Horse prices have risen by more than 30% during the coronavirus pandemic, data gathered by the European horses for sale website ehorses.co.uk has confirmed.
The horses for sale website advertises between 700 and 3,250 horses a month across Europe, including in the UK, and around the world.
Ads are removed after three months, which means its inventory is always up to date.
The website recently analysed the prices at which its horses are advertised, first removing the top and bottom 10% by price. Its findings showed that prices increased by over 14% year-on-year from 2019 to 2020 and, in the first half of 2021, they increased by a further 37% year-on-year.
The average asking price for a horse on the site in June 2020 was €20,510, compared to €10,668 in June.
In May this year, the average asking price was €21,055, a rise of nearly €14,000 from €7,459 in May 2020 and €7,058 in May 2019.
The number of horses being sold on the site has also increased by 12.6% to the end of June 2021.
In 2020, the total number of horses advertised was 9,846. In just six months, until the end of June 2021, there were 11,087 horses advertised.
A record number of horses advertised in one month was set with 3,026 horses being advertised during April 2021. This record was then beaten the following month, in May, when 3,140 horses were advertised.
“While ehorses is not privy to the final prices horses sell for, this data clearly proves that asking prices for horses and ponies have increased steeply through the pandemic,” said Lena Büker, CEO of ehorses.co.uk.
“The fact we have also seen huge growth in the use of ehorses, with over 3,000 horses advertised on our site in some months, adds strength to this data.”
Look what’s inside the latest issue of Your Horse
