The Business of Horses in Boulder County
BCHA receives regular requests for statistics regarding horses and equine business within the county. Unfortunately these statistics do not exist in any well organized manner. This page has been devoted to collecting what information there is and presenting it in a coordinated fashion. If you have any information to be added here, please let us know at info@boulderhorse.org. Thanks!

Summary of Recent Studies

• University of Colorado Study - 1982
• USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service et. al. Study - 1999

Summary of Recent Studies

University of Colorado Study - 1982
In 1982 a study conducted at the University of Colorado showed that there were approximately16,635 horses in Boulder County, with an average value of $1,791. The horse industry in Boulder County was responsible for an estimated annual "direct monetary injection" to the Boulder County economy of $30 million and an annual "indirect economic impact" to the Boulder County economy of $90 million (from Askew, C., "The Horse Population of Boulder County, Colorado: Estimates of Numbers and Direct Economic Impact." Dept. or Economics, Univ. of Colo., Boulder, June 1982, 6p.).

1982 - University of Colorado Study
# of Horses in Boulder County	16,635
Horse Industry Direct Economic Impact	$30 Million
Horse Industry Indirect Economic Impact	$90 Million

USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service
et. al. Study - 1999

In 1999 the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, in conjunction with the Colorado Agricultural Statistics Service, the Colorado Horse Development Authority, the Colorado Horsemen's Council, and the Colorado State University Extension Service, conducted a comprehensive survey of the state's horse industry. It found that there were approximately 145,000 horses in Colorado, of which approximately 8,800 were in Boulder County. Although the number of horses here can thus be seen to have fallen to half of the horse population less than two decades earlier, Boulder County still has 6% of the state's horses, and puts us fourth in total numbers of horses statewide. On average, a horse in Boulder County is now worth $3,450, and the total value of horses in Boulder County is estimated at $30.4 million.

>Statewide, the equine industry ranks among the top ten agricultural money makers. Total annual equine spending is estimated at $300 million, annual equine income from sales and related equine/agricultural activities is about $130 million, and the the value of equine-related assets (excluding racetracks and public facilities, but including land) is estimated at $4.3 billion. The 1999 study did not do the following calculations, and there is some potential for error because the value of both horses and property may be higher here than for similar animals and property elsewhere in the state, but if one were to extrapolate the statewide economic figures to Boulder County based on our percentage of the state total number of horses (6%), annual equine spending here comes to at least $18 million, annual equine income is at least $7.8 million, and the value of equine-related assets in Boulder County is at least $258 million.

Read the NASS full study results.

For additional information, The Four Winds Sport Horse Facility has posted selected information from the Colorado Horse Development Authority's booklet Colorado Horse Power Booklets are available from the CHDA, listed below.

More Info and Links

Colorado Horse Development Authority - www.chda.org
220 Livestock Exchange Building, 4701 Marion St., Denver, CO 80216
Phone: 303-292-4981

Colorado State Equine Extension Specialist
Colorado State University Cooperative Extension
Department of Animal Sciences
Ft. Collins, CO 80523-1171
Phone: 970-491-6271

Colorado Horse Council - www.cohoco.com