Lingering effects of COVID-19 - Much of Canada’s horse community is still suffering financially, mentally, and emotionally from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the horse industry is expected to continue recovering during 2023.

As property values increase and everyday equine management expenses go up, keeping horses on your own property is becoming more costly. All across Canada, horse and property owners are undertaking myriad activities to make money from their farms and acreages without operating commercial boarding stables or becoming professional coaches. While every potentially money-making activity has benefits and drawbacks depending on the property’s size, layout, and infrastructure, as well as the owner’s interests and talents, there are many options for creating additional income. By implementing a few of the 24 innovative ideas summarized below, owners can start earning additional income from their property to help pay the bills.

Horses and their people can be found almost everywhere in Canada from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Atlantic Ocean in the east, and every region offers unique opportunities for riding, driving, and horse ownership. So, when adventurous equine enthusiasts move across Canada for work, lifestyle, or adventure, they will undoubtedly need to navigate a new horse fraternity. Planning a new life on distant shores can be a massive undertaking, but no amount of planning will answer every question, and sometimes just going for it — enthusiastically gambling that moving across the country will work out — pays off.

The Fraser Valley Hunt Club has been organizing “drag scent” hunts in British Columbia every fall and winter for almost 50 years. A local horse and hunt enthusiast hosts the opening hunt for the club each fall from his farm on the upper slopes of Mount Elphinstone on the Sunshine Coast. This story begins in early November when the core group of dedicated hunters arrive from the Fraser Valley by ferry with several trailers of horses and one of hounds.