The inventory of equine in Michigan as of June 1, 1996, 130,000 head, was unchanged from 5 years earlier. While the total number was steady, there were substantial changes in counts by breed. The number of Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds fell by 30 and 20 percent, respectively. The number of Morgans, half-Arabs, Saddlebreds and various breeds of ponies also declined. By contrast, the inventories of quarter horses, paints/pintoes, warmbloods & European breeds, draft horses, Appaloosas and Tennessee Walkers and Arabians all increased. The top 5 counties in equine count were Oakland, Washtenaw, Jackson, Livingston and Wayne. The total value of equine was estimated at over $400 million.

The equine industry has a sizeable labor force. There were 6,500 people who worked full-time on equine operations during the year ending May 31, 1996. These were principally the family members and owners of those facilities. Those equine facility operators also had 1,100 full-time paid employees during this time period and hired 4,400 part-time and seasonal workers. In addition, equine operators used the services of veterinarians and farriers 100,000 and 110,000 times, respectively, during the year ending May 31.

Equine Population: Inventory by Operation Type
Type of Operation	Number of Operations	Total Equine
Boarding Stables	550	10,000
Breeding Farms	1,500	22,000
Crop and Livestock Farms	5,500	20,000
Racehorse Training Stables	450	6,000
Private Residences	18,500	55,000
Riding Stables (camps, resorts, rentals)	200	4,000
Show Horse Training Facilities	600	7,000
Equine Centers or Academies	100	2,000
Other Equine Operations 1	100	4,000
Total	27,500	130,000
1 Includes racetracks, therapeutic riding facilities, polo clubs, hunting clubs, etc.

Equine Population: Number by county, June 1,1996
County	Number	County	Number
Alcona	350	Lapeer	4,000
Alger	200	Leelanau	250
Allegan	3,200	Lenawee	3,400
Alpena	850	Livingston	4,900
Antrim	350	Mackinac	700
Arenac	300	Macomb	2,300
Barry	3,200	Manistee	400
Bay	1,000	Marquette	600
Benzie	200	Mason	700
Berrien	1,800	Mecosta	1,200
Branch	1,600	Menominee	500
Calhoun	2,900	Midland	1,700
Cass	1,300	Missaukee	600
Charlevoix	600	Monroe	2,800
Cheboygan	400	Montcalm	1,600
Chippewa	1,100	Montmorency	350
Clare	1,100	Muskegon	1,400
Clinton	2,200	Newaygo	1,200
Crawford	400	Oakland	7,000
Delta	600	Oceana	1,000
Dickinson	300	Ogemaw	850
Eaton	3,600	Ontonagan	300
Emmet	750	Osceola	1,000
Genesee	3,500	Oscoda	600
Gladwin	1,300	Otsego	250
Gogebic	200	Ottawa	3,000
Grand Traverse	1,100	Presque Isle	250
Gratiot	1,000	Roscommon	100
Hillsdale	2,400	Saginaw	2,700
Houghton	500	Sanilac	2,000
Huron	900	Schoolcraft	100
Ingham	4,000	Shiawassee	2,500
Ionia	2,100	St. Clair	2,500
Iosco	600	St. Joseph	2,300
Iron	300	Tuscola	2,100
Isabella	2,100	Van Buren	1,400
Jackson	5,200	Washtenaw	5,200
Kalamazoo	3,000	Wayne	4,400
Kalkaska	300	Wexford	450
Kent	4,300	Others	100
Lake	200	Total	130,000

Equine Population and Value by Breed
Breed	Number of Equine			Average Value- 1996	Total Value- 1996
	October 1, 1984	June 1, 1991	June 1, 1996
	Number	Number	Number	Dollars per head	1,000 dollars
American Quarter Horse	41,500	29,000	36,000	2,500	90,000
American Paint/Pinto	3,700	3,800	5,600	3,000	16,800
American Saddlebred	2,200	1,700	1,400	6,000	8,400
Appaloosa	9,500	6,300	6,900	2,000	13,800
Arabian	14,000	15,000	15,500	4,000	62,000
Belgian	3,700	4,800	5,800	2,000	11,600
Clydesdale	NA	NA	500	3,500	1,750
Donkey	NA	NA	1,100	600	660
Hackney	NA	NA	300	7,000	2,100
Haflinger	NA	NA	1,400	2,500	3,500
Half Arabian	3,600	3,300	2,500	2,000	5,000
Hanoverian	NA	NA	400	13,000	5,200
Holstein (Hessian)	NA	NA	300	15,000	4,500
Miniature	NA	1,100	1,700	2,000	3,400
Missouri Fox Trotter	NA	NA	300	2,000	600
Morgan	5,300	4,000	3,500	4,500	15,750
Mule 1	2,000	1,700	1,300	1,000	1,300
Mustang	NA	NA	400	950	380
Palomino	1,300	1,800	1,200	2,000	2,400
Paso Fino	NA	NA	300	3,500	1,050
Percheron	1,300	2,200	2,500	2,500	6,250
Pony of the Americas	1,600	1,700	1,200	2,000	2,400
Shetland Pony	6,900	3,500	3,100	600	1,860
Standardbred	19,000	17,000	12,000	4,500	54,000
Tennessee Walker	1,600	1,800	2,200	3,000	6,600
Thoroughbred	8,600	9,500	7,600	7,000	53,200
Trakehner	NA	NA	300	10,500	3,150
Welsh Pony	4,500	2,000	1,800	900	1,620
Other light horse 2	2,700	2,300	900	4,000	3,600
Other draft 2	1,000	1,000	700	2,500	1,750
Other pony 2	8,000	5,800	2,800	450	1,260
Other warmblood 2	NA	1,200	1,000	11,500	11,500
Mixed breed (grade	18,000	9,500	7,500	750	5,620
Total	160,000	130,000	130,000	3,100	403,000
NA = not available.
1 The 1984 and 1991 mule estimate shown includes donkeys & mules.
2 The 1984 and 1991 categories are split among various breeds in 1996.