Transcript:

[20:38]

Now, if we look at our neighbor to the north of the United States — Canada — the UN reports about 400,000, but my friends there say it’s as high as 500,000-plus. So again, more horses out there than we’re seeing.

[20:50]

What’s interesting from the American Horse Council report on the horse industry in the United States — and I would think you’d see some of this similarly in South American countries, European countries, and down here in Australia and New Zealand — is that most of the horses in the United States are used for recreation riding. Out of the 7.2 million they report, over 3 million are for recreation riding, backyard trail riding — general “this is my pet, this is part of my family, I ride my horse occasionally” — and that’s what many of us who own horses do.

[21:29]

Then there’s a big group — over 1.2 million people — who show their horses in the United States. They’re the ones getting in the trailers during the week; you see them up and down the highways. They’re going to shows in all sorts of different disciplines, which we’ll cover in a future podcast: eventing, show jumping, halter horses, reining, cutting horses, polo, racing, and more.

[22:06]

The racing industry in the United States is still very strong with 1.2 million — and that’s not just Thoroughbreds, even though that’s a big driver. There’s also Quarter Horse racing, Standardbred racing, and even mule racing. When we talk about clones — like Idaho Gem and Joe — the first equids cloned were actually racing mules. Very interesting story, and my friends were part of that project, so I can’t wait to talk about that one day.

[22:41]

Then, over half a million horses are working in the United States. Are they plowing fields? Not as much as 100 years ago, but I’ve seen mules still in the logging industry. Many horses work on ranches — Yellowstone’s been a very popular show in the U.S., and ranchers really do ride horses all the time. In Texas and other parts of the country, many of these are working horses.

[23:18]

By state, Texas has the largest population with over 700,000, followed by California with over 500,000, and then Florida with close to 400,000. The horse industry is strong in the United States — and it’s strong around the world.

[23:42]

Our neighbor to the south — Mexico — is the second largest country in the world for horses, with 6.4 million. It’s a huge part of their culture. The vaquero — the Mexican cowboy — is still very popular. Horses were reintroduced to Latin America in the 1500s by the Spanish, and that’s where our wild horses in North America come from, after escaping from them. It’s a huge cultural heritage.

[24:10]

In South America, there are over 13 million horses, with a little less than half in Brazil (6 million). Argentina has 2.5 million, and Colombia 1.5 million. It’s a part of the world I’d love to visit one day — especially Patagonia — to see the Argentinians ride. That would be a thrill.

[24:44]

Across the Pacific in Asia, there are 14 million horses. China is the largest with 6 million, followed by Mongolia with 4 million. Kazakhstan — which we talked about in the domestication of the horse — has 3.7 million. Russia has about 1.3 million. Interestingly, Vietnam has only 50,000, and Thailand just 6,000 — probably because dense jungle, heat, and humidity aren’t ideal for horses, but they are still there alongside people.

[25:39]

In Southwest Asia — or the Middle East — there’s a rich culture of Arab horses and racing. Some of the top stallions and breeders in the world are there. Saudi Arabia has about 32,000 horses, and Qatar has 11,000. Not huge populations, but very much part of their culture.

[26:06]

In Africa, there are over 7.3 million horses. Egypt has only 85,000, but horses are still a big part of their culture. In West and Central Africa, Senegal has 600,000, and Sierra Leone 450,000. South Africa has 325,000 — a healthy population, but less than I expected. Ethiopia is remarkable, with 2.2 million horses — plus many donkeys. That’s a massive equine population for one country.

[27:22]

Now, in Europe, I’m always surprised — there are only about 5 million horses. It’s unexpected given Europe’s rich equestrian history. Many of our breeds were developed there, and they played a huge role in spreading horses around the world through the British Empire. Still, Germany has the largest population with over a million, followed closely by the United Kingdom. The Netherlands has about 400,000, France 452,000, and Spain 350,000 — the country responsible for reintroducing horses to the Americas after their extinction here.

[28:51]

In a future podcast, we’ll talk about breeds. There are over 570 recognized horse breeds worldwide — from Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, and Arabians to the big draft breeds like the Clydesdales, Shires, and Belgians.

[29:19]

And then we go down to our little pony breeds — our Shetland Ponies, Welsh Ponies — well, we’ll talk more about breeds in the future. But there are tons of different breeds around the world. In Africa, they have their own breeds. In Asia, they have their own breeds. And that also applies to donkeys — donkeys have more than 30 breeds, including the Irish Donkey, the Andalusian Donkey, and the American Mammoth Donkey. We’ll talk more about that very soon.

[29:53]

Okay, let’s get to our donkeys. Donkeys are a little more difficult, because unlike horses — where we can see 570 breeds and pull a lot of data — there are only about 30 really well-known donkey breeds. They also don’t have breed registries in most parts of the world like horses do.

[30:08]

There’s a good study by Norris and others out of the United Kingdom, published in 2021, called Global Donkey and Mule Populations: Figures and Trends. The authors pulled data from the FAO database and analyzed it. They recognized that, because there aren’t many breed registries, it’s difficult to assess, but here’s what we do know: donkey populations have risen by 20% over the last 20 years — now over 50 million globally. That’s incredible.

[30:57]

Where are the donkeys? In North America, there are about 4 million. South America: 3 million. Europe: 500,000. Asia: 20 million. Africa: 24 million. This confirms that donkeys are critical to the livelihood of many people around the world, and we’re seeing a huge surge in their population.

[31:33]

Ethiopia — which has 2.2 million horses — has an estimated 8.5 million donkeys. It’s an equid hotbed! Sudan, near Ethiopia, has 7.6 million. Chad, in sub-Saharan Africa, has 3 million. China used to be the global leader 20 years ago with 11.5 million donkeys, but now they’re down to 2.7 million — likely due to industrialization and the replacement of working animals with machinery.

[32:14]

Burkina Faso in West Africa has 1.7 million. Greece had 77,000 donkeys 20 years ago, but is now down to only 8,500 — again, most likely due to machinery replacing them. Bulgaria went from 286,000 to just 19,000. In the U.S., estimates are around 52,000 donkeys, kept mostly as companion animals but also for work.

[33:06]

Now, mules — over 8 million globally, though the number is probably higher. There’s no mule registry worldwide. The FAO estimates 28,000 mules in the U.S., but I’ve seen estimates of over 200,000. They’re still used as working animals and companions. China has the largest mule population at 811,000.

[34:29]

Guess who’s next? If you said Ethiopia, you’re right — 340,000 mules. Peru has over 300,000, Colombia has 222,000, and Pakistan and Iran each have just under 200,000.

[34:55]

Now, if we go to our wild equids — I talked about this in a previous podcast. In the true wild horse group, we have the Przewalski’s Horse. They were down to just 12 breeding animals in captivity, but through a global breeding plan, there are now over 2,500, with about 1,400 living in the wild in Mongolia and China. It’s one of conservation’s greatest success stories.

[36:02]

In the non-caballine group, we have zebras: the Grevy’s Zebra (endangered, about 2,500 in East Africa), the Plains Zebra (about 1 million, near threatened), and the Mountain Zebra (vulnerable, about 35,000 in Namibia). In wild asses, the Somali Wild Ass — the ancestor of domestic donkeys — is critically endangered, with maybe up to 700 individuals in Somalia and Eritrea. The Asiatic Wild Ass (Onager) has about 55,000 from Mongolia to India. The Kulan, found in Turkmenistan, is endangered with around 1,300 left.

[37:34]

Even though some of these numbers may not be 100% accurate, the big picture is clear: there are probably more domestic horses, donkeys, and mules alive today than ever before in human history, and they remain a huge part of our lives.

[38:02]

So, when you drive by and see a horse, donkey, mule, or zebra, wherever you are, think about what their ancestors must have done to get to where you are in the world — whether that’s South America, Africa, Asia, North America, or Australia and New Zealand. Each animal has a story to tell, and its ancestors traveled far and wide to get here.

[38:42]

Wow, another long episode — I can talk horses all day. I hope you enjoyed learning about where our world’s equids are. Soon, we’ll start diving into breeds, and then into general physiology, with some fun topics sprinkled in. If you have suggestions for future topics, please email me at podcast@madbarn.com. If I’ve misstated any data, feel free to email me, and I’ll gladly correct myself. I try to research thoroughly and present the most factual information possible.

[39:33]

Check out madbarn.com — over 400 articles on everything from estrus manipulation and advanced reproductive techniques to breed and feeding guides. Follow us on social media — I’ll be posting pictures from my trips to Egypt this week — on Instagram and Facebook at @madbarn. And please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you don’t miss new episodes as we build this library of knowledge. Another exciting episode is coming your way soon.