Kentucky is home to 242,400 horses and the total value of the
state’s equine and equine-related assets is estimated at $23.4
billion, according to the 2012 Kentucky Equine Survey. The
comprehensive statewide survey of all breeds of horses, ponies,
donkeys and mules was the first such study since 1977. Conducted
between June and October 2012 by the Kentucky field office of
the National Agricultural Statistics Service, with support and
assistance by the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture
and the Kentucky Horse Council, the survey’s results identified
35,000 equine operations and 1.1 million acres devoted to equine
use. The results are a snapshot of the 2011 calendar year. “The
value of Kentucky’s equine and equine-related assets, such as
land and buildings, is significantly larger than other states
for which we have data, and it serves to underscore that
Kentucky is the Horse Capital of the World,” said Jill Stowe, UK
associate professor in agricultural economics and project lead.
“Upcoming economic