HELP!! Equestrian Jobs for 14 year olds!

[seriously festive equine]

Hi all- my son is 14 years old and wants to work with horses when older...where can you get horsey experience at this age? Do we have to wait until 15? Thanks SFE

 

[Landcruiser]

Probably 16 for insurance purposes

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

In Scotland you can leave school at 15yo to do an apprenticeship. We have had 2 kids do this with us in the yard. Not sure if they have the same thing in England or elsewhere.

Otherwise it's usually 16yo for insurance purposes.

 

[bonny]

You can get experience while still at school though, what kind of job is your son interested in ? Lots of children help out at riding schools etc.

 

[teapot]

You can get experience while still at school though, what kind of job is your son interested in ? Lots of children help out at riding schools etc.

Happening far less now than ever before though. OP do you have a decent (aka safe) riding school near you - they may run a volunteer scheme. The days of work for rides have long gone.

 

[toppedoff]

Riding schools may take you as a weekend scheme

Assuming he's still in school

Though, you'd have to be 16+ to do an apprenticeship

 

[Wishfilly]

Does he want to be paid or just gain experience? In terms of paid work, it may be tricky- as others have said, 16 is often the minimum age for insurance reasons, and often 18 if they would ever need to be left in sole charge.

A riding school may accept him as a volunteer if he is already competent tacking up, leading, rugging up etc. Otherwise you'd likely need to pay for him to have some stable management lessons first! You can also volunteer with the RDA from 12, and I believe they provide training where needed.

 

[GypsGal1718]

I used to work at a yard up the road when I was twelve. It was great experience but not paid, I didn’t mind though!

 

[Orangehorse]

Is there a local rider around who might let him groom and poo pick? (might as well get used to reality?) Is there a local Pony Club you could telephone the secretary and ask if they have any contacts that might be useful?

A local lad with no horsey connections did this and helped out a local dressage rider, he used to ride his bicycle to get there about 3 miles.

He now runs his own dressage yard!

 

[blitznbobs]

The problem is insurance Id love to give a couple of kids this kind of opportunity and even a chance to ride but the insurance companies say no … and with litigation the way it is it is just not worth the risk - sad but true.

 

[Orangehorse]

Is the school leaving age still 16? He could do some work then. We have had a couple of teenagers still at school doing work experience on the farm - feeding animals, driving tractors, fencing, etc. all rather potentially dangerous work - with the blessing of the school.

Is he currently having lessons? Can't he help out there? I know its far more difficult now, with rules and regulations, from the days when bunches of children used to turn up at a yard at the weekend.

 

[blitznbobs]

Is the school leaving age still 16? He could do some work then. We have had a couple of teenagers still at school doing work experience on the farm - feeding animals, driving tractors, fencing, etc. all rather potentially dangerous work - with the blessing of the school.

Is he currently having lessons? Can't he help out there? I know its far more difficult now, with rules and regulations, from the days when bunches of children used to turn up at a yard at the weekend.

No you have to be in education til 18 so could do an apprenticeship or something but has to be deemed educational

 

[Carlosmum]

Not RS but we had a couple of girls on the farm for their GCSE year, they had disengaged with school. They did 2 days a week with us 2 days at the local college and 1 day at the local ag college. Great girls but absolutely NO support from school or college to engage with us as bosses. You might be able to do something similar with a local RS or Stud. Insurance was not a problem, we had to have employers liability and public liability ( we have those anyway) and notify the insurance company.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Volunteering with a local RDA Group sounds like the best way forward. Insurance covers volunteers from age 12, although some groups stipulate an older minimum age, because their set-up can't offer enough supervision for 12yr olds. All adults involved with RDA are DBS checked, which wouldn't necessarily be the case on a local yard and there would be no question of him being unsupervised. Just be aware that some groups that are not RS based take a break over winter.

 

[Surbie]

My RDA takes volunteers from the age of 14. An issue with an RDA group might be that a large proportion of their volunteers can have minimal/no horse experience themselves and the session leaders/coaches who do will be quite busy. That said it's a good space to get the basics, and if you get someone experienced to take an interest in you, it's absolutely invaluable.

Each group should run structured training covering basic horse care, tacking up and leading. Ours has particular days for routine vet visits, chiro, dentist and farrier, and those can be great to get more info.

I am still thankful for the advice and tips I got from our then pony welfare manager who took a fair bit of time to share some of her extensive experience. It set me up so well for taking on my first horse.

 

[Iris1995]

It is likely that a permit would be required for a 14 year old to work

https://www.gov.uk/child-employment/local-council-rules-for-child-employment-permits

 

[seriously festive equine]

Thanks all!

 

[Annagain]

No you have to be in education til 18 so could do an apprenticeship or something but has to be deemed educational

.....in England. You can leave at 16 in Wales or Scotland. I can't speak for Scotland but I know learners are strongly encouraged to continue to 18 in Wales (and most do) but it's not compulsory.