Weathering The Lockdown Storm

The equestrian industry has shown resilience in the face of previous recessions. Eleanor Jones analyses where the crunch points will be

- Eleanor Jones

As the world reels from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, it is inevitable that the economic impact will be significant. Restrictions implemented to slow the spread of the virus have already struck a major blow, but economists are divided as to what the long-term effects will be.

In the equestrian industry, as others, major players can draw on their experiences from previous downturns, the most recent of course the 2008 credit crunch, the echoes of which are still sounding in the horse world.

World Horse Welfare chief field officer Claire Gordon recalls a Westminster briefing on the Control of Horses Act, at which statistics were shared on the effect of that recession.

“They showed that all species had an increase in reported welfare concerns in the years after 2008, but as the economy started to recover, these tailed off for all other species, but not for horses,” she says. “That really stuck with me because it indicates that the horses’ problem isn’t economic – and that’s why we’ve since been in a horse crisis rather than a dog or cat one.”

Horses are undoubtedly expensive to keep, and breeding a greater number than that for which there are homes available also plays a part in the horse crisis. Indeed, so persistent is the problem that World Horse Welfare chief executive Roly Owers has said it cannot still be called a crisis so many years on, but rather a systemic failure. However, it is not clear why horses have suffered so much more than other animals during hard times.

“If we knew that, we’d probably be able to fix the problem,” says Claire, adding that one possible reason for the dumping of sick horses is that knackermen no longer pay to take them for meat; instead, the owner must often pay to have a carcass removed.