In a tough economic climate, Louisiana’s equine industry survives on passion and tradition

Story by Alena Maschke 

​Sandy Marx watches her students calmly round the barn, counting the rhythm of the horses’ hoofs hitting the sandy floor. She observes the movements of both horse and rider with surgical precision, aware of the interplay of each joint and muscle. 
 
“We're talking about the biomechanics of the horse, and that's what I teach,” Marx said, as she analyzes the horses’ gaits, the position of their legs as they walk and stand, and the way their shoulders move when they turn. 
 
A chiropractor by trade, Dr. Marx approaches horsemanship with an almost scientific vigor, helping her students perfect their style and connection with the horse over years of detail-driven training. Marx is one of only a few trainers in Louisiana who focus on English style dressage, but her school forms part of a much larger industry that has deep roots in the state.
 
Nationwide, the equine industry created an economic impact of $177 billion and was linked to 2.2 million jobs in 2023, according to data collected by the American Horse Council. In Louisiana, horse racing, recreational horsemanship and competitive events have a significant economic impact as well, although current data is difficult to come by.
 
The equine industry is probably one of the most overlooked and under-analyzed sectors of Louisiana’s agricultural sector, despite its significant economic impacts and deep cultural roots. But there is a movement of horse enthusiasts, many of them women, hoping to bring more attention to the industry and ensure its survival.
 
Women like Neely Heidorn, equine extension specialist with the LSU AgCenter. Heidorn grew up a mischievous child in a small town in California’s Mojave desert, and came to horses as a way of staying out of trouble. “It hasn’t stopped since,” Heidorn said of her passion for all things horses.
 
As the AgCenter’s equine specialist, Heidorn helps owners with all aspects of maintaining their horses, from feed to hoof management. Through her involvement with the Louisiana Equine Promotion and Research Advisory Board, she also helps direct funding toward events, facilities and equine-related activities.
 
The board was created in 2021 to increase awareness and pool resources to assist the industry. In 2022-23, the board awarded a total of $194,000 in grants with an economic impact of $4.5 million, 50% of which was generated by out-of-state funds. 
 
“The Louisiana equine industry has a $3 billion economic impact touching every parish and community in our great state,” Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain said in a press release announcing this year’s round of grants last month. “The industry is a valuable part of Louisiana’s economy. We were excited to see all of the wonderful things this board accomplished over the last year, and we hope to see it continue to grow.” 
 
Making it in the equine industry or even just being a private owner is challenging. “If you want to make a million dollars in horses you better start with two,” Heidorn jokes. Owning and maintaining horses is expensive, and inflation in recent years has added to that burden. Feeding just one horse now easily costs around a thousand dollars a month, according to Marx.
 
But despite the challenging economic climate, for many in the industry, horsemanship is a matter of passion and heritage. “Everybody's papaw or auntie has had some type of experience with horses, or has horses,” Heidorn said. “It's really part of the culture in our state.”
 
Like Laney Richard, who grew up working cattle on horseback on her grandfather’s farm. Now, she serves as the point of contact for the LSU AgCenter’s master horseman program, and recently taught her first set of classes for a cohort of aspiring master horsemen to be.
 
While she’s worried about a potential decline in the industry, Richard is hopeful that programs like the master horsemanship training and the advisory board’s grant initiatives can help sustain it and continue its tradition in Louisiana.
 
“Our focus is to help people and just get more people involved,” Richard said. “And in return, they can give back to the youth.” 
 
For all its challenges, “the equine industry in Louisiana is robust,” Heidorn said. According to latest estimates shared by the advisory board, there are some 40,000 owners and 160,000 horses in the state.
 
Bills to create the board and secure steady funding for it in recent years show a political will to ensure the industry’s continued and elevated role within the state’s agricultural sector at large, Marx noted, making her optimistic about its future. 
 
Marx, who has trained in dressage schools across the globe and has been a part of just about any equine professional organization imaginable, is steeped in institutional knowledge. Yet, standing in the barn on a Saturday morning, watching her students make their rounds, what she reflects most deeply on is the uniting nature of working with horses and the impact it has on both the human and the animal.
 
“It brings people together,” Marx said. 
 
Her students, all women, come from a variety of backgrounds. One is trained in fashion design, another is an architect, yet another works in the oil and gas industry. All say they find a sense of calm while working with the horses that keeps them coming back. 
 
“It makes these people greater by the challenge of doing something that's hard, and it is hard,” Marx said, a statement that is just as applicable to dressage as it is to the equine industry at large. “If it wasn't, everybody would be doing it.”