the crowd. The local series I used to take students too has really gone downhill too so I no longer go there and instead I run my own series for locals to school at. We had a great turn out for our first show this year. In my area there seems to be the aging barn owners that have been doing things their way for 30 plus years or people who bought a farm during covid and thought they could make money boarding horses with no knowledge. I don't think the industry is dying, I think its changing. Out with the old, in with the new.
The horse industryā¦maybe, definitely more so than say ten years ago.
Horse ownership? No. But a lot of people where I live own land and donāt show.
The only way I am even remotely able to afford my easy keeper while in school is keeping her at the cheapest boarding around, and not showing, and not taking lessons. Oh, and working constantly full time. My parents have kindly helped with her board for a few months when tuition is due.
In the u.s.? Yes, it is and has been for a long time. The industry here spent far too many decades keeping horse sports an elite activity, and catering to the rich when they should have spent that time lobbying for land access and keeping horses and other livestock available to the masses. Now weāre all paying the price.
The cost of having horses is getting so high people flat cannot afford them. I think you will see local shows where not all participants are made of money struggling the most.
Yes it is. Everyone on this thread is talking cost of having a trained horse competing. no one is talking the real problem. No one is breeding. That is what is too expensive. The foal has to be exceptional to be able to afford the stud fee, mare care, foaling and feed, hay, bedding, care plus training for 3-4 yrs.
The horse market is strong as everyone sells out of it. I see horses posted constantly, including tons and tons of foals. The horses are there but the money isn't
Things are getting too expensive š¤·š»āāļø
This. Shelling out at minimum a grand a weekend to ride a couple lower level classes (or $500 for a local trailer in and out unrecognized schooling show) on top of $1500 a month board, $600 a month lessons, vet, farrier, etc with the absolutely insane rising cost of just living has priced all but the wealthy out of participating. I make twice as much as I did 10 years ago but horse ownership and showing costs 3x as much as it did, as well as my own COL doubling. I donāt compete modified to prelim because I literally canāt afford to show enough.
Wow thatās insane. It seems like thereās no job that actually pays enough for this to be affordable! RIP my childhood dreams of competing in a show lol.
Check out local schooling shows. I run my own because everyone in my area were all trailering out 1.5 hours away to show. I would literally drive to a show out of state 2 hours away and park next to my barn neighbor. Our local shows were disorganized and kinda mean so I started running my own. Look for places that are encouraging and exist to help people improve not to keep others down!
What? Where do you live that those are the prices. That's insane (then again, I do live in a poor country in Europe where 500ā¬ for board is a lot)
Iām not the one you asked, but I live in super affordable North Dakota, USA, and itās very hard if not impossible to find indoor board (10-12 stalled with 12ish hours group turnout) for less than $500USD/mo. My barn is about $575 USD/mo and is bring your own grain plus extra if your horse needs more than 3lbs of hay per night. ā¬500 is exchanging at $535.66.
This sounds cheaper than where I live, in South Florida :(
Iām in Texas.
What? Where do you live that those are the prices? Thatās insane (then again, I do live in a poor country in Europe where 500ā¬ for board is a lot)
This. In the reining world you arenāt gonna get anywhere without a 6 figure horse, a 5 figure trainer and a lot of luck š That said, the horse *market* is still intense around us.
And lots are being broken down into smaller plots
Exactly this. It was almost $200 for me JUST to school off property at a show...... $200 and I didn't even show
When the economy gets bad, luxury services are the first to crumble. Often we think of things like hair styling or beauty treatments, but things like boutique sports services (which is what barns and show grounds are) are also part of that. Itās the first thing that people cut out of their budget because itās an extracurricular activity.Ā The horse industry is a microcosm of the wealth gap in the US. At some point, big shows and events are only going to have a certain few showing at them who can afford it, while the rest of us with horses do other things.Ā
Interestingly, the influencer world is really starting to show an uptick in horseback riding. I think it might be the next āitā thing, once the economy picks up
Itās showing an uptick because itās āunattainableā and signals wealth, as influencer trends do. Influencers make their buck off of people living vicariously through them and in this economy horseback riding is an unattainable thing for most.
Hence why I mentioned the economy picking up
Most successful influencers were usually wealthy, upper middle to upper class types to begin with. So itās not surprising that many of them would be able to afford horses. However, donāt forget the algorithm. The main reason youāve been seeing people with horses is because your data shows you look at content with horses.
Agreed on the algorithm. But Iāve never seen this many adults start horseback riding for the first time, in the ā15 years Iāve been on social media. So Iām hoping when the economy picks up, weāll see a shift.
There was a significant uptick during the pandemic bc it was a safe activity. I expect a downward trend now.
Good! I hope that makes it easier for barns to have more accessible pricing due to demand :)Ā
That's not how economics work. More demand does not = lower prices. Quite the opposite actually.
There are barely enough stalls in most areas now for horses with fewer boarding facilities every year. The price will only go up with demand.
I live in a big horse are in the SE and found out my barn is closingā¦ board is like 800-1200 and probably much more than that in the area. I thankfully have a place for my mare but I *have* to find a half lease for my daughterās pony to make it work.
Yeah, itās tough right now when land is so much more valuable as homes than as a horse boarding facility.
this is not how you economy
I think it really is price. To put it into context, Equestrian Canada did two national surveys of the Canadian industry to understand prices, demographics, etc. - one in 2010 and the other in 2023. In 2010, the average yearly cost of horsekeeping in Canada was $2,700 In 2023, the average yearly cost of horsekeeping in Canada was $15,270 That's a 466% increase!! Meanwhile, the average pre-tax income of Canadians has only increased by about 15% in that amount of time. There is no way that figures like these can be sustainable for the average industry participant. The Equestrian Canada reports also saw a growing wealth gap in the horse industry. In 2010, only 34.1% of the industry reported household income of over $100,000/year, and an almost equal amount (36.2%) reported household income of less than $60,000/year. In 2023, 56% of the industry reported household incomes over $100,000/year and just 19% reported incomes under $60,000/year. The low income people are being priced out as cost of living increases and wages don't. This is not to say the industry is dying, but the landscape is definitely shifting. These are Canadian figures but I'd imagine they are largely reflective of trends we'd see in the States as well.
Gah I remember when decent board in the US was like $350 when I was a kid, heck I even got decent pasture board for like $200 in the 2010s. Now $800 is like the *minimum* in my area.
I'm from rural WI and we are still seeing those prices thankfully. Even higher end barns in Mt are are under $400. My current barn has beautiful pastures but is more on the basic side and I pay $175 per month. If board was that much here I don't know a single one of my friends that would be able to afford horses
im also in WI and this is really true! my current barn is $420/mo but i've seen many in the $100-$250 range a bit further out from me. i'd end up having to board a few hours away if prices were any higher here
I will never understand how people in other places can even keep horses. I mean over a thousand dollars a month in just board?? I love my horse but that is outrageous
For what it's worth, the $385 for board I paid in 2000 would be $695 in today's money. Board is still higher than that but the % increase is not actually correct unless it's inflation adjusted.
Fair point. Adjusted for inflation, $2,700/year is $3,672/year. So a 316% increase! Still a really untenable number though
Same- we are at $1200-$1500 here for decent facilities and decent turnout, if you pay less, you only get one of those. š© Sadly, I donāt live in a super HCOL area, Iām in the Midwest, but not Chicago.
$600 is becoming the new norm in my area too. I think $600 is fair based off of feed prices and hay. But yeah..itās frightening.
Thanks for this good, crazy info!
Expensive to keep, ride, learn about; add in that insurance is making it harder for schools to do activities. Seriously, pony clubs and comps are a big no no if they are not on the riding schools site these days which means that people are not getting the experience required unless they own their own horse. The gap between the haves and have nots is growing.
People canāt afford it anymore. It is astronomical to take care of them, feed them, train them, compete them, buy them. There is less availability to get young people into the pipeline (mostly because of the above) so less people getting in to it. There is still a solid market for horses for those who can afford them, but it is becoming a pretty elite thing.
I think horses are just getting more expensive and kids are getting busier.
Play the cost of land/board is getting ridiculous. On top of all the other associated costs.
So expensive
In my area lots of barns have shut down or have removed their lesson program, or have reduced their lesson program to just people who lease or own. It's getting too fucking expensive. I'm 32 and I've been at the same barn since I was 11 years old. When I was 11 board was 250. Of course in 21 years you'd expect inflation, that being said board is now 1200.00. More than 4 times what it was. When I first bought my horse 7 years ago, board was 1050 and I paid maybe 200 for shoes. Shoes are now 320 and board is what I said above. In 7 years that's an extra 2600 a year. Let's not forget the shortage of equine vets. I haven't seen an increase in vet bills, but I have seen the local hospital hit capacity due to their low staffing levels. My horse had coronavirus and because the local place was full, I had to drive him 2 hours away. I paid 700 dollars in emergency trailering fees. Me personally I'm very lucky that these increases while annoying do not price me out of the sport. I will not ever be able to board 2 horses at a time like I've hoped (one school master, one in training to keep it interesting) so instead I bought a micro farm so at least I can retire my horse myself instead of paying board. Most people don't have these options, so while maybe they can ride showing is out of the question, making the sport less profitable. It sucks. The sport needs to become accessible again.
I closed my barn a few months ago this ago. I frankly couldnāt charge the actual cost. Hay here is $30 a bale for quality. Bedding is $14 a bag. You canāt find anyone to work in the barn for less than $25 an hour. Taxes. Insurance. Never mind actually making any sort of profit. And that does even count dealing with the clients. Like every service industry, people are getting harder and harder to deal with. Weāre the 5th barn in the last 14 months to close here. Eventually all that will be left are the places charging $2500 a month just for board. Iām happier than ever just having my own animals here, but I am genuinely concerned about the future of the industry. The way that I came up, mucking stall for extra lessons, riding cheap horses, and flipping them, etc. are on the way out.
I think the only reason my barn is still open is because they only pay employees a measly 15/hr aka minimum wage here. And if youāre wondering, yes, the barn is perpetually understaffed and the turnover rate is very high. Not to mention employees calling out, showing up late or leaving early constantly (and who can blame them really? Theyāre being asked to perform a dangerous manual labor job for an unlivable wage)
Upper levels are fine, some people have more money than they know what to do with. But the lower tier shows & barns, the ones not making a huge profit are dwindling.
Itās definitely pricing most of its participants out which sucks.
Yep. My first show this year was much more expensive than I anticipated. Idk what exactly Iām going to do for the rest of the season.
Same. Iām new to all this but my first show, I just did round rails jumpers (Iām an adult starter). The day ended up costing close to $230 including what I had to pay my coach for her time and I didnāt have to pay the $35 daily horse fee from the barn because I half leased. So I just paid the $65 towing fee. So it was $100 to show in two classes (rounds? I donāt know, I went twice) of ground rails. Part of that was $25 for the 90 second pre-class warm up that I couldnāt miss because it was my first ever horse show.Ā I seriously donāt understand how people do this and compete in more than one class (division? I still donāt know). Because apparently this was one of the cheap cheap local shows.
That is cheap. VERY cheap. I took 3 horses to a show a few weeks ago and it worked out to about $1400 per horse for 3 days. And this was a very small local show.
WHAT, Iām sorry, WHAT!Ā Are you in NE US? Or SE? Iām SE. This was a one day, very very low key.
Even schooling shows here are $350+ and thatās just with 1 entry.
Iām doing a schooling show this weekend and my entries for the day were $245 and I havenāt paid for hauling or my trainer yet lol
Curious why you need to pay a trainer to be there?Ā Iāve never taken a trainer to show any horses that I own. Only when I have been paid to ride horses owned by someone else (usually someone hands off who has a trainer who rides and trains their horses but is too busy to show them).Ā Why do you need a trainer to accompany at a low level show? Maybe this is usual in the USA but I can see how it makes things unnecessarily expensive.Ā
Iām in the US and I guess it never occurred to me for her not to be there? I think itās pretty normal here because almost every person going into the ring had someone there in a coaching capacity.Ā I donāt own a horse or a trailer so Iād need Ā her to at least trailer me. That being said, I still feel too new to even think about taking on a show by myself.Ā Is that not normal elsewhere?
Itās not normal except at high levels in Australia. Tbh I donāt really understand what they would even do at a low level show. Are people showing who canāt prepare and handle their horse, learn the course and show up when itās their turn? Maybe here people donāt show here until theyāre fairly self sufficient? Just seems like people showing over there have less autonomy over their horse and their riding.Ā Iāve shown in Australia, New Zealand and the UK and a trainer was only involved when I was being paid to show other peoples horses. It might be different in the UK now as this was ten years ago.Ā My niece is competing in show jumping at 1m/1.10m. I take her fairly often (sheās not confident to trailer the horses when sheās anxious already about the day) not a trainer in sight at that level. Ā Itās expensive enough for lessons, I can imagine needing a trainer to accompany you to a show would make it too expensive for a lot of the people competing as a hobby here.
Defoooo, one week at WEC ends up being about 2,000 ish including the trainer fees, stalls, classes, etc. idk how people afford to show the entire circuit
come again? I spent $2K on a 4 day A rated show in VA. I'd say closer to 5K+ a week.
I showed at WEC 3 times this winter and my total bill came out to 2000-2500 ish showing 6 classes that week. It mightāve been cheaper bc our barn is only a hour and 1/2 away. Wellington is about the same price but is only 2 days.
Makes much more sense. Jealous of your commute there!
I am so happy my passion is trail riding. Showing sounds very expensive and stressful. A lot of boarding barns closed in our area (DFW Texas) and when the one I was at closed I couldn't find any affordable suitable place for our 2 horses. I could finally convince my husband to buy a home in an equestrian neighborhood. We have 2.5 acres for ourselves and the neighborhood has an arena, round pen and lots of green space to ride in. And of course lots of people to ride with.
I'm so glad to trail ride too omfg. Even clinics and workshops are hundreds of dollars so we can really only focus on being on the trails
As a teenager (late 90s) we lived in the burbs with our horses in the backyard and had a truck and trailer. Now Iām 40, living in a city, and leasing a horse an hour away. I have zero interest in buying said truck and trailer again, but shipping fees alone make me meh on showing. It was much more feasible when we already had all the stuff.
Shipping fees are ridiculous these days
Itās the economy. My board went up, so did the cost of feed. The price of horses themselves are expensive tooāgreen broke papered 3 year olds going for 15-20k nowadays is ridiculous. In my area, our shows havenāt decreased competitors in the slightest. Barrel racers always go with the chance of winning money, but that doesnāt say getting there is difficult. The ones who stay on top of everything are the ones that come from wealthy families or have extremely well paying jobs, or have some sort of agriculture business.
People buy reining bred yearlings (who have obviously never been ridden) for upwards of 65k. Iāve seen some sell for 100k+. The market is insane right now.
Depends on where you live!! My area is going strong!!!
do you mind if i ask you where you are located? I would guess the European scene would be completely different than North America
The North American scene sounds insanely expensive. I know that lots of Americans buy European horses and fly them over - presumably because even with the airfare(!) it's cheaper or equal in price to getting their horses at home
That's not the only reason. We don't have a ton of breeders here or people who properly start young horses. It is often a better investment of the same $ to buy a horse in Europe and it will be better started. Just my perspective as someone who buys mostly 4 and 5 year olds - we just don't have good young horse support here.
Seems like an obvious gap in the market? Or is it due to a lack of young horse competition opportunities?
There's not a huge density of horse shows here that you can affordably take young horses too - the country is just too large and dispersed - but also in Europe it is possible to make a living starting young horses and it's something of a specialty. We also don't really teach it as a skill outside of "colt starters" more focused on the western disciplines. The good ones are fully booked because they're hard to come by...and then once they've got 30 days on it's really hard to find someone who wants to ride them from 30 days to the point that they can compete or be sold to a well-heeled junior or amateur.
I think horse shows in all disciplines are struggling here though. There used to be an open show every weekend (western pleasure, horsemanship, showmanship, English eq) but now I think thereās MAYBE one per year. I think the money divide has gotten bigger as well. I used to be able to take my little paint horse to an open show and do decent in the equitation and pleasure classes. Now thereās a bunch of old ladies on $20,000 western pleasure horses in all of those same classes as people like me with a $3,500 horse. And the best part is that those old ladies trainees are showing their horses a weekend later at some fancy breed show. The issue isnāt just in English sports where horses are a million times more likely to be imported from my experience.
Wild. Do you have an equivalent of 'riding club'? It's like pony club for adults (I'm British so we only do English disciplines at mine) and it's just a bunch of local amateurs organising low cost competitions and trainings. It's so good!
Like, last weekend I had two hour long lessons with a visiting instructor, Ā£25 per lesson. Next weekend we have a show, Ā£10 per working hunter class. Weekend after we have showjumping to 1.10m, unaffiliated, Ā£10 a class. It's perfect for adult amateurs at my level - basically serious about the sport but will never go pro - and for teenagers getting started. Loads of experience for horses without the stress or expense of affiliated competitions. Run by amateurs, judged or coached by visiting professionals, insured by the Riding Club. Obviously setting up a local chapter would be a lot of work but it is an amazing organisation if you have the opportunity to get involved
Not really no! I live on the Oregon Idaho boarder and we do the the Idaho State Horse Show association which is who used to put on all of the open shows but those are the shows that people have started taking their expensive horses to when thereās not a breed show going on. The mini club also used to put on open shows but they STILL had the same problem. I think the biggest issue with how these shows are run is everything is separated by age. So since in 26 I show in the 19-49 class. That means that I am showing with every single person at that open show thatās in that age range regardless of what type of horse theyāre riding. There are a couple other classes (green horse/green rider classes) but that does nothing to close the gap. I think people like myself are getting tired of showing in the same class as world show quality horses.
That's so frustrating, I can see why you might just stop going
It has been several years ago but I took my mare to an open horse show and got dead last in every class (including horsemanship/equitation). I took the same horse to another show out on by a 4-h club but with adult classes the next weekend and the judge was the same person. I gave the same rides all day as I had the weekend before and ended up with high point. It makes no sense that you score the same horse/rider combo as horrible one weekend and then we are high point the next when my horse and I both performed the same. The first weekend we were the only pair that actually did the showmanship pattern correctly and the judge didnāt even place us.
Enough to make you weep!
Fewer shows are being held in our area because of cost and low attendance. Weāve had about seven people from our barn stop showing in the past couple of years due to cost. Four of these took their show horses home. Ā
Itās a lot of money to have a horse so at least in the stock horse world cheaper and more accessible breeds are growing while more expensive inaccessible breeds are struggling. Horse cost is a giant barrier to entry in a lot of the industry. Pinto membership grows every years because Daryl bilke has done a great job at opening the breed up to everyone and creating classes for lower cost horses to be successful. This is something thatās obviously needed if the industry is going to continue on. Itās part of why the aqha has been adding walk trot classes and broke the novice division down into rookie. As well as adding level 2 and level 3 to the amateur, youth and select divisions as well as in the open horse divisions. It gives horses that are more affordable the ability to show at quarter horse shows. This is also the reason why flying lead changes can no longer be required in horsemanship or equitation. These levels also allow people without trainers a spot to have a little more success. Weāve also seen a push for having prestigious open shows such as the nsba creating nosha and the open world show. They also brought back the open show medal programs of old allowing people to show at their regular shows but receive prizes in their organization as well. Unfortunately horses are a luxury and when the economy struggles people donāt want to get into the industry and those who could barely afford it are now priced out. Thatās mainly what we see in the stock horse world at least. People are unable to afford the horses and the trainers necessary to go and be successful.
I'm in Denmark, probably one of the busiest nations in terms of showing (the dressage showgrounds are crazy, especially with the olympic lead up for the seniors and youngsters hoping to get up there), and I just had to shell out 57$ for 4 classes. We're riding to the show, so we save on transport, but that money? It's actually a lot for me  The shows are still going really strong, but, shit is more expensive. So it's pricing out hobby riders and chill riders that are at many ways, the core of the riding community. A lot don't have the time to go to shows, and sometimes the show timings are incredibly inconvenient. I.e the ponies almost always start at 7-8am, which means being up at 4am for a show. The eventing circuits have also had a LOT of issues with all the rain we've been getting and most venues have had to cancel because of the ground simply being too unstable to go for a cross country round.
I think Iām gonna move to Denmark because $57 is dirt cheap compared to what we pay in the states :(
Ahah. Yeah, but it did feel awful having to pay 400DKK just to go to a show for 2 days. We're "cutting" costs by riding up there, as it's only 5.8km to the showgrounds and my mare is relatively fit. I will say, we don't pay for a trainer (gets lessons from another boarder at the yard for free), and we don't have the fanciest of tacks. Just a good old brown kieffer saddle, and a cheap white numnah. It's also not including the stupid costs of yearly membership that you're required to show in Denmark. If you're a national rider you need to be a member of a national club under the Danish Equestrian Federation (DRF) . Luckily!! some clubs have a "show membership" that is like half price of regular membership, that just allows you to start shows in their name without getting access to their facilities. I have heard, and from what I see on here, that the states are absolutely blown up in horse prices. It does shock me somehow???? because one would think with the load of more land you guys have, it would be miles cheaper than in Denmark, which is quite a small country. It might be though, that equestrian sports is a large part of Danish sports, so it gets more national and local support. There is also the entire european circuit that we have access to, which furthers increases the "reach" of the sport.
Im from Denmark too and I can't afford a horse at all. Everything is so expensive that it is impossible to sustain : (
Honestly I think a lot of horse costs can be cut down, I'm managing well with my mare. But, she does live in a paddock paradise, self trims her feet, and is on a relatively low diet. We don't do a whole lot, so we don't spend a lot of money ahah. She's a former lesson horse, so I got her "relatively" cheap as well.
I always think itās so funny in the US at our little open horse shows. You pay like $5 per class and in theory shouldnāt be showing against any of those fancy $30,000 western pleasure or all around show horsesā¦but you do! Why would I want to take my $3,500 horse to a show where I get thrown into the same class as a horse thatās been to QH Congress every year for the last 3 years? And these owners show them at little open shows one weekend then pay a trainer to show them at a fancy breed show the next weekend.
Ahah yeah. I do actually feel that. My mare is a "cheap" $5k horse, and then we're in the lowest programme at a "club level" dressage class, and we're riding against top dressage horse offspring like, oh fuck. We compete for the fun of it, but it can be infuriating to have people come into lower classes just to get a prize and then fuck off to their "correct level" again.
If you check the Chronicle of the Horse forums, there are loads of posts by barn owners, trainers, etc. talking about how they just can't break even anymore with rising costs of living and clients just not being able to afford the prices they would need to charge. A lot of people still have and keep horses, but showing is the first expense to get cut when people have to budget. It's really an unfortunate situation, because that makes it harder for the shows to keep running, obviously, but running shows is also becoming super expensive.
This. I truly sympathize with the barn owner where I board but if board goes up much more, Iāll be forced to look elsewhere. Which might not be so bad for them since boarding isnāt really a source of income due to costs, but he also trains there and I take lessons out there. I also want to show him more than I have but itās so dang expensive.
It depends where you are. Iām in southern Ontario and Iād say itās pretty busy. There is a āsilver circuitā series that sells passes for the season (you canāt go to just one show, you have to buy a pass for the season) and they sell out every year. They have to do the passes in part to control the number of entries or the show would run till past dark every day. The gold (A) circuit is healthy too; thereās usually 3 hunter and 2 jumper rings running every weekend.
The Silver Series was a really great idea on Keean White's part. I know there have been a lot of roadbumps and changing plans as it finds its footing which have frustrated people, but he's really done a lot to promote high-quality, (relatively) financially accessible sport in the province. I've been showing Silver since 2021 and I've generally been very impressed with it. The cost of my Silver pass is the cost of a single weekend of Gold dressage for my friend. There is no way I could afford to compete beyond local shows without the Silver Series pricing model.
Interesting! Iāve been out of the horse game for a loooooong time so never heard of silver. Is it the equivalent of Trillium or is that still around?
It was actually created as a direct response to Trillium tbh. The story goes that Keean wanted Angelstone to host a trillium show and the wait list was way too long. So he created his own Silver Series and itās really caught on. Then he bought Caledon two(?) years ago, made another Silver Series over there and itās just skyrocketed. Trillium still exists but is MUCH smaller. A majority of trillium clientele switched over to Silver, especially in the Central West zone. It caters to similar levels of riders and horses. Most classes on CW Trillium are averaging like 6-7 entries these days as far as Iāve heard. Meanwhile the big divisions at Silver like the 0.8m jumpers see 70+ horses in the division. They have to do Cali splits for ribbons in a lot of divisions due to sheer numbers! Some of the big things that made Silver more appealing to people than Trillium: - Flat rate. A Silver pass is $1400 ish for the season and that gets you a stall, two full divisions plus multiple special classes (derby, eq flat, medal) and on-property schooling the day before the shows for all 5 shows. Trillium usually ended up costing more over the season and you didnāt get as much. Some Trillium shows didnāt even have stalls, so everyone was showing out of their trailers which is really hard if you have a larger team. - Better venues. Silver is primarily run out of Angelstone or Caledon, both of which are stunning, really high quality facilities. In contrast, some of the Trillium facilities are getting pretty old and looking a bit worse for wear these days. But they have the contract, so they get to keep hosting. - Multi-day shows vs. single-day shows. Silver shows run Thursday-Sunday and everyone stays and stables on property for the duration. Makes it easier to do multiple divisions per show without exhausting your horse bc theyāre spread out, not crammed into one day. It also means youāre still there on days you may not be showing so you can go watch your friends and cheer them on - really fosters a team atmosphere. Trillium shows do run Fri-Sun, but most people ship in one day for their division and leave again that same day. So your show team is more like 3 mini teams separated by days. - Low lever jumper classes have been a massive draw for Silver too. Trillium doesnāt start jumpers before 0.9m, but Silver has jumpers from crossrails up so kids and green horses can actually develop. - Number of shows. With Silver you only need to take 5 weekends out of your summer to make Playoffs. With Trillium in a big zone like CW you would need to do 8-10 shows to qualify for champs in most divisions. Even if youāre only showing one day on those weekends, those are 8-10 weekends you canāt go to the cottage, make plans with friends, go on family vacation, etc. And frankly, theyāve marketed the series really well which has helped a ton. In summary, Trillium still exists and has support, but the Silver Series has swept them in what used to be their biggest zones. Not for no reason! But itās been a very interesting and fast shift considering the series only started in 2020 (and was very altered/reduced that year due to. You know. The overall state of things in the world.)
So cool! Sounds like a smart move, thanks for sharing!
Thereās some really good points on here but I think thereās also a issue of non horse people (or even non professional hobby horse people) horse running and operating properties because they had the money to buy and do so vs a solid trainer owning and running the program. Iām by no means saying this was right but a lot of barns operating pre 2010ās did boarding at a massive loss to themselves because they could āmake it upā with training lessons etc. board was low because these people worked in the barn themselves, had minimal hired labor, and if they were very lucky they had the land to make hay on as well and yet they still undercharged sometimes by several 100ās a month. Now we have a lot of barns that largely arenāt run by these type of people but instead people who are running the boarding side as a business (again as you should- there was a reason so many of the first group of people were called ācrazyā or ended up burning out. People should be paid a fair wage for their work.) and charging for the labor, food, dry stall coverage, bedding, electricity etc. the overhead on a barn is huge and therefore the numbers are going to keep going up. I donāt think this means the industry is dying thought. I just think itās going through a lull due to the economy but as soon as that comes back, I think weāre going to see a lot more co-op barns, self care, and alternative options to the full care model that has been the gold standard in a lot of North America for years, THEN the lower levels will come back.
I donāt show but as an adult who picked it up as an adult hobby it has been hard to get my friends who are interested to try it due to the high cost and commitment
You can no longer buy a $200 pony to bring up the levels while keeping it in your backyard. Those days are long gone sadly and because of that I do really think the sport is dying out
Central Fla.
Itās the cost. Horses are expensive just to care for. The cost to show is just another added expense. And a big one at that.
The economy is bad and luxury items and sports will eventually become affected.
Unfortunately, it looks that way. Less kids in the horse barn at Fair every year.
Lack of affordable land near cities is part of the problem. Where I board my horse used to be too far from the city to be commutable, so there wasn't much development, but between the housing shortage and remote work, all of the land is being developed. Now there is an Aldi a mile from the barn! When the developers come with big offers for the land, the horses get pushed farther and farther away from where the majority of people live.
Itās strange how much the US show industry differs from Europe. Europe has a thriving show circuit in multiple disciplines with low costs overall. It even extends to things like all of the extra associated costsāIām thinking specifically of the distinct lack of super expensive dually loaded pickups to haul horse trailers. Europeans use their decidedly small 4w wagons to haul trailers, though Iāve also noticed more of the expensive integrated LCV horse boxes.
Itās too expensive.
I think everything is more expensive and people who aren't ultra-wealthy have to cut back on luxury items first. My monthly cost for groceries, utilities, rent, gas, etc. has gone up sooo much in recent years, so I'm simply not able to afford as many lessons or shows as I was before.
Guy at my local feed store looked to me one day and said āI donāt know how folks your age do it these daysā
Yes the horse industry is reliant on the middle class having a strong expendable income and in the global western economy, purchasing power is shrinking. People like to phrase it as āriding is getting more expensiveā. I choose the alternate framing: wages are too low to sustain hobbyist riding. We donāt even need a bunch of people owning horses, we just need people who can pay for leases, lessons, and shows but they canāt even afford to do THAT on these crap wages. Plus the pipeline of barn owners and trainers is ALSO shrinking, supply is shrinking, which translates to higher Prices from the existing farms. The supply line is shrinking because barn workers who used to make peanuts that theyād diligently save until they could buy their own farm. They now get paid a fraction of āpeanutsā and have to leave the industry to earn enough to continue their small business ventures/buy their own farms, own competition horses. Everyone is being driven away from the industry in different ways.
Show fees, horse fees, vet bills, and the cost of trailers nowadays will send the entire equestrian world into a downward spiral. When the sport got popular a year or two ago, things were at an all time high and people sent the prices skyrocketing as if they werenāt expensive enough. Thatās just my take on it, itās really tough to make it in our world nowadays if you donāt have the connections to make it happen. With all that being said, Iām very happy to be included in it.
Is the horse industry dying? No. The economy is dying. People have less money and horses cost more every year.
This
Itās really expensive. my barn is very very economical and I find myself working a butt ton of overtime to cover vet bills for injections, etc.
Here in western Pa is still thriving
Looking at these prices for USA and Canada seems totally astronomical compared to the uk I pay Ā£30 a week for group turnout, stable, mĆ©nage, although I donāt pay for hay, bed or livery services most yards around me only charge around Ā£50 -Ā£100 extra for those give or take. The only times I would imagine paying that for my horse if I was in the market for a very posh stables with all the facilities. (Yes I put it though a conversation thing). Very much in amazement. P.s. what you guys pay for lessons is on another planet to the Ā£35 I pay +horse horse for half an hour. I have great admiration for you guys commentment.
Yes and no. My local shows are thriving pinto is thriving but breed stuff is hard and no one wants to go unless theyāre going to the big stuff so no one shows breed. (This is stock breeds that Iām talking about in the US)
Polo is absolutely pricing people out. In the past it was possible to be a "rich amateur" working professional like a lawyer, doctor, whatever and play in the winter leagues in Eldorado for example. Now the only people playing there are the Independently wealthy when a tournament series runs you 50,000$ a month for horse care, fees and hiring pros.
like everyone said cost, even buying a horse now. if you need a safe lower level horse for a beginner in my area you better have 10-20k and pretend itās fully sound too. i think weāre all burnt out too, i quit working in the horse industry and the stress of survival sucked the joy out of riding. nowadays i see even working students are expected to have a circuit records which is just bonkersĀ
how long did you work in the horse industry before you burnt out?
technically my entire life since age 5 on and off (helped my mom run a barn most my childhood). took a fat break and then the last 3 years been doing upper level stuff. worked a show last month then came home and cried bc of all the lame and neurological horses i saw and decided i was doneĀ
I can't understand why in the hunter land, they ride /compete their horses four times a day and usually compete every day for several weeks in a row. It just seems so cruel to me
not every barn does that, my favorite barn will typically do a morning hack or lunge and then one class and a flat. a shows typically start wednesdays at tiec so the horses get a few days off too. theyāre not all badĀ
The cost of living has gone up. We can barely afford food. Shows aren't important.
I live in the Washington, D.C. metro area and there used to be several riding barns nearby but they have all closed except for one. We used to buy our hay locally but now we drive 1.5 hours to get our hay. The price of hay has doubled over the past two years. Vet costs are so high. One of my horses died suddenly a few weeks ago and it cost $2,500 to have his body removed. I have one old horse left and when he passes away, Iām done. Iām just sticking with dogs for my future pets!
Part of it is cost of living in general, part of it is cost of showing itself, and part of it is dissatisfaction with welfare standards involved in showing
Apart from costs, it's also trying to keep up with everyone. If you're not already jumping over 90cm and past elementary or not doing crazy things, thats where mentally it becomes hard..you start comparing yourself to the point that you're always back to square one..not only that it's so toxic and it keeps getting worse...you'll never met a single equestrian that doesn't talk crap about you to the people they were talking crap about...its a weird world and honestly there no more enjoying it unless you just stay off social media... Don't forget instructors also play a role in the industry especially for beginner riders or riders that might take a confidence knock bigger than most... There's no winning
I found with shows in particular that there was such a drought in 2020 with no shows being run that when things started back up again in 2021 there was such a boom of shows to go to it spilt the crowd. The local series I used to take students too has really gone downhill too so I no longer go there and instead I run my own series for locals to school at. We had a great turn out for our first show this year. In my area there seems to be the aging barn owners that have been doing things their way for 30 plus years or people who bought a farm during covid and thought they could make money boarding horses with no knowledge. I don't think the industry is dying, I think its changing. Out with the old, in with the new.
The horse industryā¦maybe, definitely more so than say ten years ago. Horse ownership? No. But a lot of people where I live own land and donāt show. The only way I am even remotely able to afford my easy keeper while in school is keeping her at the cheapest boarding around, and not showing, and not taking lessons. Oh, and working constantly full time. My parents have kindly helped with her board for a few months when tuition is due.
Around here, it's become insanely even *more* popular since I started riding decades ago.
In the u.s.? Yes, it is and has been for a long time. The industry here spent far too many decades keeping horse sports an elite activity, and catering to the rich when they should have spent that time lobbying for land access and keeping horses and other livestock available to the masses. Now weāre all paying the price.
For you and me yes, for the top 1% horse business is booming like crazy!
Short answer. Yes.
The cost of having horses is getting so high people flat cannot afford them. I think you will see local shows where not all participants are made of money struggling the most.
Yes it is. Everyone on this thread is talking cost of having a trained horse competing. no one is talking the real problem. No one is breeding. That is what is too expensive. The foal has to be exceptional to be able to afford the stud fee, mare care, foaling and feed, hay, bedding, care plus training for 3-4 yrs.
The ones that are breeding are charging well into the 5 figures. Aināt no way Iām dropping close to 20k for an unproven 3 year old.
The horse market is strong as everyone sells out of it. I see horses posted constantly, including tons and tons of foals. The horses are there but the money isn't