Breeding horses requires a lot of responsibility, so this business is not suitable for everyone. A large initial investment is also required. But the revenue from this activity reaches tens and hundreds of thousands. To get maximum income from the business, you should carefully work out a horse breeding business plan - calculate the costs of starting a business, purchase the necessary equipment, find markets, and more. We will tell you in our article whether it is profitable to keep horses and how to open your own farm.
Features of the horse breeding business
Breeding horses as a business is a complex process when compared with raising quails, rabbits and other small animals. Here the time frame is much wider and more resources are needed. It is also important to have knowledge in the field of horse breeding. After all, if you don’t know the anatomy and vital functions of horses, you won’t be able to take proper care of them.
As for the financial issue, buying a horse is an expensive pleasure. And organizing an entire ranch will require huge investments.
The point of breeding horses is to sell them in the future. Therefore, it is very important to decide on the sales markets at the initial stage. If you do not find a buyer or client who will rent horses on an ongoing basis, then opening a business is pointless.
As a rule, businesses in this area are opened by people guided not so much by economic considerations as by an interest in the horses themselves. At the initial stage of development, small horse breeding farms rarely become a source of significant profit and have high profitability. Due to the fact that it takes a lot of time to raise a herd, such stables receive their main income by offering various services, for example, horse riding lessons or organizing horse rides.
The state of Russian horse breeding
In pre-revolutionary times, Russia was one of the world leaders in the total number of horses. For example, it is known that by the beginning of the First World War, there were about 40 million heads of these animals in our country, which amounted to approximately a third of the world's population. In tsarist times, horse breeding was one of the most important branches of animal husbandry, since horses were used in the army, in transport, and as draft animals in agriculture and industry, as well as as a source of meat, milk and hides.
The situation began to change radically in the 1940s. The decline in the role of horse breeding and horses was caused by several reasons:
- Direct losses during World War II. During the fighting, as well as from starvation and other causes, at least 10 million animals died.
- Reducing the need for horses in the army. Although cavalry was actively used even during World War II, its former importance declined sharply. In the post-war years, the development of horse breeding was influenced by the disbandment of cavalry as a branch of the military and the replacement of draft horses with motorized tractors.
- Technical progress. Widespread mechanization of agriculture, transport and industry made horses unnecessary. They were replaced by tractors and cars.
- Focus on other farm animals and elimination of herd horse breeding. If in pre-revolutionary times horse meat could often be seen on the table of Russians, then with the advent of Soviet power and the introduction of a planned economy, cows and pigs became the main source of meat for sale, since they are more productive in this regard.
The result of all the changes that occurred in the 1930-50s was a sharp reduction in the number of horses in the USSR - to 15 million heads. But the process did not stop there; in subsequent decades, the number of horses continued to decline. Horse breeding and horse breeding gradually declined, and by the end of 2015, on the territory of the Russian Federation, enterprises of all forms of ownership (including household plots) numbered only 1 million 374 thousand horses. However, even this number of animals was enough for the Russian Federation to be among the top ten world leaders in terms of horse population.
Today, horses in Russia are bred mainly in those regions where peoples live who previously led a nomadic lifestyle, for whom horse breeding and sheep breeding have remained the main areas of animal husbandry. We are talking about the republics of Altai, Bashkiria, Buryatia, Kalmykia, Tuva, Altai Territory, as well as certain regions of the Volga region, the Urals and Western Siberia. Here horses are bred mainly for meat and milk.
Advantages and disadvantages
Horse breeding, like any type of business, has its advantages and disadvantages.
The advantages include the following:
- With proper organization of business, you can get stable, large profits
- The niche is practically empty, and the number of potential clients who want to buy a horse is growing
- There are opportunities to earn additional income - selling mares' milk, trading in harness and other accessories for horses
The disadvantages of horse breeding, other than the large initial investment, mainly relate to the care of the horses. This is a constant need for high-quality expensive food and the need to regularly visit the veterinarian.
Dairy horse breeding
As with horse meat, there is significant demand for mare's milk only in some non-Slavic regions of the Russian Federation. In large cities of the European part of the country (the main consumers of agricultural products), this product is practically not in demand, and therefore dairy breeds of horses in Russian horse breeding are concentrated outside the European part of the country.
Unlike cow's milk, mare's milk is rarely drunk in its natural form. Basically, it is processed into kumys. It has not only high nutritional value, but also certain medicinal properties. Natural kumiss is recommended even in the treatment of some serious diseases, in particular tuberculosis, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and bones. By the way, outside the national autonomies, where kumis is a traditional product, the main demand for this product is formed by sanatorium and treatment institutions with an anti-tuberculosis profile.
Thus, dairy horse breeding has an even narrower consumer base than meat horse breeding.
How to start a horse breeding business
If you clearly formulate and correctly calculate a horse breeding business plan, this will protect you from failure, ensure a quick payback on the project and good income in the future.
Business registration
You can register a peasant farm. Thanks to this form of activity, it is possible to lease land plots on preferential terms and pay low agricultural taxes. Participants in a peasant farm can be members of one family, a community or one person.
To register a peasant farm, you will need the following documents:
- Application on form P21002
- Copy of the applicant's passport
- Receipt confirming payment of the state duty
- Agreement between members of the peasant farm (if several persons operate on the farm)
If you plan to sell meat products, permits will be required:
- Rospotrebnadzor
- Sanitary and epidemiological stations
- Veterinary service
- Fire inspection
Mandatory conditions for conducting business:
- Obtaining a trade permit
- Availability of medical books for employees
- Registration of veterinary passports for horses
Stables: rent or purchase of premises
First of all, you need to decide whether renting a premises is right for you or whether it will be more efficient and profitable to buy a building or build your own. If you choose the latter option, you will have to wait a little while starting a business, since building a stable will take a lot of time. But the advantage of construction is that it will be possible to choose a more profitable and productive place for the stable location. Whether to rent or buy premises is up to each entrepreneur to decide for himself, depending on his capital.
Breeding place
Horse breeding as a business is not suitable for small settlements, since the potential audience here is already small. Therefore, you need to open a farm where you can find a sufficient number of paying clients. But if the town is a resort town, and, in addition to the indigenous residents, you are visited by tourists, then in such conditions business can only flourish.
Many entrepreneurs open farms on the outskirts of cities or in villages, where there is not much traffic and there is plenty of space for a stable with a walking area.
On a horse breeding farm you need:
- Stable for overnight stay. Each horse is allocated 3-4 m²
- Walking area. The territory may not be very large, but it must be fenced
- Warehouse for storing prepared feed and ammunition
- Indoor arena for winter walking of horses
Recruitment
To fully operate the farm you will need:
- Grooms (4-5 horses per one)
- Diet and regimen development technologist
- A veterinarian who will constantly monitor the health of horses
- Manager whose responsibilities include general management, contacts with suppliers and customers, accounting and reporting
- Trainers and jockeys for horses that participate in racing and sports
All workers must have appropriate knowledge and skills, treat horses well, understand their needs and perform all care responsibilities.
Horse feed suppliers
The food must meet all standards and be of high quality. This is the only way you can prevent unexpected illnesses in your charges. In addition to the feed itself, it is necessary to constantly buy sawdust for bedding, which also has its own quality characteristics.
It is necessary to pay attention to the reputation of the supplier. You can ask the opinion of people who have already purchased food from him, or look for information about the supplier on specialized forums.
Earning options
When developing a business plan for a horse farm, you need to decide on options for earning money. It could be:
- Raising foals for sale
- Breeding horses for meat
- Breeding sports breeds for performance at racetracks
Additional sources of income can be:
- Rehabilitation activities involving horses
- Horse riding lessons
- Renting horses for temporary use
- Trade in harness and accessories
Veterinary service
Veterinary care is a decisive factor in the success of this business. Even if one animal becomes ill, the farm’s reputation can be irreparably damaged, and it will have to leave the market. Therefore, so that diseases do not take you by surprise, it is necessary to have a veterinarian on staff or use the services of a visiting veterinarian. From a financial point of view, the second option is more profitable, but a full-time veterinarian will always be aware of the intricacies of horses’ growth, their individual developmental characteristics, and will make decisions faster if treatment is necessary.
Meat horse breeding
Horse meat and meat products from it today are practically not in demand among the Slavic population of Russia, but they are very popular among many other nationalities. This is where the territorial imbalance in the spread of commercial horse breeding in our country stems.
At the same time, neither natural-climatic nor economic factors particularly influence horse breeding in Russia. Horses can be bred just as well in areas where cattle are currently dominant, since both horses and cows generally feed on the same grass feed and have the same husbandry requirements. In turn, the cost of producing horse meat is even lower than beef. According to various sources, the cost of producing 1 kg of horse meat is 2-4 times lower than that of producing cattle meat.
Thus, the only significant reason for the small number of livestock in the Russian Federation (1.3 million horses versus 19 million cattle) is associated exclusively with the characteristics of the country’s food market. Simply put, meat breeds are not in demand in horse breeding, since the vast majority of Russians do not eat horse meat.
However, the last statement can be called controversial, since it is only true for fresh meat. If we talk about sausages, then the situation is somewhat different. Horse meat is often used in meat mixtures along with other types of meat used to make sausages. It’s just that ordinary consumers do not pay attention to this fact. But even here, beef horse breeding has certain problems. Firstly, meat processing plants are not very keen to advertise and focus on the composition of their products. Secondly, the sausage market is only a part of the overall meat market, and access to it is primarily provided by large livestock complexes capable of supplying large quantities of meat.
Horse management
Breeding horses is a responsible process. The following content rules must be observed:
- Temperature in the stable. It is necessary to provide horses with a comfortable temperature regime - 5–15 ०С
- Water. The daily fluid requirement for a horse is 50 liters. If you do not follow the drinking regime, your animal may develop health problems.
- Litter. Sawdust may not always be suitable. The best option is straw
- Walking. Horses need to walk for several hours - this is a mandatory daily ritual.
On the stable grounds, horses are kept in spacious stalls at a rate of 3–10 m² per animal. They must be equipped with a feeder and drinker.
Horses destined for slaughter are usually kept in the open air, they graze on their own, but sometimes they are fed. Racehorses, like stud stallions, are kept in closed stalls, fed, walked and trained according to a regimen. Pregnant mares are kept in separate rooms, provided with special nutrition and constant supervision by a veterinarian.
Caring for horses involves combing the mane and tail with combs. Brushes and scrapers are used to clean the skin, and special tools are used for hooves. Animals need to be shoed periodically. Horseshoes protect horses' hooves the same way shoes protect human feet. During the horseshoeing process, part of the stratum corneum is cut off, so it is better to trust the procedure only to a person who is well acquainted with the specifics of the work.
These animals are susceptible to many diseases; one sick horse can infect the entire herd. To reduce the risk of disease, animals must be vaccinated and undergo regular medical examinations.
60% of a horse's diet consists of grass and hay. The menu should also include oats and barley - 20% of the total daily portion, as they contain substances that contribute to weight gain. For good digestion of food you need bran and feed - 8%. Vegetables (beets, potatoes, carrots) contain minerals and vitamins that are necessary for the horse’s body - 12%. The average daily feed intake for an adult horse is 25 kg.
It is also necessary to add rock salt to the diet - about 1 kg per month per animal. Sometimes horses are given nutritional complexes and special supplements.
Non-commercial and breeding horse breeding
When draft horses were rapidly replaced by cars and tractors in the first half to mid-twentieth century, the importance of sport horse breeding grew throughout the world. Thoroughbred horses began to be bred primarily for participation in various sports competitions.
Russian horse breeding in this regard lagged significantly behind the rest of the world. First, for ideological and then for economic reasons, many of the few breeding stud farms that remained from pre-revolutionary times were lost. Only some regions were able to maintain horse breeding farms. Only with the formation of a layer of very rich people in the country who could afford such a hobby as their own racehorse, the situation in horse breeding began to change for the better.
But horses can be used not only for racing. In Russia, such promising areas as equestrian tourism and horse hunting are developing. And although so far these industries do not generate a very large demand for horses, in the future we can only expect an increase in the need for horses for these purposes.
Finally, there is such a thing as mounted police. This area of horse breeding can hardly be of interest due to its small share in the total population, but it cannot be ignored. Mounted police units are responsible for maintaining order in city parks and other public places. The largest regiment of mounted police operates in Moscow (about 240 horses). Other large cities also have similar units, but they are even smaller in number.
Financial costs and income
The costs of constructing and equipping a farm directly depend on the scale of the business, so all costs here are individual. Feed for one animal per day will require about 400 rubles, per month - 12,000 rubles. In addition, there will be expenses for taxes, staff salaries, utility bills, advertising and more. Therefore, the average amount for opening a small horse farm is about 4–6 million rubles.
Earning basis:
- Sale of breeding stallions - from 100,000 to 350,000 rubles per one
- Private horse riding lessons - 2,500–3,000 rubles per hour
- Horse rental - 1,500 rubles per hour
Additional income can come from providing tourist routes and caring for clients’ personal horses.
The business pays off in 3-4 years, its profitability is 40–100%.
Horse breeding – factors of placement in Russia
The location of a particular direction depends on many factors, the main of which are: the presence of demand for the products received; availability of food supply; suitable climatic conditions; cultural and national characteristics of the region’s population; historical background and so on.
Based on these factors, we will consider the territorial division of horse breeding enterprises in our country.
More on the topic: Nomadic life of gypsy horses
Tarpan
The wild ancestor of the European domestic horse was the tarpan, which lived in the steppe and forest-steppe zones of Eurasia. It is believed that the tarpans became extinct due to the plowing of the steppes, displacement by herds of domestic animals, and were to a small extent exterminated by humans. During the winter starvation, tarpans often ate the hay reserves left in the fields and meadows. It happened that during the rut the tarpans captured and stole domestic mares, for which the man persecuted them. A herd of domestic horses, once free, quickly runs wild and begins to lead a lifestyle characteristic of its wild ancestors. Tarpan meat was considered a rare and delicious food. Tarpans lived for the longest time in the Black Sea steppes. There they disappeared only in the second half of the 19th century.
Mustangs
Mustangs are the name given to the feral horses of America that were brought to the New World by European colonialists. Mustangs appeared on the American prairies and savannas as early as the 16th century. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were about 2 million mustangs in America. They were popular hunting objects at that time. Mustang hunting and grazing reduction have significantly reduced the feral horse population. To date, about 10-20 thousand mustangs have survived.
Camargue horses of France
In France, in the Rhone delta, the Camargue population of semi-wild white, that is, light gray, horses has been preserved.
The wild horse was an inhabitant of open spaces. She could flee in case of danger.
Structures for horse farms and their arrangement
A significant expense item is the construction of the necessary structures. These include:
- stable;
- horse walking area;
- outbuildings for storing tools and feed.
Ideally, the land should be your property, but the plot can also be rented. In addition, you can rent an existing stable.
Stables
called a room for keeping horses. As a rule, it consists of one building, divided into separate sections for each horse, which are called stalls and stalls.
A stable can consist of several rooms:
- fodder;
- inventory;
- harness (harness);
- room for duty officers;
- a platform for a water tank (pot), if there is no water supply to the building;
- room for testing stallion semen (if there is no artificial insemination station);
- animal washing room;
- room with solarium.
Of course, in most stables many of these areas do not exist at all or are located outside the horse paddock. On the territory of your farm there will also be utility rooms, a place for storing feed and for workers to rest. In addition to the area for buildings and walking, it is desirable to have your own pasture where animals will graze in the summer. Horses prefer green feed, hay, vegetables, fruits and grains.
Main parameters of the stable
- Thermal insulation.
Horses are afraid of the cold, so the building must be frost-resistant and must retain heat inside. - Length and width of rooms.
The width of the stable building depends on the location of the animals in it, and the length depends on the number of horses. If the horses are placed in a single row along the wall after placing the stalls, then a corridor two meters wide must be provided. The minimum length of stalls is three meters, and the total width of the stable is 4.5 meters. The length per horse should be about 1.5 linear meters if the stalls are not separated from each other in any way. Up to 1.5 meters per horse is allowed if animals are separated by overhead rolls or solid partitions. Experts recommend making stalls of equal width and length (thus, there are almost three meters for each horse in the stall). They house the most expensive animals, sick animals, foals, pregnant women before foaling, etc. - The height of the building
where horses are kept should not exceed 3.5 meters (3 meters is best). - Stable floor.
From a practical point of view, it is better to make the floor in the stable adobe. It doesn't dry out horses' hooves and is fairly easy to repair. The floor in each individual stall should have a slope towards the animal's hind legs to allow urine to drain (on average, it is 6 cm, but not more than 9 cm). - Windows, doors and ventilation of the stable.
To clean the stables from manure, special windows are provided in the rear wall of the building. Doors must be strong and close well. The stable building must be well ventilated (without creating drafts, which are very dangerous for horses). In summer, windows are sufficient for ventilation, which usually occupy about an eighth of the stable area. Each window, approximately 1 meter by 0.7 meters, should open inward and be equipped with fly screens and mats to protect against direct sunlight.
Cost, expenses and business risks
The cost of maintaining one horse is 1000-3000 dollars per month. This amount includes feeding, training, veterinary care, care... In addition, to improve the line during breeding, the uterus must be periodically covered by foreign stud stallions, which entails additional costs (payments to the stallion owner, transportation, paperwork, etc.). At the same time, the horse breeding industry is not supported by the state. And it will be problematic to get a bank loan for such a business. Investors view horse breeding as a risky area, since it is impossible to calculate in advance or plan anything. Good animals are very expensive, and it is impossible to insure them against all risks.
If you seriously decide to breed horses, then you should not skimp on personnel who will work directly with animals. In addition, carefully select the most reliable suppliers of quality feed and sawdust. Experts also advise concluding a contract for veterinary services with a well-established specialist. All this will help save a lot of money and protect animals.
Stern
An entrepreneur should think about purchasing feed in advance. A horse's standard diet includes:
- hay;
- oats;
- fertilizing
The diet may vary depending on the recommendations of the veterinarian and the loads the animal bears. You need to purchase only high-quality feed.
Saving on hay will immediately affect the health of animals. Therefore, an entrepreneur must have stable feed suppliers. There should be no interruptions.
