Study of the market and production of Brasileira de Hipismo Horse breed in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Brazil has a herd of approximately 5.8 million horses, of which 8,700 belong to the Brasileira de Hipismo breed. The breed has represented Brazil in South American, Pan American and Olympic competitions. The growing demand for these animals and their good performance in competitions has become a quite promising market. Research on it, however, is still scarce. As objectives, the research aimed to determine the structure of the Brasileira de Hipismo market in Brazil; obtain information on the breed supply and demand; estimate average horse production and maintenance costs, and propose users breed typology. The Brazilian Association of Equestrian Horse breeders provided information on animal production and marketing. Questionnaires were used to collect data. Six breeders and 25 horse users were interviewed. Descriptive statistics was employed for data analysis. As results, the market is characterized as a monopolistic competition. Breeders use artificial insemination (50%) and embryo transfer (33%), searching for high quality horses. The average annual cost of production per animal was estimated at R$ 5,709.72. The average maintenance cost was R$ 2,587.80 per animal per month. The animals are mainly used for sports. The study concluded that the horse provides other than financial benefits to breeders and production cannot be considered efficient in terms of profitability. Consumers belong to higher social classes and, for the most part, regard their horses as pets.