The Decline Of Youth
Involvement With Horses
I happened to pick up the Western Producer recently to find
that the youth involvement in the horse industry is taking a nosedive. This was not really a surprise given the
stats that AQHA has posted regarding not only the decline in registrations over
the last few years but the lack of new horse owners.
There is no question that kids have many other choices to
keep themselves entertained in 2013 but I believe that we are now just starting
to feel the effects of an economy where the average household has over
mortgaged themselves to a point where disposable income, in the way of credit,
is running out. I think the average
person is just starting to realize how serious the situation is with living
with debt that will take a very long time to pay off. The average Canadian household has a debt
ratio of 1.6 which means that they are really living well beyond their means.
My hunch is that people are being more selective where they
spend their money (real or perceived).
Although this spending may not necessarily be ear marked for debt
reduction (sadly), it means that owning a horse may be losing out to other
expenditures. Couple this with the fact
that the yearly cost of simply maintaining a full sized horse is $500, fewer
people are looking at this as a means of entertainment when comparatively a person
can book a trip to Cancun Mexico for 4 days hotel, flight, and all meals
included for the same price. No question
Canadians are spending more on travelling abroad.
That then begs the question; how do we get people interested
in horse ownership? AQHA has come out
with several programs targeted at young girls who seem to be the dominating
demographic in the equine world, but what about horse ranches, breeding facilities
and other operations that try to make ends meet by way of the interest of
others in their horses. Although I do
not have a concrete answer for this, our ranch is implementing several
diversified methods to make it easier to own a horse. Offering customers in house no interest
financing over 1 year, as well as providing a 30-day money back guarantee on
any horse sold privately or publically at an auction are just two of the ways
in which we are trying to attract interest.
This year we are also embarking on the first event of its
kind in Southern Alberta by way of a Colt Starting Challenge and Sale that will
feature 10 Rocking Heart Ranch Colts, 10 of Western Canada’s most promising
young, unadvertised and unknown horse trainers, and 60 days of training with
their colt before being judged. The event will produce three winners with first
place being $5000. To get not only the
20-30 year old demographic involved (most of these people are prospective
trainers) but also the 5-20 year olds, we are raffling off a colt whereby any
4H youth member that comes to judge the event (mock judge) will receive 1 free
ticket into the raffle barrel. The
intent is to not only help them hone their judging skills but allow them the
opportunity to get a free horse as a project for training.
I am not sure how this will all turn out but the event is in
Taber, Alberta on August 24th at which point we will know if these
methods will work. I will keep you
posted.
