Equine Studies or Equine Science?????

[Jinx94]

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has either of these degrees, and how it has benefited them?

What jobs have you been able to get?

(I am actually researching this over google etc - thought I'd talk to real people though!! )

 

[Tapir]

Hi, I did an Equine Studies degree a long time ago! I found jobs pretty easily as an account manage for an equestrian wholesaler, as a claims advisor for a H&R insurance company and running an on-line H&R retail company.

A couple of people on my course are now nutritionists, a couple are vets, one is an independent saddle fitter, one works in marketing for an equestian company and I know one who is a teacher in a regular secondary school.

Which degree you choose really depends on what kind of job you might be looking for in the future. I found that the business skills that were included in my degree (and taught with normal business studies students) were very useful as they can be applied to any industry.

 

[strides-eventing]

Hiya...

The easiest thing you can do is have a look around and think about what you want to do to then choose what degree you want to do... Then you can pick one that's best suited to what you'd like to do.

There are different options other than just equine studies and equine science... I am at Hartpury College and doing a Foundation Degree in Equine Performance. Basically my aim is a job within equine therapy and rehabilitation... with my foundation degree I can pick modules that are more specific to that job (equine therapy, equine biomechanics etc) and then, if I want, top it up to a full degree with a year top up. I can top it up to a science or studies degree... But will know I have these modules done for my job.

Here at Hartpury there are quite a few course choices, Equine Sports Science i think is the one that has modules related to the human/rider side, there's Equine Business Management, Equine Science and Management, and Equine Science.

So, yeah, like I said... Have a really good look around, get loads of prospectus' and compare the different courses modules and content with eachother and pick one that best suits the career you want.

All of the courses have a really good affect on being able to get jobs, so I wouldn't worry which one would be best in that respect. Just do what you want. Loads of people have easily found jobs after their degree, especially in some like my foundation degree holds ALOT of practical experience where we have to go off to yards and get a certain amount of hours which is great for your CV and a lot of students get invited back for a job.

Sorry for the long reply. Good luck

 

[Elbie]

I did equine science degree (graduated 2005).

Tbh I never intended to have a horse job at the end of it, I just did it because I like horses and science! It was hard trying to find a job afterwards as there aren't many jobs that come up that need that type of degree.

Jobs I've had are:
- Pharmacy assistant - making medicines! Degree was useful for helping understand medical terminology and basic pharmaceutical side. However, entry level job which only required GCSE's and nearly didn't get the job as they didn't think I'd stick around with my degree

- Claims assessor for leading animal insurer - Definitely used degree! Started out in small animal claims then moved to equine. Degree was still useful for small animal. A lot of it was transferrable!

- Claim handler for Lloyd's syndicate assisting with Bloodstock claims. Job started out as admin assistant and I've working my way up. I report to the bloodstock claims manager and so my degree helped me secure the job!

 

[texas]

I did the science degree, graduated 2007. The bonus of the science degree was that the studies people had to complete a certain number of days mucking out on the yard as part of their course, before uni in the mornings, or they would fail, and the science people didn't! Other than that, the modules were pretty much the same. I didn't specialise enough to get a useful horse job but you can always do courses afterwards. The course was interesting, but real world jobs like nutritionists are very hard to get into even with top degree, and yard jobs don't care about degrees and just want experience. Tbh, the text books were all written about one person's pony and don't reflect what horses actually do, at least in terms of repro. I hated nutrition and can now bore anyone to death about it, I loved repro. My friend was the exact opposite, has now done an AI course and is loving life being an AI technician! Oh, and I work as a business analyst for the motor industry to pay for my hobby horses. If I had my time again, I'd do a farm manager course, less specialised and far more useful!

 

[kenty]

Hello!

I did Equine Performance followed by Equine Management at Hartpury. I would second a lot of the other comments in this forum & just do lots of reading around what each individual course offers in terms of modules. Some have more of a science focus, some more business. But study what you are INTERESTED IN! Not what you think will get you a good job!

Since graduating from the BSc, I went on to do a MA in Sport Management and I'm now looking at getting employed in marketing specific to equine/sport/land-sciences. The possibilities are endless... But I would say study something you enjoy - not something that you think will get you a good job!

Hope this is helpful! Good luck!