Career with horse or Career to pay for horse hobby

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rockinghorse

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attended a college intro with daughter today for equine management & she came away saying this would not be her preferred choice, she would prefer to have a career which enabled her to pay for her love of horses rather than work with them I understand where she is coming from and interested to hear other peoples thoughts on this. Did tell her that at 15yrs she has 50years before retirement age so many life changing decisions / career choices available.
Just interested to know how many people on here have

A: Career with horses or

B: Career to pay for horses?
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B - Career to pay for horses!

I did have a career with horses, but it just ruined my enjoyment of my own horses when I wasn't working!!
 
I am 30, and when I left school I went start into a Riding School and done an Apprentice work there for 7 years. I got my NVQ and BHS exams which was great, but then I wanted to earn more money to pay for my hobbie, and unfortunately, being a "stable girl" was never going to pay well!
If she wants to work in the equine industry, there are plenty of jobs other than stable work. She could train towards being an equine dentist, saddler, nutritionist, farrier even and have the potential to earn alot.

I wish I had taken one of these route now, but at the time, I was growing up in a very non-horsey enviroment, and didn't have somewhere like HHO to look at my options!!
 
One of my work colleagues makes electric guitars from scratch and does about 1 a month. They sell for about £2000. He was advised to give up his job and up his production to about 10 a month. He doesn't want to as it would become a job, not a pleasurable pursuit.
 
B definitely - much better to have a well-paid job so you can enjoy your hobby as opposed to working your backside off for someone else and maybe not enjoying horses after it.

Don't get me wrong some people love working with horses and don't mind crappy salaries and no holidays etc. Personally I like to be able to enjoy my horses and also be able to live life away from horses as well.
 
My friend used to work with horses and it meant she didn't enjoy her own horses, after mucking out 10 every day the last othing she wanted to do was have to go and sort two more after work! She now does an office based job but it's for a sporting/equestrian glove company so it's still kind of horsey.
 
B, i have considered training to work with horses but thought it may be too much and may take some of the enjoyment out of it working with horses all day then doing my own before and after work.
 
When i left school i wanted a career to pay for horses, i didnt want to work with horses as i thought this would spoil the enjoyment i got out of my hobby, i then ended up working in a feed merchants and loved it, i now work with computers and all i can think about is getting back into the equine industry. Now at the age of 24 im trying to do part time/long distance courses to gain the qualifications i need to have a more fulfilling career, + i regret not doing it sooner. There is so much more to working with horses than working on a yard. She could become a vet, a nutritionist, chiropracter, soprts massuse, the options really are endless, encourage her to broaden her horizons and consider these optoins before disregarding a horse career altogether, she could regret it in the future, i know i have!
 
I am a staff nurse and am intending to do courses in equine bodyworking to do as a sideline to my nursing. That way I get the best of both.
 
if she wants a job with horses then she should definatly specialise...dentist,farrier etc etc
Otherwise i would say career to pay for hobby.
I did ND in Horse Management and have been working with horses and it totally ruins the enjoyment of your own, you dont want to muck out another stable at the end of the day and it becomes a chore.
Depends what means more to her.
 
My parents said this kind of thing to me. The difference was, if I'd done the traditional uni route I would've had to have quit riding all together..as it is..I'm trying to build something with horses, and I'm getting a degree via correpsondence with Uni of London. Nice back up plan.

It depends..if she wants to do option B, its definitely the sensible route, no doubt about it. The problem comes when option A is the one she wants
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If she can find a career that pays well enough to enjoy horses, I say she should go for it.
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B definitely. I grew up in a non-horsey environment with non-horsey parents, and I always thought I would want to work with horses. I wish i had realized now. I work part time at a National hunt yard whilst studying Equine Dentistry at uni. I do not want to become a dentist much anymore and do not want to be a groom for the rest of my life either.

I wish I had known this before and taken up a degree in biology or something. However I will have a uni degree, and it is more science based than practical based so I am hoping I can go into research or work in a lab or something!
 
By the way there are plenty of jobs related to horses that are fairly well paid but you get the best of both worlds as a 9-5 type job (so no weekends) and pay so you can enjoy your horses as a hobby.

I ended up working in horse insurance - no idea how I got there really. Think mainly as suggested by a friend who started underwriting bloodstock insurance in London. I have been underwriting for 6 odd years now. My friend has since moved to working with bloodstock claims. I need a new job as sadly (for me) working 'up north' does not pay quite as well as down south -plus I only insure general riding horses! My friend earns about 3 times what i earn and get to travel to some nice places (kentucky etc) and loves her job.

My job is less exciting! Lol. A career in bloodstock insurance wouldn't be the worst thing your daughter could get into though!
 
we must have daughters the same age.mines off to do a levels and i would far rather she has a good career and can afford to have a horse personally.luckily she agrees.which college are you looking at as daughters off to lincoln.fingers crossed.
 
I went down Route A, got a degree in equine science, and now work as a groom full-time. Have been doing this for two and a half years now (since I graduated), and am beginning to think I need to do something else as I just don't have the funds to support myself properly. I still live at home (did move away but came back, long story!) as I just can't afford my own place. The trouble is I don't know what I'd enjoy doing other than looking after/riding horses! So I'm a bit stuck. If you're daughter says she doesn't want to work with horses then this is probably a good thing!
 
I had another career that gave me the means to NOW have horses as a full time career....Playing with ponies won't buy a property and stock it with quality breeding stock... Working your ass off for a time in other areas will, giving you the ability to do what you love without having to worry about paying the mortgage or how you are going to eat this week!
 
I have a career which barely pays for the horses. I wouldn't work solely with them because IMO you just can't make enough (steady) money that way. I am however about to start doing the odd evening thing of backing some friends horses for a bit of extra cash to help fund the eventing season which right now I cannot afford!

I'd much rather work with horses (if they paid well) as they are what I enjoy. I HATE sitting in an office all day and I HATE working for someone else (Id much rather work for myself). I'd ideally like a job working in the equine industry but in say, the BRC / BSJA / BE etc. but as their offices are all down south - no good.
 
I graduated in 2006 with a degree in equine sports science, did quite well (got a 2:1) and got some of my work published but couldnt get a job anywhere apart from asda! I wanted to go into research or run a livery yard but couldnt find any opportunities for either. So i had a year out working at asda and then applied to train as therapy radiographer on another degree course in radiotherapy and oncology. I qualify in 4 months, have been able to apply for quite a few jobs and am now looking forward to earning a proper salary of over 20k that i can use to go out competing and treating my boys
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So i would go for a career that will pay for hobby!!
 
well, I suppose if you want to become a great known rider and get opportunity working for a good employer( I always dreamt of working for Carl Hester!, then you really should do the horsey path.! think you should really do what you think you will enjoy, hard to know sometimes, until you have done something you dont like..
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