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How the Recession Is Affecting Equine Employment
03/30/2009
If you’ve recently graduated from school, or if you’re looking for equine employment, you’re probably looking to position yourself in the most recession-proof parts of the horse industry.
It’s a tough time for those looking for any employment, much less equine employment. The recession—and dare we say depression—is hurting everyone across the board. If you’ve recently graduated from school, or if you’re looking for equine employment, you’re probably looking to position yourself in the most recession-proof parts of the horse industry. Unfortunately, the recession has made it more difficult than ever to predict what sort of equine employment will be most lucrative.
In the past, one of the ways a ranch can make money is through offering lessons, boarding horses, and selling horses. This meant equine employment opportunities for trainers, breeders, and assistant managers. Horse riding is still largely seen as an indulgence or a luxury, so demand for horse trainers and instructors will likely go down, as fewer ranches will have the budget for that kind of equine employment. At the same time, boarding horses might even increase in popularity if people can’t afford to keep their own horses. There will be a decline in casual horse ownership, and ranches will begin to solidify as horse centers. This is good for business—and therefore good for equine employment—as people seeking horses and horse riding experiences have fewer places to go. Equine employment for smart managers and assistant managers will increase as ranches search for individuals who know how to stretch the value of a dollar.
The recession is going to be a difficult time for those seeking equine employment in the field of horse breeding. The recession is going to depress the price for both average horses and pure-breed race horses, making it a very hard time to break into the business. The main trouble with horse breeding—especially race horse breeding—is a certain amount of cash and credit is needed to invest. Just like real estate or banking, horse breeding is needs initial investments, and with fewer cash and credit, there are fewer individuals who need equine employment for breeding purposes. In a recent article for RecordNet, Gregory Ferraro (director of the Center for Equine Health at the University of California, Davis) said “From the commercial thoroughbred side, I'd probably say the industry is suffering as much or more than it has at any time in the last 40 years.” Ferraro believes the recession is particularly hard on those in equine employment fields like veterinary medicine. When times get tough, fewer people are willing to invest in medical care, instead preferring to slaughter their horses for meat.
Ferraro does point out that there are equine employment opportunities in this economy—particularly in the fields of competition. Where there’s competition, there’s gambling, and gambling is one of the few industries that improves in an economic downturn. So those looking into equine employment like training race horses, buying low and selling hi, or competitive horse riders may, in fact, whether the storm. A foal which used to cost $300,000 now only costs $25,000. With deals like that, there are definitely equine employment opportunities for those who know where to look.
