Strategy History
It may help to put things into perspective to look briefly at the makeup of the horse population in the UK. In 1995 the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) published the first independent study of Equestrianism in the UK and this was followed by Surveys in 1999 and 2006.
The latest research estimates that the total number of horses, ponies and donkeys in Britain has now exceeded 1.3 million, including those privately owned as well as those in the care of industry professionals. The estimated private ownership population of 720,000 owners or primary carers, equates to 1.2% of the UK people population, with the majority of horses being used as pleasure animals.
The horse population is made up of 9 native pony breeds – Highland, Shetland, Welsh Mountain, Dales, Fell, Exmoor, New Forest, Dartmoor and Connemara - collectively known as Mountain and Moorland Ponies. The remainder consists of Thoroughbreds, Warmbloods, Heavy Horses, Arabs etc. There are at least 60 breed societies in existence in the UK with many horses, ponies and donkeys having been imported as pleasure or competition animals.
It may help to be mindful that in the UK the horse is NOT produced as a meat animal. A small percentage of horses are sent to slaughter for meat, but this is not the norm.
The majority of horses are kept for pleasure and sporting disciplines and are owned by private owners who have significantly varying levels of care and management knowledge.
The Animal Health & Welfare Strategy was circulated by the government for consultation in 2003, but was geared towards farm animals and it was felt that there was little specific to horses. When asked if a species specific sub-strategy was required for horses, the Industry responded positively because of the size of the industry and the value to the economy of in excess of £2.5b as reported in the Henley Report of Research on the Horse Industry March 2004. This figure may be understated because it does not cover some very valuable areas of income generated by the horse industry, for example the welfare sector and equine tourism.
