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The British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) 2005/6 national equestrian survey indicated that 4.3 million people – seven percent of the British population - are riders. Some 2.8 million households contain at least one rider, and 43 percent of the British population have an interest in some aspect of Equestrianism.
The data suggests that 75 percent of regular riders are female, and that the majority of riders (of both genders, 38 percent) are aged between 25 and 44.
The BETA survey also estimates that, annually, horse owners and riders spend around:
- £4 billion on horses and riding (source: BETA National Equestrian Survey 2005/6),
- £417 million on buying horses (source: BETA National Equestrian Survey 2005/6),
- £732 million on lessons with 35 million paid-for riding lessons taking place every year (source: BETA National Equestrian Survey 2005/6).
The same source estimates that there are 1.35 million horses in the UK.
The Farriers Registration Council reports that there are around 2,500 registered farriers in the UK in October 2007
British Horse Society statistics
Last updated October 2007
BHS Membership: 67,757
Riding Club Membership: 38,500
Affiliated Bridleways Associations: 140
BHS Approved Establishments: 964 of which 293 are BHS Approved Livery Yards.
Registered instructors: 2,412
27,746 horse passports have been issued to date by the BHS (October 2007)
Exams
Approximately 12,000 candidates sat BHS exams (excluding BET and Riding and Road Safety) including BHS Horse Owners Certificates and Scottish and National Vocational Qualifications (S&NVQ's).
Rights of Way
There are 146,000 kilometres of footpath, 32,400 kilometres of bridleways, 3,700 kilometres of Byway Open to All Traffic (BOAT) and 6,000 kilometres of Restricted Byways in England (source: Defra Website http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/issues/public/index.htm)
There are 26,320 kilometres of footpath, 4,965 kilometres of bridleway and 431 kilometres of byway in Wales (source: Wales Rights of Way Condition Survey 2002, Countryside Council for Wales)
Safety
Reported personal injury road accidents involving at least one ridden horse (Statistics from the Department of Transport):
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2003 |
153 |
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2004 |
138 |
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2005 |
136 |
Reported personal injury road accidents involving horses without riders are not separately identifiable.
The BHS estimates that more than 100 horses die on the roads each year, but the true figure could be higher as there is no formal recording procedure for equestrian accidents where there is no human injury resulting in hospitalisation.
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