The importance of horses in Normandy is both numerical and economic, but also social and cultural. Normandy, which has 117,000 horses, is the leading region for horse breeding in terms of annual births (12,300). The equestrian sector obtains the best economic results there for employment (18,000) and annual turnover (1.3 billion euros). Finally, with five research centers, Normandy is also at the top of the French regions for equine research.