Equine Landscapes  

Lead Researchers: Dr Alex Franklin and Rhys Evans (Integrate Consulting)

This programme of research explored the production of rural space, rural and urban interaction, and new identifications rising from the rider, the horse, and the horse-rider pair/unit. Equine activities operate on a micro, meso and macro scale.  These activities make important contributions to the identities of individuals, collectivities and places. It is the inter-working of activities at these different scales which gives them such power in the production of new spaces within the countryside. Equine Landscapes offers a very productive lens through which to view the production of these new spaces over multiple scales and in multiple registers.

In the twenty-first Century horses continue to make a major contribution to sustaining the rural economy. Whereas they once facilitated production on and of the rural landscape, they now facilitate the consumption of it. Whether approached from a narrow post-productivist, or a broader rural consumption point of view, the various equestrian pursuits offer farmers and land owners natural avenues towards rural diversification and participation in the consumption economy. In so doing, equestrian pursuits have the potential to make a complex contribution to the restructuring of rural space.
A “new equine industry” can be observed in most western countries. This does not only have implications for the landscape but for equestrianism itself. There are new types of actors on the equine stage. Growing numbers of women and girls are taking up riding. Horse sports have also become a significant hobby for urban residents, which brings new challenges to land use planning – including pressure to build new stables and horse training facilities – especially in areas near cities. These new actors bring with them new needs and demands, which sometimes creates conflicts such as those between rural and urban cultures, horse actors and municipality land planning organisations, competing leisure and exercise uses, etc. The rapid growth of the equine industry has also brought about the question of its environmental impact and long-term sustainability. 

For further information on the equine landscapes research programme, related projects and links, please contact: Alex Franklin franklina1@cf.ac.uk