By CATHERINE MATACIC
WASHINGTON - Maryland horse owners and breeders are hailing a
first-ever equine "census," released today, that showed there are
79,000 horses in the state and about 38,000 people who work with
those horses.
Before the Maryland Department of Agriculture survey of the industry
this fall, no one knew how many people were involved in the horse
industry, how much it was worth or even knew how many horses there
were.
"We were just invisible," said Tracy McKenna, a horse owner and
managing editor of Equiery, a monthly horse magazine.
The report's initial findings said there were 87,100 horses, ponies,
donkeys, mules and burros in the state. The majority, 79,000, were
horses and 34,800 of those were racehorses.
The survey also said that about 38,000 people claimed to earn at
least part of their living working directly with horses in the state
and that the industry had assets of over $5.2 billion, which included
land, buildings, equipment and the animals themselves.
The numbers came not as a surprise, but as a validation to people in
the industry who have felt the importance of their industry has been
largely hidden in the past.
"It was difficult to make an intelligent statement to anyone
interested in how big the industry was," said Gregory W. Gingery,
chairman of the Maryland Horse Industry Board that commissioned the
study.
The figures will serve as a baseline for marketing and lobbying,
and will help the state and private groups formulate plans to deal
with equine disease outbreaks.
"This really is the bedrock piece of information that a great many
people have been looking for," Gingery said.
Before the census, horse and business owners relied on incomplete
surveys and their own knowledge to lobby legislators or to plan
marketing strategies.
"There were no set numbers. You just sort of knew the industry,"
said Kitsi Christmas, an equine insurance agent since 1982. "So many
people who are not in the industry do not understand how big the
business is."
Exactly how big is still uncertain: State officials have yet to
release most economic figures from the survey. But Gingery said the
impact on the Maryland economy could be between $1 billion and $1.5
billion.
"This is one of the largest agricultural industries in the state,
and the expenditures go on in a lot of non-agricultural ways,"
Gingery said. "The effect is staggering."
McKenna said she believes solid census figures will also prod the
state to invest in research on diseases that affect horses, like
West Nile virus. Until now, there has been little incentive for the
state to do so, she said.
Because it is the first census, it cannot show changes over time in
different sectors of the industry, such as whether pleasure riding is
up or horse racing is down. Those changes will not be clear until the
Maryland Agricultural Statistics Service updates the census figures,
which may be two to four years in coming, said state statistician
Norman Bennett.
Maryland's numbers cannot be accurately compared to national
statistics, because the U.S. Department of Agriculture does not track
horses, Bennett said. The most recent national survey, published by
the American Horse Council in 1996, said 6.9 million horses nationwide
helped contribute $112.1 billion to the U.S. economy.
The complete Maryland census, including economic information and
statistics broken down by county level and breed, should be out
within a month, said Bennett.
For now, the census is filling a gap of uncertainty for the industry.
"It's proof that we are a viable and strong industry in the state and
that it matters," McKenna said. "Now the Maryland horse industry will
get the respect it deserves."
Capital News Service
Wednesday, November 20, 2002