The European Horse Centre was founded in 2000. It comes from the Government of the Walloon Region (Belgium). The aim of the association is to promote the horse as an integral part of rural life and identity, whether through equine research into locomotion, breeding, reproduction and selection, or through sport, tourism and training.
The Centre stands out as a centre of excellence available to breeders as well as sports, scientific and economic players in the equine sector. The Walloon Region has granted it an annual subsidy for the tasks entrusted to it as part of its overall support for equine breeding. The Centre is responsible for carrying out a number of tasks, divided into two priority areas: Area 1 - Research and development Area 2 - Services to the industry.
In addition to the financial resources made available to the Centre under the framework agreement, the Region expects the Centre to fund its other objectives, namely sporting and tourism activities, the equine breeding centre (stallions) and support for businesses, from its own resources.
The Centre is also participating in the European project EUNetHorse for the period 2023-2026. This project aims to increase the resilience and performance of rural players in the equine sector in the face of environmental, social, health, economic or political crises by widely disseminating practices, tools and solutions that improve their resilience and socio-economic performance, the welfare and health of animals on farms and the environmental sustainability of the sector.