The Horse | Demographics of Equine Donation and Adoption Examined

The Horse | Demographics of Equine Donation and Adoption Examined.

UC Davis study of demographics of those who relinquish horses to a rescue and those who adopt from a rescue.  Highlights:

• About 66% of relinquishing owners were single women, while 62% of those adopting were families or couples;
• Reported  incomes of relinquishing owners were evenly distributed among four possible income categories while most adoptive owners’ incomes were fairly evenly distributed between the upper three categories;
• Most relinquishing owners had prior horse-owning experience and many still owned at least one horse; and
• While relinquishing owners used their horses for a wide variety of purposes, most adoptive owners planned to use the horses for pleasure riding/driving or as a companion horse.

“These results report that owner financial hardship is responsible for many relinquished horses and point to the importance of targeting both new and experienced horse owners and adopters for education and efforts to help current owners keep their horses through difficult times”