Number of horses in the European Union 2018, by country

According to the estimates published by the Food and Agriculture Organization for the United Nations (FAO), Romania, the United Kingdom (UK), and Germany had the highest number of horses among the countries of the old 28 country strong European Union.

Horses in human culture

Horses play a huge role in human cultures, with uses in leisure activities, sport and for working purposes. Equestrian sports, such as show jumping and dressage, focus on the level of control and balance between horse and rider, while working roles include mounted police units and search and rescue teams. Currently, there are over three hundred breeds of horse worldwide.

Equestrian sports on the British Isles

In 2019, around 18,400 companies worked on raising horses and other equines in Great Britain. Almost 5,500 horses were registered with the British Equestrian Federation, the UKs national body for equestrian sports. For more information about Equestrian sports in the UK visit our topic page.
In Ireland about 1,600 horses, that were aged six years or older, were in race horse training. On average the price of a race horse in the country came to over 28.5 thousand euros.