Adult career change to a more horsey life.....can it be done??

[EMC]

Whilst recovering from an op I've been having a wee think. Presently I am working a half day and am whiling away the time until 6pm tonight when I start my shift.....actually I'm not whiling away the time, I'm dreading the moment I will have to leave for work.

Quick Cv....joined the Navy at 16, initially trained as Weapons Artificer before moving to Helicopter Engineering. Left the RN in '07 and worked on helicopters as a civilian contractor (with a lovely 6 weeks at the British Racing School and part time work in racing yards) before a bike crash ended that contract in Sep 2010. Long story short...broke elbow and wrist racing grasstrack sidecars, got the sack, ended up on the dole.

I struggled all through 2011 with lot's of crap or just plain low paid jobs whilst I couldnt get back into aircraft, even working in a P2P yard all morning and a bar all evening to keep going. In february of this year I managed to get a contract in aircraft engineering again and this is where I have been since.

The trouble is I really don't enjoy my job. It pays well and really it isn't very hard but I just hate it. I have no motivation to work as hard as I used to and I'm starting to resent all of the 'oh, it's a girl' comments but getting up to muck out and sort Fred out in a howling gale? no problem. I'm now on anti-depressants from the doc and these aren't helping!

It is leading me to think I would enjoy a more horsey life, but what options are out there? I am 26, so not your average working pupil. I am interested in farriery, any of the physio/massage/sports therapy professions or even holistic therapies such as Reiki. I am also very interested in how horses are being used to help children and adults with social, mental or various other problems.

Has anybody made a career change like this? Where did you start? Looking at my local college, a foundation degree course costs 6k, yikes! No wonder students are in debt!! Are there alternatives?

55 minutes to go now until I have to go....drags feet

Any advice or help most appreciated, you can share my comfort eating Jaffa's and i'll make you a cuppa.

 

[sbloom]

I left a career in research/headhunting and became a saddle fitter at the age of 38 - it can be done!

 

[EMC]

Wow! that's fantastic!

How did you go about it? Did you to have serve as an apprentice or just complete accredited courses? How did you cope with the financial aspects of making the change, and the million dollar question......was it worth it??

Very inspired by Rolands Nags and Nails atm.

 

[Andalusian_Lover]

I 'd personally try to find a job that combines both horses and engineering. Then you could have the job that you once loved, and the horses.

 

[dorito]

I 'd personally try to find a job that combines both horses and engineering. Then you could have the job that you once loved, and the horses.

do what?!

 

[sbloom]

I joined a company called Saddle Exchange Ltd who train their own fitters, they no longer are trading and I left with Native Pony Saddles when the company split in two. I was lucky enough to have some money behind me but the intensive training was short, and free apart from travel costs etc, and as we work as a team I could get out there with support from HQ fairly early on.

It has just become harder to train as an SMS QSF and I'm no huge fan of the way they train (and how some fitters fit!), I like the way that we fit much better!

It has been a slog, with low income for some time, but over 3 years later I am finally cracking the "earning a reasonable living" bit! I also do the odd animal portrait but that doesn't bring in much, it's a somewhat oversupplied field so it doesn't seem to matter how good you are, there's not much money out there and so many artists to choose from...