the Horse in Sweden – more important than you think

the Horse 

in Sweden 

– more important than you think 

The Swedish Horse Council Foundation

THE HORSE 

iN SWEDEN 

– more important than you think 

Half of the arable land in Skåne 

The 300 000 horses in the country require 300 000 hectares or 

600 000 football pitches to supply them with fodder. That’s almost as 

much as half of all the arable land in Skåne! 

Another dimension 

“Well, yes, you can pat a football – but patting a horse is a different 

thing altogether! And a football won’t whinny in recognition 

when you go to fetch it either.” 

(Overheard in a stable) 

Economy 

“The horse industry in Sweden today is a multi-million crown 

business, creating amongst other things employment corresponding 

to 28 000 full years’ employment.” 

(from “The social economic importance of the horse industry”, 2004) 

”Horses help people” 

Spending time with horses provides both physical training and 

meditation, says Agneta Enertz, occupational therapist from 

Trelleborg who runs a health-riding business in tandem with her 

day job. 

“They help people stay healthy both in body and mind” 

(from the magazine “Feel Good”, September 2003)

Contents 

The horse in Sweden today 2 

World-class sport and competition 8 

Experiences and possibilities 14 

Horses create employment and stimulate production 19 

People and horses 22 

Further information pgs 24–25 

The horse in Sweden – more important than you think 1

Lojsta moor on the isle of Gotland 

is the original environment of the 

”Russ”, our native Swedish pony. 

The horse 

in Sweden today 

The horse has an important place in Swedish society. The 

mix of horses and people leads to widespread socialising, 

and its place in free time activities and sport is perceived as 

very meaningful. The horse carries with it a sense of history, 

culture and commitment. The horse industry is also of 

substantial economic importance. Including money betted 

on trotting and horseracing, the industry has a turnover of 

at least 20 billion crowns. 

Horses also contribute to preserving the open countryside 

and have become a meaningful source of income 

within agriculture. Horses graze from land equivalent in 

size to 600 000 football pitches, or an area half as large 

as all the arable land in Skåne! The majority of all horsefeed 

eaten is also Swedish. With their great increase in 

numbers the horse has in many cases replaced the dwindling 

number of cows in the Swedish landscape. During 

the last few decades, the equestrian sphere in Sweden has 

rather briskly developed to become a field of great diversity. 

When it comes to traditional horse sports, Sweden 

can point to great international success within trotting 

and horse racing. But there have also been developments 

in other areas. For example, never before have there been 

so many different breeds of horses in Sweden as there are 

today. Nor have there been so many influences on riding 

techniques and horse rearing – from far and wide, and 

from history itself. 

Traditional areas such as trotting, horse racing, show jumping, 

dressage, eventing, and carriage driving amongst 

2 The horse in Sweden – more important than you think 

others have been joined by riding trips, Icelandic horse 

riding, Western riding and jousting. Even classical dressage, 

with inspiration from the horse trainers of the 

Baroque era. 

For many people with a passion for horses today, it is 

about a choice of lifestyle, often with a special slant or 

type of horse as a part of the experience. For others, horses 

are a part of the quality of life desired for themselves 

and their families. This pattern is also evident in other 

countries, not least the EU. 

In this, the age of the adventure-holiday, interest in 

horse tourism is also on the increase. Many people have 

discovered the extra dimension gained through combining 

horses with free time or holidays. It’s all about spending 

time together and experiencing the great outdoors 

from horseback or carriage. Also popular are wilderness 

riding, courses in riding or horse-care and such. The 

pattern is similar on the continent. Our sparsely populated 

land and the varying Swedish landscape, from cultivated 

land to areas of wilderness, are attractive assets 

to this country. The horse tourism industry in Sweden 

is starting to organise itself, enticing tourists from both 

here and abroad. We have a lot to offer and potential for 

more to come. 

The majority of adult Falabella horses grow 

no higher than 76 cm tall and weigh between 

36–45 kg. Pictured here with a Shire horse.


Commitment and fellowship Perhaps what most 

distinguishes people with an interest in horses is their 

passion. There is a lot more involved than just practicing 

the sport itself. After all, horses can’t just be put in a box 

after use and taken out again several days later. They have 

to be taken care of. They have to be fed and looked after 

– every day! And it is also during the everyday routines 

that are such a part of horse keeping that people meet on 

a social level – at the trainer’s, at the breeder’s, at the riding-school 

and at public or private stables. For the great 

majority it would seem that the opportunity to mix with 

horses and other people is of greater importance than 

taking part in competition. For example, almost 90% 

of the members of the Swedish Equestrian Federation’s 

clubs lack competition licences. And the picture is similar 

elsewhere on the Swedish horse scene. Just 10 percent 

of the country’s Icelandic horses are active competition 

horses. Only 10 percent of the members of Sweden’s 

Western Riding clubs hold competition licences. There 

are some 60 000 horses of competition-age within trotting, 

of which circa 24 000 are trained every year with 

12 000 making it to the racetracks. 

The act of competing, achieving within the sport, can 

thus be seen as a spearhead of sorts. We are used to seeing 

top performances from Swedish harness riders both in Europe 

and the USA. We have seen international success in 

show jumping, carriage driving and dressage. Progress has 

been noted too in Three-day event and vaulting. Swedish 

Arabian racers win races abroad. And Swedish horse and 

rider teams in Icelandic horse riding and Western riding 

have achieved success with top-rankings in international 

competition. 

Grassroots tradition Behind this ‘spearhead’ of achievement 

lays a broad range of efforts from a great many 

people. Here we have a true grassroots movement, with 

everyone working together to get things done. They do 

the odd jobs, take care of the horses and muck the stables, 

mixing with one another regardless of which stable 

or field they may come from. They run clubs, arrange 


meetings, displays, competitions, outings and courses, 

they practice DIY, maintain the tracks, guard the car 

parks, clean, serve refreshments - and sometimes argue! 

These are horse loving boys and girls, men and women, 

parents, families, horse-owners and fellow riders. It is 

thanks to this voluntary work that a select few of all of 

those involved can practice his or her sport at the highest 

level. The horse in Sweden has a grassroots tradition of 

availability for all. Trotting has its roots in the use of 

Coldbloods in farming and logging. People would race 

each other to church or hold yearly competitions on the 

frozen winter lakes. The connection between logging 

and trotting is still very evident. More than half of all the 

land’s trotting racetracks with betting are to be found in 

the woodlands north of Lake Mälaren. 

The backbone of Swedish trotting is perhaps its mixture 

of amateur and professional trainers. There are almost 

twenty times more amateur trainers than there are 

professional. Many are the successful horses that have 

been trained in amateur stables. That equestrian sport 

in Sweden has a profile of being accessible to the general 

public has its beginnings in Ridfrämjandet (“Promotion 

of Riding”), which opened the stable doors for anyone 

that wanted to ride. Ridfrämjandet became a part of the 

Swedish Equestrian Federation, SvRF, on its foundation 

in 1993. And as statistics from The Swedish Sports Confederation, 

Riksidrottsförbundet, clearly show, horses 

really are for everyone: after football, horse riding is the 

largest youth sport in Sweden! Not counting all of the 

young people that ride that are not part of SvRF.

Successful breeding There are quite a few examples 

of top Swedish horses. Many of them have been bred 

“small-scale”. The Swedish system of having a few larger 

stud farms combined with part-time stud farms and in 

particular many hobby-breeders is paying off. Commitment 

to this approach is the uniting factor. Combining 

this sense of commitment with a stubborn attitude and 

purposefully sticking to a vision is the key to small-scale 

success. The typical breeder in Sweden today is no longer 

a farmer but a woman in her lower middle ages with 

horses as a free time activity. This trend is common to all 

breeds across the country. The hobby-breeder has experience 

of horses, knows her mare’s origins and chooses 

her stallion with care, and thus has a professional attitude 

in the business of breeding. 

The internationally top-ranked show-jumper H & M 

Butterfly Flip with Malin Baryard in the saddle is one 

example of successful small-scale Swedish breeding. Behind 

Coldblood trotter Järvsöfaks’ success lays a great 

deal of personal commitment. 

Breeding involves the selection of individual horses 

of certain types for mating, with the specific aim of carrying 

certain desired qualities over to their offspring. 

This process can have varying objectives. When it comes 

to working- and sport horses, the aim is to change and 

improve qualities such as pulling-power, or the ability 

to trot or gallop, jump high, perform dressage etc. For 

other breeds it is a heightened similarity in appearance 

that is desired. Some breeds allow cross breeding, others 

do not. Sometimes horse breeding can be about helping 

to prevent a certain breed from dying out. 

For domestic breeds, it is the Swedish studbook rules 

that apply for breeding. For foreign races it is the respective 

land of origin’s rules that apply for registration. 

As a precautionary measure, these rules must in turn be 

recognised by The Swedish Board of Agriculture. Breeding 

organisations are responsible, amongst other things, 

for ensuring the breeding values of stallions of types in 

question. 

Fertilisation of trotting and riding horses is chiefly car- 

Horse breeder Christina Larsson still owns her 

fine jumping mare H & M Butterfly Flip and is 

a keen observer at competitions. 

ried out by means of artificial insemination. With sperm 

being so easily transportable, in principle all of the stallions 

in the world are accessible. For these breeds plus the 

Icelandic horse, there is also BLUP, a statistical method 

of analysis that is used to value breeding-animals. 

From production to consumerism The horse’s 

function in our daily lives has changed from production 

to consumerism. It is no longer needed in cultivation 

and transportation, nor to carry timber or defend the 

country. Instead it helps satisfy our need for meaningful 

relationships, leisure and sporting activities. As the number 

of horses grow, so too do the amount of breeds and 

the ways in which we use them. This in turn provides 

a need for new companies, old and new products and 

indeed new ideas. There is also a need for accommodation 

with links to horse tourism and horse keeping in 

different parts of the country. Consumerism through the 

horse business is a billion crown affair. 


How horses are used… 

Traditional categories 

Harness racing/breeding 

Warmblood trotter 

Coldblood trotter 

Pony trotting (non-wagering) 

More recently: 

- monté (trotting with jockey) 

Breeders Crown 

Racing/breeding 

Flatracing 

Steeplechase 

English thoroughbred racing 

Arabian thoroughbred racing 

Pony racing (non-wagering) 

Breeders Crown 

Riding 

(pony and large horse) 

Jumping 

Dressage 

Eventing 

Carriage Driving 

Long distance riding 

Vaulting 

Riding for the disabled 


Gymkhana (pony) 

Steeplechasing 

* competition category involving the breeder- or sire horse. 


Breeding organisations/ 

Breeding associations 

Breeding values 

Breed exhibitions 

Breed competitions 

Three Day Events 

Futurity Shows* 

Riding sports/breeding 

Quality appraisals 

with comprehensive medicals 

Breeders Trophy* 

Horse of the Year Show 

Ceremonial 

Mounted Guards 

The Royal Mews’ escorts 

Freestyle/Circensic dressage (circus) 

Working horses 

Forestry horses 

Farm duties 

Utility work 

Working horse competitions: 

- Ploughing 

- Logging 


- Working horse and cart riding 

- Working horse riding 

Newer categories 

Horse tourism 

Riding tours 

Courses, events 

Riding trails 

Bed and Box 

Icelandic horse riding 

Dressage 

Trail -/Obedience test 

Terrain 

4–5-gaits 

Pace 

Tolt 

Westernridning 

Cattle working events 

Timed events 

Showing 

Riding events 

Ranch horse events 

Jousting tournaments 

Classical riding 

Horse polo 

Saddle seat 

Other categories of use 

Private ownership 

Free time 

Petting 

Socialising 

Health and recreation 

Culture/traditional ties 

Preservation of the open countryside

Horse breeds in Sweden 

Akhal-Teke 

Appaloosa 

American Curly 

American Pony 

American Saddlebred 

Anglo-Arabian Fullblood 

Arabian Fullblood * 

Arabian Halfblood 

Bashkir 

British Riding Pony 

Budyonny 

Connemara Pony 

Dartmoor Pony 

English Thoroughbred 

Exmoor Pony 

Falabella 

Fjord Horse 

Friesian 

Haflinger 

Irish Cob 

Coldblooded Trotter* 

Caspian 

* Breeds for trotting or horse racing with wagering. 

Lipizzan 

Lusitano 

Morgan 

New Forest Pony 

North Swedish Horse 

Paint Horse 

Polo Pony 

Pura Raza Española, PRE 

(Andalusian) 

Gotland Pony 

Shagya Arabian 

Shire 

Irish Tinker 

Welsh Cob 

Welsh Pony 

Welsh Mountain Pony 

Shetland Pony 

Swedish Ardenner 

Swedish Riding Pony 

Swedish Warmblood 

(Swedish Halfblood) 

Swedish Trotting Horse* 

(and many various crossbreeds) 

The horse – an athletic herbivore 

Horses are by nature roaming herbivores, living in the 

wild in small herds (a lead mare, a stallion and several 

other mares). They graze for 16–18 hours per day. 

The horse, whatever size of breed, is a born athlete. The 

horse has a resting pulse rate of around 30–40 beats per 

minute, climbing to as much as 240 bpm during physical 

exertion. The heart of a normal horse of 450kg weighs 

around 5.5kg and pumps circa 1 litre of blood with every 

beat. Accordingly, in just over 4 minutes a horse can 

pump 1 cubic metre of blood. The horse can also improve 

circulation on demand by producing extra blood 

cells via its spleen, a sort of in-built “blood doping”. As 

a breed the horse is very adaptable. It ranges in size from 

around 0.7 to circa 2 meters in height and can grow fur 

to survive hard winters or develop skin to cope with 

desert heat. 


Worldclass 

sport and competition 

Harness racing Both Warmbloods and Coldbloods 

compete in trotting in Sweden. The faster Warmblood 

can be found on trotting courses the world over, whereas 

Coldblood trotters compete only in Sweden, Norway 

and Finland. Monté racing, that is trotting with jockeys, 

is increasingly popular in Sweden. The high attendances 

at competitions and the large amount of voluntary work 

being carried out in connection with the competitions 

are clear signs that there is a great grassroots commitment 

to the sport. Around 10 000 races with betting are 

run every year. The spread of trotting courses throughout 

the land shows that this popular sport has strong 

regional support. 

A licence is required to train and compete with a trotter. 

There are several different types of licence but the 

two largest groups are A-trainers (professional trainers) 

and B-trainers (amateur trainers). The cost of training 

a horse professionally varies greatly but is usually in the 

region of 200–300 crowns per day. 

For trotting’s youth division there is pony trotting, 

which is growing in popularity and can now be found 

pretty much throughout the entire country, using the 

Shetland and Gotland ponies. Many of today’s celebrated 

trainers and drivers got their starts in ”junior-trotting”. 


Trotting courses in Sweden 

Large track 

Middle-size track 

Small track 

When the world’s best Coldblood, 

Järvsöfaks, loses a race it is the exception 

rather than the rule. A stallion with 

fantastic charisma, he is put out to stud 

when not competing.


Victory Tilly isn’t only the 

most successful Swedishborn 

trotting horse ever. 

He is also unique in being 

the the first Swedish-born 

trotter to hold the absolute 

world record (1.08,9). 

Picture from his Elitloppet 

victory in 2000, with Stig 

H. Johansson in the sulky. 


The trotting racetrack in Tingsryd is northern 

Europe’s first mile-long track (1 609 metres). 

Carriage driving competitions are held with four-in-hand, pair 

and single, ie with one horse and carriage. Carriage driving as 

a competitive sport was created by, amongst others, HRH Prince 

Philip of Great Britain, himself a successful four-in-hand driver. 

The sport was created using eventing’s three disciplines as a model. 

Tomas Eriksson is Sweden’s most successful four-in-hand 

driver with two individual World Championship goldmedals.

Jumping is indisputably 

the largest of the events 

within horse riding 

and Malin Baryard on 

H&M Butterfly Flip is 

one of jumping’s greatest 

and most successful horse 

and rider teams. 

Riding Riding can be divided up into the disciplines 

jumping, dressage, eventing, driving, endurance riding 

and vaulting. Within pony riding there is also pony racing 

och gymkhana. The total amount of starts within 

the sport of horse riding is around 160 000 per year. 

About three out of four competition starts take place in 

show jumping. Over 21 000 riders every year are granted 

a riding licence for competition in one of the sports’ 

disciplines. Competitions are arranged at local, regional, 

national and elite level by some of the Swedish Equestrian 

Federation almost 1000 clubs in the country. To compete 

at local level a horse or pony must possess a competition 

licence. The maximum age for competition with a pony 

in Sweden is 18 years. Horse riding is also the largest 

sport for people with a disability in Sweden and carriage 

racing for the disabled, for example, is one discipline that 

is gaining in popularity. There is also an extensive array 

of events for people with a disability within horse riding, 

providing both training and competition. 

Dressage is riding’s bedrock. 

Jan Brink and Björsells Briar are currently 

Sweden’s most successful horse and rider team, holding 

the European Championship individual silver medal. 


Horse racing Flat racing is held between English or 

Arabian thoroughbreds. The Arabian thoroughbred 

competes only in the few races that are open exclusively 

to that breed. Around 1 400 English and 50 Arabian 

thoroughbreds compete in over 80 competition-days per 

year in Sweden. There are over 60 professional and 200 

amateur trainers in horse racing. Horses are normally 

ridden by the 25 professional jockeys or their apprentices 

in Sweden. 

Racing is primarily run at Täby Gallop, north of 

Stockholm and Jägersro Gallop in Malmo. There are 

also occasional competitions at Strömsholm outside of 

Västerås, at Blommeröd by Höör and at Gothenburg 

Galopp, a new track inaugurated in 2002. 


Totalisator Betting and lotteries take place in Sweden 

within the guidelines set out by the State. Swedes place 

bets for around SEK 4 000 per person per year and almost 

SEK 1 200 of this money is placed on trotting and 

horse racing, which means that Sweden is amongst the 

countries in Europe placing the most money on horses. 

The total turnover within the Swedish gaming industry 

is close to SEK 36 billion and of that just over 10 billion 

comes from trotting and horse racing. Between 2-3% of 

all money placed is through bets on horse racing. The 

lion’s share of these bets, around 75%, are made via the 

over 2 000 agents spread nationwide. The remainder are 

made at the actual racetracks or over the Internet. There 

are many different forms of betting to choose from. Biggest 

and best known is V75, with a yearly turnover of 

SEK 4 billion.

Since 1973, Aktiebolaget Trav och Galopp (ATG) have 

run the tote organisation covering Sweden’s 36 trotting 

and horse racing tracks. They are working to secure 

the long-term prospects for Swedish trotting and horse 

racing’s development. This occurs in practice through 

guiding 8 out of every 100 crowns in circulation back to 

those active within the sport. Funds returned to the sport 

by ATG go to three groups of recipients: the racetracks, 

those active within the sport (in the form of prize-money, 

breeder and trainer premiums and unghäststimulans 

– a financial incentive programme aimed exclusively at 

young horses) and to the two central associations for 

trotting and horse racing. First prize in a race can vary 

from around SEK 5 000 to SEK 2 500 000. 

Unghäststimulans is given to two year-old trotters 

that manage predetermined times in a Premielopp. 

Breeders automatically receive a breeders’premium if 

one of their own horses has won money in a race, irrespective 

of who actually owns the horse at the time of 

the win. A trainer premium is awarded to a professional 

trainer if one of his/her horses places first to sixth in a 

tote race with a prize of up to SEK 19 000. The Swedish 

state’s interest in betting is two-fold. Foremost is the 

betting tax (on Tote) equivalent to circa 11 percent of 

turnaround (SEK 1 172 billion in 2003). Secondly there 

Division of wagers 

Back to the players: SEK 70 

How the Swedish gaming market breaks down 

Bingo, 

casino etc 

22 % 

ATG 

28 % 

Svenska Spel 

50 % 

is the undertaking that ATG has with the state to contribute 

SEK 38 million per year, money earmarked for The 

National Institute for the Promotion of Horse Ownership 

(NS) for comprehensive contributions of national 

interest, covering horse sports and horse keeping. 

Also included in the administration costs for gaming is 

the net cost of running the so-called ATG clinics which 

are administered by NS. Together with ATG, AGRIA 

and LRF, NS has created the foundation Svensk Hästforskning 

(Swedish Foundation for Horse Research) 

which sets aside SEK 5 billion a year for research aimed 

at, amongst other things, preventing sickness and injury, 

plus contributing to good horse keeping. 

Active within horse sports 

(prize money etc): SEK 8 

ATG, courses etc: SEK 10.70 

Betting tax: SEK 11.30 


Experiences 

and possibilities 

The Swedish horse sector can be likened to a folk movement 

which has grown all the stronger over the last few 

years. The origin of this folk movement can most easily 

be explained by the flood of money back into the sport 

from totalisator gaming. But the situation in Sweden is 

also part of a European-wide trend for a growing interest 

in horses, as evidenced in the rise in the amount of 

horses here over the last few years. We now have one of 

the largest populations of horses in Europe and proof of 

the Swede’s love for the horse can be seen in the fact that 

riding is one of the country’s biggest sports, counted in 

active horse riders. Many people share a more passive 

interest, through gambling or perhaps through a family 

member with an interest in horses. 

Spectator sport Horse racing etc is a large spectator 

sport in Sweden. 2003 saw over 2.1 million visitors to 

Swedish racetracks. The international riding competitions 

that take place in the country: The Gothenburg 

Horse Show at Scandinavium, The Stockholm International 

Horse Show at Globen and The Falsterbo Horse 

Show receive 180 000 visitors annually. Trotting is the 

third-most televised sport on Swedish TV, after football 

and ice hockey. 

The horse-owner Being a horse owner is certainly a 

hobby more demanding than most. Horses need daily 

attention, which demands both good planning and great 


commitment. Whilst the horse-owner is more often 

than not a private individual this is not necessarily always 

the case, as even different types of clubs, businesses, 

associations and farms can be horse-owners. The more 

advanced forms of ownership usually serve the purpose 

of financing expensive sport or stud horses. Owning a 

horse incurs costs for fodder, stable-space, farrier, veterinarian 

bills etc. The average cost of owning a horse is 

around SEK 18 000 per year but this cost varies greatly 

from horse to horse. A ”hobby” pony can cost SEK 3 

000 per year whereas a professionally kept competition 

horse can cost SEK 100 000 or more per year to own. 

Riding clubs and riding schools There are around 

220 000 people in Sweden’s riding clubs. The vast majority 

of members, 85 percent, are women. Over 100 000 

of the total amount of members are girls under 25 years 

of age. 540 of the country’s almost 1 000 clubs run riding 

schools. Riding offers its practitioners both physical 

training and the thrill of competition plus a not insignificant 

side-aspect. This side-aspect cannot, perhaps, be 

strictly characterised as sport but rather consists of taking 

care and responsibility for the horse. This effectively means 

that there is room within the sport for those that have 

not achieved success in competition or indeed have any 

ambition in doing so.


Horse tourism and riding camps Horse tourism is a 

fairly new and growing phenomenon in Sweden. There 

are around 500 companies in the country wholly or partly 

using horses in their tourism activities. Customers can 

choose from a varied range of enterprises, ranging from 

riding courses for beginners to advanced multi-day rides. 

Most associated with horse tourism are riding tours, 

most often longer treks with packed lunch or refreshments 

included. Riding camps are a phenomenon that 

is fairly unique to Sweden. During above all the summer 

months, children and youngsters learn better riding 

technique and how to ride in forest and countryside. 

New influences Over the last few decades in Sweden, 

interest in the horse has developed to cover areas 

outside traditional horse sports. This is evident from 

the increased amount of different breeds in the country 


Western riding is above all a competitive sport in Sweden but 

a rider’s expertise can also be of practical use. The picture here 

shows cattle driving outside Skövde. 

and from the growing interest in new phenomena such 

as Western riding and Classical dressage. The Icelandic 

horse has been around in Sweden since the end of the 

1800’s and was once popular for its size and reliability 

as a working horse. Today it is used partly on riding 

tours, partly in competition. Western riding is a competitive 

sport that developed in the USA, based upon the 

practical style of riding utilised by the horses and riders 

working on the cattle-ranches there. There are 50 or so 

clubs in Sweden, with a total membership of almost 4 

000. Classical dressage includes the concepts Academic 

and Baroque riding. The aim of dressage is to carry out 

special, carefully controlled movements based upon the 

concepts and teachings of the old masters of the past.

Social importance and the potential 

for development Having a horse as a hobby augurs for 

a lifetime of learning and personal development. Being 

around horses is a good way to develop organisational 

skills and to learn about collaboration and responsibility. 

The great nationwide interest in horses is in itself a sign 

of the physical and mental well-being which contact 

with horses can bring. 

An interest in horses will often start early in life. Riding, 

for example, is after football the sport with most 

activities arranged for children and youngsters between 

7 and 25. That so many young people can learn and develop 

positive social values may be the most important 

contribution from the horse industry to our society. 

There is room in the horse industry for continued development 

within a number of quite diverse areas. There 

has been an increased focus on the horse’s importance for 

Coldblood trotters also make good Baroque horses. Here we 

see the stallion Hårfagre with his owner Eva Jälmbrant. 

rural development in later years. A great incitement for 

moving from an inner-city environment to a rural one is 

the opportunity that such a change brings for engaging a 

horse interest in open countryside with lower overheads. 

That the horse-sector is in large part made up of small 

businesses, often in collaboration with the agricultural 

community, is also an important contributing factor in 

maintaining a thriving countryside. 

Horse riding is the largest sport for disabled people in 

Sweden. Around 2 000 people with physical disabilities 

and 2 000 with mental disabilities ride either in their free 

time or as a complement to their usual physiotherapy, socalled 

therapy riding. Therapy riding is conducted by someone 

with a medical background and free-time riding 

by someone with training in the equestrian sphere. 


Horse riding for people 

with physical disabilities 

is one of the largest 

disabled sports. Many 

physically disabled people 

also receive help 

in their rehabilitation 

through riding. Helena 

Hagberg has taken part 

in The Paralympics, 

amongst other competitions. 

Horse riding can benefit the physically disabled by training 

coordination, balance and strength. The same can apply for 

people with intellectual disabilities and here the horse can 

even act as a kind of interface through which the person 

in question can express thoughts and feelings. 

Working horses Utility work refers chiefly to logging 

work. Modern-day logging with horses is in certain 

cases an economically and environmentally preferable 

alternative to mechanised logging. This is especially the 

case in small-scale woodlots, woodlots close to built-up 

areas and in environmentally sensitive areas where by 

using a horse one can cause as little damage as possible. 

Logging horses are used to transport more than 1 million 

m 3 year. There are a few hundred people working 

professionally in the forests with the aid of horses throughout 

most of the year. And many more use horses on 

their own private woodlots or on a smaller scale. 

North Swedish Horses are often used for logging work. 

Along with the Gotland Pony, Coldblood trotter and 

the Swedish Ardenner, the North Swedish is considered 

an endangered domestic breed. 

18 The horse in Sweden – more important than you think

Horses create 

employment and stimulate production 

The widespread interest in horses in Sweden has also 

brought about a great demand for products and services 

connected to Swedish horse rearing. The horse owner 

must, for example, buy fodder and equipment, hire a 

stable, engage the services of a farrier or a veterinarian, 

etc. Counted together, the businesses across the land that 

service the horse industry have an appreciable impact 

on the national economy. The horse industry’s importance 

for the national economy can be seen within the 

parameters of turnover, tax revenue and employment. 

Further comparison with other industries can be made 

by looking at how much the horse industry contributes 

to the country’s GNP. 

Turnover The horse industry turns over a total of SEK 

20 billion per year. This can be compared for example to 

IKEA with its domestic yearly turnover of SEK 7 billion. 

Betting on harness and horse racing accounts for around 

half of the industry’s turnover. Over SEK 10 billion are 

placed on horses in Sweden every year. As part of the gambling 

industry’s turnover is returned to the sport, the industry 

itself becomes an economical driving force for harness 

and racing tracks along with the breeding industry. 

Taxes The Swedish horse industry contributes over 

SEK 4 billion in tax revenue to public authorities. A 

large part of this figure, SEK 1.2 billion comes from the 

tax on tote betting. Other tax revenues are income taxes 

paid by employees in the industry, the sales tax and the 

tax on goods and services. 

The horse industry 

… turns over SEK 20 billion every year and 

generates up to a further SEK 26 billion 

turnover within the community. 

… makes up to 0,34% of the Swedish GNP. 

… generates over SEK 4 billion in tax revenue. 

… creates paid employment equivalent to 

10 000 fulltime jobs. 

… and generates further employment – 

18 000 full-time jobs outside the industry. 

The horse industry has a turnover of 

SEK 20 billion! 

Agriculture 

(chiefly fodder): 2,6 

Goods and 

services: 1,9 

Harness and horse 

racing: 2,6 

Tourism: 0,2 

The breeding industry: 0,9 

Horse riding: 1 

Gambling and 

organisations: 

10,8 


Employment The horse industry in Sweden generates 

paid employment equivalent to almost 10 000 full-time 

jobs. Comparatively, this means that the horse industry 

employs almost twice as many persons as for example 

the supermarket-chain ICA. In addition to paid employment 

generated, there is also a strong voluntary-work 

movement within the industry, representing tens of 

thousands of full-time jobs in man-hours, for example 

within trotting and in the breeding industry. 

The horse industry generates close 

on 10 000 full-time jobs! 

Breeding: 700 

Gambling & 

organisations: 500 

Riding: 1500 

Agriculture 

(chiefly fodder): 2 200 

Tourism: 200 

Harness & horse 

racing: 2 700 

Goods & services: 1 700 


Every tenth horse in the country gives rise to 

one full year´s employment. 

The horse industry even produces turnover 

and employment outside the business! 

Ripple effect In the meantime, the industry’s effect on 

the Swedish economy stretches further than the employment 

and turnover figures directly connected to businesses 

linked with the trade. A business specialising in horse 

tourism, for example, must pay for equipment, premises, 

fodder, insurance, water etc. In turn, a company selling 

equipment needs to hire premises, pay for electricity, 

buy advertising, etc. The effect of one business spreads 

like ripples upon water and affects other businesses in 

turn. The ripple effect is further strengthened when the 

owner of the horse tourism business or persons employed 

by the company selling horse equipment start spending 

their wages as consumers. Jobs within the horse industry 

create job opportunities in the rest of society via the 

ripple effect.

Over 200 exhibitors 

and almost 80 000 

visitors come to Eurohorse 

in Gothenburg, 

the country’s largest 

horse fair. 

The ripple effect from the horse industry’s turnover is 

an estimated SEK 26 billion. This means that for every 

crown of turnover generated within the horse industry, 

a corresponding amount is turned over in the rest of 

society. 

Society has gained up to 18 000 full-time jobs via 

this ripple effect. It can thus be maintained that society 

in general benefits by one whole year of employment for 

every tenth horse in the land. Wagering on horses has a 

particularly positive effect on the employment statistics 

as many jobs are created through the return of money 

from gambling back to the sport’s most active members. 

Seen from this perspective, every one of ATG’s employees 

represents occupation for up to 14 other people. 

The horse industry’s contribution to 

Sweden’s GNP A further way of gauging the horse 

industry’s economic importance is by looking at its 

contribution to the country’s GNP, that is the combined 

value of goods and services produced in the country, 

most often calculated on a yearly basis. The horse industry 

contributes SEK 8 billion to Sweden’s GNP, identical 

in size to the island of Gotland’s contribution. 

A business’ productivity can be calculated through 

taking the sales value of all their goods and services and 

subtracting the cost of their base materials to reach an 

output value. Every person employed within the horse 

industry generates an output value amounting to SEK 

480 tkr per year. Corresponding figures for the country’s 

agricultural and manufacturing sectors are SEK 400 respective 

612 billion per year. Employees within the horse 

industry thus contribute to the country’s GNP on a level 

somewhere between employees within the agriculture 

and the manufacturing industries. 

The horse’s need for fodder, straw and pastures helps maintain an 

open landscape as well as bringing sizeable revenue to agriculture. 


People 

and horses 

Most farriers operate their own small businesses. The work 

demands great accuracy and precision. 


Working with horses can range from engaging a freetime 

interest to having a full-time occupation that requires 

high levels of training and competence. During 

their lifetimes a horse and its owner can come into contact 

with a great amount of occupational groups. 

Farmer 

Trainer 

Insurance agent 

Feed supplier 

Equipment salesperson 

Keeper 

Veterinarian 

Goods conveyor 

Riding teacher 

Jockey 

Coach driver 

Masseur 

Breeder 

Farrier 

Protection of Animals under the law 

“ 4§ Animals shall be kept and tended in a sound 

environment, considerate to their health and with 

the potential for natural behaviour ”

Around fifty veterinarians have successfully completed 

the three-year horse-specialist training programme run 

by ATG Horse Clinics. 

Educational opportunities For the horse industry to 

continue developing and for Sweden to retain its international 

competitiveness and high standard of animal welfare, 

a continued supply of well-educated and competent 

personnel will be required. 

Courses at SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) 

Veterinarian 

A 5 1/2 year long vocational training must be undertaken 

to become a certified vet. The Swedish Society 

of Veterinary Medicine has developed a three-year 

educational programme specialising in the horse. 

Studies can be carried out at the ATG Horse Clinics, 

for example. 

Domestic animal agronomist 

The domestic animal agronomist programme is a 4 1/2 

year long programme at SLU. Domestic animal agronomists 

ensure that animals (amongst them the horse) 

used in food-production and sport and those kept as 

domestic animals are tended satisfactorily. 

Equine study programme 

The Equine study programme is a two-year programme 

with three lines: Riding teacher, Stable manager 

and trotting and horse racing. The courses run at 

state facilities in Wången, Flyinge and Strömsholm. 

Animal carer 

The animal carer programme is a two-year course 

mixing the theoretical and the practical. The animal 

carer works under a veterinarian or independently 

with domestic animals and horses. 

Some educational paths to working with horses 

Farriery training 

Farriery training is a two-year course mixing the 

theoretical and the practical. The programme meets 

the certification standard set by the Swedish Board 

of Agriculture. 

Övriga 

Upper secondary schools 

There are 40 or so agricultural colleges providing basic 

horse studies. All pupils are prepared towards passing 

the entry test for a diploma in horse managment. 

Private education 

There are a great variety of private courses and 

training programmes, covering everything from individually 

tailored riding programmes to horse-massage, 

chiropractic, farriery etc. 

Further education 

Hästsportens Folkhögskola (Folk High School for 

Horse Sports) in Strömsholm offers vocational training 

courses and Kom Vux (Municipal Adult Education) 

amongst others, offer supplementary adult education 

courses. SLU offer further education courses in subjects 

such as breeding, feeding, health, constructionwork 

and more. 


Organisations 

Below is a list of some of the larger organisations within 

the horse industry. Information on how to contact them 

and other organisations within the industry can be found 

on the opposite page. 

AB Trav och Galopp runs betting at the 

country’s trotting and race courses. The 

company was formed in 1973 with the aim of 

securing the horse racing industry’s economy 

through organised wagering on horses. It is 90% owned 

by The Swedish Trotting Organisation, the other 10% belonging 

to The Swedish Thoroughbred Association. The 

Swedish state exercises its influence through its right to 

appoint six of the twelve ordinary board members, including 

its chairman. 

The Swedish Trotting Organisation 

– Svenska Travsportens Centralförbund 

(STC) is responsible for organising, leading 

and developing Swedish trotting. It also acts 

as a service organisation for trotting society, 

those people active within the sport and interested individuals, 

and is a breeder’s association, and keeps a studbook 

and register of Warmblood and Coldblood trotting horses. 

The Swedish Thoroughbred Association 

– Svensk Galopp (SG) is the STC’s counterpart 

within thoroughbred racing. The SG is 

a breeder’s association and keeps a studbook 

and register for the English thoroughbred. 

Svenska Ridsportförbundet (SvRf) works 

to promote riding, carriage driving and vaulting 

as healthy, popular and competitive sports. 

The association represents its members in 

dealings with the authorities, politicians and 

society in general, plus works with education, offers advice 

and service and deals with future issues facing the sports. 


The Swedish Horse Board – Svenska 

Hästavelsförbundet (SH) is the breeder’s 

association for all breeds that fall between 

those catered for by the STC and the SG. 

The Swedish Horse Board has 23 member 

associations, covering 31 different races. The majority of 

these member associations themselves keep studbooks 

and registers. The Swedish Horse Board aims to represent 

its members’ common interests and to promote the quality 

and development of Swedish horse breeding. 

The Swedish Horse Council Foundation 

– Nationella Stiftelsen för Hästhållningens 

Främjande (NS) acts as an umbrella organisation 

for trotting and thoroughbred racing, 

horse riding and horse breeding in Sweden. The institute’s 

mission is to promote horse keeping in Sweden with a 

special emphasis on education, veterinary medicine, horse 

welfare, breeding and rearing, activities of interest to the 

horse industry such as environmental and IT matters, plus 

to look out for the Swedish horse industry’s interests on the 

economic political front. The institute is also responsible for 

the national facilities at Flyinge, Strömsholm and Wången. 

The institute also owns ATG Horse Clinics Ltd. with its 21 

clinics, plus The Skara Horse Hospital and The Farrier 

School in Skara. 

The Federation of Swedish Farmers - Lantbrukarnas 

riksförbund (LRF) is a network 

and business organisation for land or forest 

owners & workers. Business involving horses 

in Sweden makes up an increasingly large part of the activities 

of agricultural businesses. The LRF duly backs training, 

breeding, horse-tourism and horse sports and promotes increased 

understanding between horse owners, land owners 

and riders both regionally and nationwide. 

The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences 

– SLU provides education and research 

into the horse. Both the healthy and the sick 

horse, its keeping and its stable environment. 

Their strategic commitment Hippocampus at 

the SLU/SVA provides a hub for research, training and 

information.

Do you want to know more about horses 

and and the horse sector in Sweden? 

• For trotting horses and harness racing: 

Svenska Travsportens Centralförbund 

(The Swedish Trotting Organisation) 

Hästsportens Hus, 161 89 Stockholm, +46-8-627 20 00 

www.travsport.se 

• For thoroughbreds and horse racing: 

Svenska Galoppförbundet, (The Swedish 

Thoroughbred Association) Hästsportens Hus 

161 89 Stockholm, +46-8-627 20 00, www.galoppsport.se 

• For wagering on horses: 

ATG, Hästsportens hus 

161 89 Stockholm, +46-8-627 20 00, www.atg.se 

• For riding and riding schools: 

Svenska Ridsportförbundet, (The Swedish Equestrian 

Federation) Ridsportens Hus, Strömsholm 

730 40 Kolbäck, +46-220-456 00 www.ridsport.se 

• For horse-breeder´s associations, registration 

and breed evaluation for breeds other than 

trotters and race horses: 

Svenska Hästavelsförbundet, (The Swedish Horse Board) 

Herrskogsvägen 2, 730 40 Kolbäck, Strömsholm 

+46-220-454 00, www.swehast.se 

• For regulations concerning horse breeding and 

horse insemination, import and export of 

horses, etc: 

Statens Jordbruksverk,(The Swedish Board of 

Agriculture) 551 82 Jönköping 

+46-13-15 50 00, www.sjv.se 

• For horse tourism and horse businesses: 

Lantbrukarnas Riksförbund, (The Federation of Swedish 

Farmers) LRF, 105 33 Stockholm 

+46-771-573 573, www.lrf.se 

• For research and training: 

Hippocampus, SLU/SVA 

Box 7018, 750 07 Uppsala 

+46-18-67 10 00, www.hippocampus.slu.se 

• For icelandic horse training: 

Islandshästförbundet, www.icelandichorse.se 

• For western riding: 

Western Riders Association of Sweden, WRAS, 

www.wras.nu 

• For working horse activities: 

Föreningen Skogshästen, www.skogshasten.com 

You can also read: 

• The social economic importance of the 

horse industry 

SLU (2004). 

Available to order from The Institution of Economics 

SLU, tel: +46-18-67 18 00 

• Plan of action for the horse industry 

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Affairs (2004). 

Available for downloading here: 

www.jordbruk.regeringen.se/ 

• Sverige som Hästland 

LRF (The federation of Swedish Farmers) et al, (2003). 

Available for downloading here: www.lrf.se 

• Nationellt utvecklingsprogram för svensk 

hästnäring/National development programme 

for the swedish horse industry 

Nationella Stiftelsen (The Swedish Horse Council Foundation). 

Available for downloading here: 

www.ridsport.se/ns/innehall.html 

• Swedish horse policy (SOU 2000:109) 

Available to order from Fritzes publishing house 

tel: +46-8-690 91 90 

• The horse in work, sport and free time 

General program for horse research at SLU och SVA 2002‒2010. 

Available for downloading here (pdf): 

http://hippocampus.slu.se or from Publikationsservice 

(Service Division) at SLU, tel: +46-18-67 11 00 

texts: Dag Johansson 

The horse in Sweden today, Elsa Bexelius 

pictures: Jan Andersson, pgs 16, 17 

P&R-Andersson Pressbild, pgs 9, 10 bottom, 

12, 18 right, 22, 23 

Elsa Bexelius, Front cover, pg 7 

Bibbi Bonorden, pg 15 

Christer Ehrling, pg 21 top 

Elitfoder, pg 21 bottom 

Cenneth Hall, pg 10 top right 

Hemlin Foto, pg 2 

Sara Holmgren, pg 4 

Martin Larsson, pg 1 

Svenska Ridsportförbundet, pgs 10 top left, 

11 bottom, 16, 18 left 

Roland Thunholm,pgs 3, 5, 11 top 

Katrin Wallberg, pg 17 

art direction: Maria Capandegui, Information department, SLU 

Torbjörn Östling, Information department, SLU

During the last few decades, the equestrian sphere in Sweden has rather 

briskly developed to become a field of great diversity. When it comes to 

traditional horse sports, Sweden can point to great international success 

within trotting and horse racing. But there have also been developments in 

other areas. For example, never before have there been so many different 

breeds of horses in Sweden as there are today. Nor have there been so many 

influences on riding techniques and horse rearing – from far and wide, and 

from history itself. 

With thanks to our sponsors: 

ATG 

Ackordhäststiftelsen 

LRF 

The Swedish Horse Council Foundation 

Hästsportens Hus 

161 89 Stockholm 

+46-8-627 20 00 

Wikströms, Uppsala 1050002

the Horse in Sweden – more important than you think

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