For those of you who work with horses / in the industry

Degan

Degan

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29 November 2008
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Basically ( the shortened version :) ) this is for those of you who work with horses or in the industry as a whole.

What job is it that you do,
and how did you end up there (qualifications ect)?

Thankyou in advance :)
 
i wrote a letter to a local eventer when i was 15 (now 20) asking for holiday/ weekend work so started working saturdays. after my gcse's started full time in same job and still here now!
 
Just got my own yard doing horse riding holidays and trail rides for tourists.
Worked for about 10 years on all different yards, did my BHS exams (up to AI) and NVQ3 while I was at it. Worked round europe a bit with horses, then for some reason opened a youth hostel in Florence. Somehow ended up taking this place in October.

Why, you thinking of joining the dark side :p

ETA: Ridiculously happy, but completely skint. Always :D
 
I run my own mobile saddlery as a pre cursor to saddle fitting , also doing a few courses to help my knowledge in biomechanics, anatomy etc

I did some NVQs some years ago but then went totally non horses for a long time as an office worker then a photographer, the market sank as the digital camera market got going and I decided I actually wanted my whole life to be horses not just my hobby.
 
Work at local event yard, started doing day in the week as part of school, and working weekends getting my NVQ 1 and then started full time in the summer after I found A level were not what I wanted to do! Been there over 3 years now.
I enjoy it, but always knew the pay was never going to be good! :D
 
La Fiaba said:
Just got my own yard doing horse riding holidays and trail rides for tourists.
Worked for about 10 years on all different yards, did my BHS exams (up to AI) and NVQ3 while I was at it. Worked round europe a bit with horses, then for some reason opened a youth hostel in Florence. Somehow ended up taking this place in October.

Why, you thinking of joining the dark side :p

ETA: Ridiculously happy, but completely skint. Always :D
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I am thinking about it yes :)
Trying to decide whether I should choose a job like accountancy to fund horses and competing. Or whether I should jump in to a horsey job that I know I would love, but not be able to save any money. My aim eventually, in the very very distant future, is to set up my own yard hence the saving money part is a factor in my choice.
 
Degan said:
I am thinking about it yes :)
Trying to decide whether I should choose a job like accountancy to fund horses and competing. Or whether I should jump in to a horsey job that I know I would love, but not be able to save any money. My aim eventually, in the very very distant future, is to set up my own yard hence the saving money part is a factor in my choice.
Click to expand...

Take the money and run! If I had my time over I wouldnt change what I've done, even though I've never had any money (I've set this yard up with less than €6k, but that does mean I've had to cut down tress to make fences then dig holes with a spade, beg and borrow horses, live in the middle of nowhere with no car etc right now I have €22 to my name and no income. At least horses have hay for all winter) but to live in this way you have to have a real passion, it's this way or no way. I tried making money and then I got bored so came back to being poor and working with horses.

They say the only people who made a little money with horses are the ones who invested a lot to start off with :D
 
I am 19 and a self employed groom/rider. I currently work for 3 people with another 2 potential clients. I love working for myself and decided to do it as it means I can please myself and choose my own hours and I love the responsibility of it as I get to have sole charge of yards, etc. I have 10 GCSEs A*-C, the National Award Certificate in Horse Management at Distinction Level and BHS Stage 1. I am planning on working my way through the BHS Stages in the future. However, I find that most clients are more interested in experience. I have lots of experience owning, riding and looking after a variety of horses and ponies which is important as I do a lot of schooling horses/ponies and also help one lady to bring on and sell horses. I have worked at a lot of different yards varying from riding schools to competition yards. I love my job and wouldn't change it for anything!

If you are thinking of working with horses, my advice would be to get as much experience riding and handling as many different horses as possible.
 
Riding school staff groom, so groom, and do the stable chores and making sure the horses are turned out in time for their lessons.
Started off as a leader, did work experience there, and then got offered the job.
And yes, I love it :)
 
I'm an Equine Veterinary Lay Nurse and Pharmacy Manager

I got here through a BSc (Hons) Equine and Human Sports Science then working as a receptionist and lay nurse for a small animal practice. But to be honest you need common sense and a good cv of practical horse work to be a lay nurse. To do my nursing NVQ I would need to go to college once a week which in theory isn't a problem as practice is happy to pay for it, but my nearest college is Hartpury which is a 3hr drive there and 3hr drive back once a week!

Am I happy? When i'm nursing yes I am. We've been fairly quiet recently with the recession as people have lost transport and it therefore costs less for some proceedures where possible to be done at the owners yard rather than at the clinic with transporter costs ontop. Wages are rubbish, I have to live at home as a result. I see this more of a stop gap than a lifetime job.
 
I have my bhs stage 2 I have done polo, riding schools you name it and now racing Arabs and love it! Plus it's very well paid @ £25k a year so more than I would earn working in an office! :)) but best advise I could give it get lots of hands on experiance with many different horses and youngsters.
 
Going against the grain....I'd suggest, as it's easier to get training when you're younger, to gain your qualifications as an accountant whether you do that part time alongside working with horses or not. People always need accountant/bookkeepers, and the accountants I know are certainly not hard up, and the self employed are able to pick and choose their hours. There's more work in winter due to the tax/year end paperwork, and I'd say would fit nicely with horses of your own.
 
Having done all i can offer you my past experiennces, i left school at 16, worked with horses , it was a three year course were i was placed at various yards, etc different senarios had three month block placements ie riding school then college to do theory, then a showing yard, etc,, i found it enjoyable at first i was working fourty hours for £25 then , and it was slave labour i never got to ride neither it dampened my enthusiasm towards working with horses ,maybe it might have been different on a better placement i felt i was getting nothing back in fact mon-fri i was solely in charge of about fourty horses very tiring two thirds lived out but it was hard work and lonely .
I left on the friday and walked in to a job on the monday working in a shop for treble the cash and took lessons after a while cut many years out i did go into accounts and finance earned good money learnt lots about finance and how the world ticked and had cash to have horses as a hobby .As prev poster says better go into accounting, get cash behind you this will also help your finance side of running a yard.If you feel you want experiance of working on a yard , maybe you could offer to work weekends free at various yards and start your livery yard off part time .Good luck with your choice and future
 
I run a company that makes numnahs. I love the business, but I'll never be rich.

On the plus side I get to talk horses for large parts of the day and go with the trade stand to some of the biggest shows

That said, its a business like any other and invoices need to be done, debtors chased, supplies ordering etc etc

I did, however, work as an account manager in the IT industry for quite a long time and made enough money doing that to start the company. So I would say get the accountancy qualifications first, then do what you like. You can always fall back on it if you have to

Oh and my biggest tip - don't try to manufacture anything in the uk :D its flippin hard to make it work
 
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