At 14:04:19 on 24.10.11, Trot ON Comment wrote:
BETA carried out a National Equestrian Survey and claim that the number of horses in the UK has dropped by 25 per cent, with 300,000 less horses than there were five years ago. The BHS who have campaigned for a cut back in breeding say that they hope this has led to a decrease in figures but don't think it would account for a drop of this size. The survey also found the number of people who ride at least once a year (3.5m) has fallen by 19%, with people blaming the cost. Do their findings tally with what you see going on around you? Are there less horses and less people riding? Do you know people who have given up riding or horses?

At 08:51:26 on 25.10.11, nut_lover wrote:
personally i dont know anyone who has given up riding but i do know that quite a lot of skilled horse riders dont buy a horse because of a) how much they cost to buy and b) how much they cost to look after properly. i am in new zealand so it isnt to do with the UK but you can definitely see the reduction of horses through the country-side, most fields now hold cows or sheep which are much easier to look after but neither are better then horses. i think if they just reduced the price on horsey things hen the sport wouldnt be dying the way it is. horses are the best thing that has happened to my life and many others to so i think something should change.

At 21:44:28 on 29.10.11, Cherion Brook wrote:
The only reason people are not ridding as much is the cost really. My riding lessons have now increased to £19 a week, due to prices of other things going up, because of this i am forced to cut down my riding to once a fortnight. :(