State of the Industry

A recurring theme has been the uncertainty of our industry sector's future. This uncertainty is heightened, in part, due to the lack of information on the global state of horse production and use.

Reports About

About

State of the Industry (SOI)

Spearheaded by Chris Gould and Edward Kendall, the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses has developed the State of the Industry (SOI) Report, with the intension to address this information gap through annual surveys of producers and horse users.

At the time that the first SOI report was released, WBFSH honorary member & ex Vice President Department of Development Chris Gould said:

"We are very pleased to have made a start on creating a global overview of the Sport Horse Breeding Industry. When Edward Kendall and I conceived the idea of a State of the Industry Report we were looking for a way to present its strengths and weaknesses, a view of its past and a tool for breeders, studbooks and governments to work with the WBFSH to fulfil our mandate of Leading Breeding into the Future. Hopefully this will be a template for long term data gathering, analysis and planning. At the very least it provides a profile of the industry that interested outsiders and policy makers can reference when considering issues affecting the sustainability of our industry."

- 2025
- 2023
- 2021
- - - 2025
      
      The WBFSH State of the Industry Report 2024–2025 provides an evidence-based overview of global sport-horse breeding, markets and participation, offering valuable insight for studbooks, breeders, federations, auction organisers, riders and owners.
      
      First presented by the WBFSH Department of Development at the 2025 General Assembly in South Africa, this biannual report brings together standardised data from across the sport-horse ecosystem. It analyses studbook returns, foal registrations, global foal-auction results and FEI participation indicators to show how breeding activity, market confidence and sporting demand interact—and how the industry has remained resilient through disruption before stabilising at healthy levels.
      
      Welfare is embedded throughout as a core lens, reflecting the industry’s responsibility to operate transparently and sustainably. The report also highlights ongoing work under Phase 2 of the WBFSH Welfare Project, developed with Hartpury University, reinforcing the WBFSH’s commitment to evidence-led leadership.
      
      Together, these insights position the WBFSH and its member studbooks at the forefront of a modern, accountable and welfare-focused global breeding industry.
      
      SOI Report 2025
    - Webinar on the SOI Report (2024-2025)
- - - 2023
      
      A focus on Welfare and Social License to Operate.
      
      The first report (2021) provided us with a snapshot of the scale and activity in Warmblood breeding, placed in the context of the overall horse industry. This year, with the second SOI report, the aim is to be follow on the first report, along with a focus on Welfare and the Social License to Operate (SLO), to enable the enhancement of the industry for everyone.
      
      Make a better future for all those involved
      
      This new SOI Report will, once again, provide the current State of the Industry and continue identifying emerging challenges, but a few newer objectives were set for this 2022/2023 edition: creating a snapshot of global perception on animal welfare, bringing more transparency to appeal to a more conscious industry, creating a constructive and productive engagement between the WBFSH, studbooks, breeders, FEI, NFs and riders, identifying trends emerging and, of course, providing relevant information to further develop the industry.
      
      Presentation SOI Webinar SOI Report 2023
    - Webinar on the second SOI Report (2022-2023)
- - - 2021
      
      The first report, published in 2022, provides a snapshot of the scale and activity in Warmblood breeding and will place that in the context of the overall horse industry. Future reports will provide trend analysis and capture additional health, transportation, and agricultural information. Several surveys have been conducted in recent years; this report will complement those efforts rather than duplicate them. As an annual exercise, the report can offer additional insights as the data changes over the years.
      
      SOI Report 2021
    - Webinar on SOI Report 2021