MegaStudy explores equine product market

DALLAS — More than 85 percent of horse owners have a dog.

Seventy-two percent own cats.

And nearly all rely on veterinarians to guide their equine-product buying decisions.

That's according to Brakke Consulting Inc., which published its Equine Market MegaStudy last month in cooperation with Market Directions Inc., a Kansas City-based research firm.

The 216-page report, dubbed the "largest study of horse-owner purchasing behavior ever conducted," is based on more than 1,000 interviews conducted last year via a 47-page online questionnaire.

The report comes with a $12,500 price tag. Most of the data remains confidential, but Brakke Senior Consultant John Volk, co-manager of the project, does reveal that, while horse owners rank very high for Internet usage, they rely most on veterinarians for information on new equine products.

The report also concludes that horse owners:

• spend an average of 22 hours per week on horse activities,

• attend an average of five equine events annually,

• spend an average of 11 hours per week browsing the Internet and reading horse-related publications searching for information.

"Horse owners as a group are pretty serious about their animals," Volk says. "One of the things that struck me was how invested they are. Only a small percent have just one horse, and they spend an immense amount of time per week with their horses and reading about them. It's not just about money; it's about time."

Yet when it comes to buying, the Brakke report offers brand insight.

"We have fantastic information on what these owners buy, where they buy it, how much they spend a year per horse, and who influences their decisions," Volk says. "We know what they read, what catalogs they use, and we've compiled it all, covering more than 400 brands."

To access the Equine Market MegaStudy, e-mail jvolk@brakkecon-sulting.com