horsey job vs none horsey job!?

[Clarebear*]

Just for fun- from personal experience do you prefer a none horsey job and having your own horses and money , or a horsey job and possibly not being able to afford your own horses? I have always thought i would work at a yard as it is what i most enjoy, but now i am 4 weeks away from having finished a levels, my head seems all over the place! if any of you could live your lives differently which would you choose?

 

[kirstie]

Non horsey job and having a horse as a hobby. No question. Though having taught and ridden for a living for quite a few years, it means I now have a hobby I'm pretty good at, which helps!

The money is rubbish, hours long, winters too long to make the summers worthwhile. I really enjoyed some aspects of working with horses, however my health comes first. Gave up when I very narrowly avoided paralysis, I now enjoy affording having a horse.

 

[Gloi]

Non-horsey job, but while you are young take the chance of doing a horsey job for the summer after your exams if you get chance. I did a summer as a trek leader and had great fun for a few months but not to do it for the long term.

 

[Copperpot]

Non horsey job definitely. I couldn't afford 3 horses, lorry etc if I had a horsey job. Plus horsey jobs are very hard work, long hours in all weathers etc.

 

[Bionic Boy]

Non horsey job definitely. I wouldn't want me horse to become an extension of my work.

 

[Mad_Cow347]

Non-horsey job. I would not be able to afford what I do with a horsey job plus horses are my hobby, I would never want it to become a chore.

 

[HollyWoozle]

I work in an office but my job is related to horses (sell riding holidays). On the occasion that we advertise a vacancy in the office, the vast majority of applicants have previously had a yard job and didn't want to do it anymore, plus I'd say 80% of them had a degree in equine science and didn't know what to do with it. I have heard so many people say that working with horses takes their love out of having horses for a hobby. I'm sure that's not the case for everyone, of course not, but I can't see that working hands-on with horses all day would make me want look after my own at the end of the day.

 

[Fides]

There is the other side of it too - working with horses but being too tired to do anything with your own...

I now have a job that pays well enough to keep the horses and every moment with them is a pleasure, rather than a chore

 

[kassieg]

None horsey job by far !!

I actually enjoy my horse now she isn't just another 1 in the list to ride

plus i have money !

 

[WindyStacks]

Horsey job. I've just spent the last 15 years living and working all over the world in a corporate job being constantly mentally exhausted and too miserable to enjoy my horses.

Took vol redundancy last year and would love to open a livery yard.

Would rather fill my soul than the bank these days.

My parents told me not to work with horses as I'd always be skint - rubbish! I'd have married a rich trainer 20 years ago! ;-)

 

[maccachic]

I found after a while working with horses was just like a factory job - I find it much more fun to have a good paying job and be able to do what you want when you want with horses

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Go for a NON-horsey job any day of the week! If you do one for the summer don't get stuck in it! it's my biggest regret! I went to work in a racing yard as a gap year before uni, 10years later I am still there. Yes I have 3 wonderful horses that I brought home from work BUT I don't enjoy them as much as I could as I don't have the time to do them proper justice and in the winter I really do resent having my own having spent all day outside in the cold and wet and then going home to yet more cold and wet! And I don't even ride mine in winter.

Keep your horse as a hobby.

 

[Echo24]

I did work experience at a livery yard and by the end of it, I only wanted one stable to muck out a day, not 10! For me, I would prefer a job that gave me the money to enjoy my horse, than one that was horsey. Having said that, I'm still looking for that elusive marketing job that is with a horsey company!

 

[Woody Le Bois]

I had the same dilemma a few years ago. Ended up going to university to study law. Sadly I find it boring and cherish the moments I spend at the yard with my boy but in the long run I think everyone here is right: non horsey job so you can afford your own and all the comforts he may need.
In an ideal world I would love to have a horsey job which pays as a legal one but unfortunately it's not how it works (sniff, sniff)

 

[maccachic]

I did work experience at a livery yard and by the end of it, I only wanted one stable to muck out a day, not 10! For me, I would prefer a job that gave me the money to enjoy my horse, than one that was horsey. Having said that, I'm still looking for that elusive marketing job that is with a horsey company!

I did that for a horse feed company was a great job Moved for OH

 

[luckyoldme]

Non horsey job..i worked with horses and all it meant was i kept getting attatched to horses whose owners did nt give a damn about them. I had to wait for years to be able to own. He has had the life i wish i could have given the horses i looked after all those years ago.

 

[Solstar]

I love my job, I'm based at home marketing, advising customers and updating an equine website. So although I'm not 'hands on' it's still a horsey job! Means I can enjoy my horses and my job, love it!

 

[Copperpot]

Non horsey job..i worked with horses and all it meant was i kept getting attatched to horses whose owners did nt give a damn about them. I had to wait for years to be able to own. He has had the life i wish i could have given the horses i looked after all those years ago.

What a lovely thing to say. When mine were on full livery I'd have loved someone with an attitude like that looking after them.

 

[Kokopelli]

I've only ever worked with horses and can't see it being a long term thing, grear for a gap year (or 3 cough, cough) but I realised I needed to get on with my life and pursue something academically.

I had the absolute pleasure of working for the most lovely people I've met and had an absolutely wonderful time. Learnt a lot (mostly to never become a dealer as I get to attached to the horses) and although I'm sad I'm no longer working there full time, I'm loving the career prospects I'll have after uni.

 

[montanna]

Non horsey! I am a procurement executive for a workplace service company... it's definitely not my dream job but it's well paid and I don't *mind* it. It does give me the means for a nice lifestyle. I have been able to just buy my first 4 bedroom place (with my boyf!), a nice car, newish horsebox, and able to copmpete/keep my horse on full livery and still have a *life*. I think if I worked with horses I would struggle to have all or even some of the above!

Also I like my horse as a little escape... If I worked with horses, I fear I wouldn't have the same desire to ride/compete after slogging away all day. We have a lovely full time groom on our yard, but she works seriously long hours 6 days a week. I'm unsure what she is paid, but it's definitely not enough!! I wish there was more money in it for them, but saying that it would push up our livery costs even more.

 

[shadeofshyness]

No one wants to wake up on a Monday morning and go to work - even people who adore their jobs. I wouldn't want to start resenting horses.

Better to keep horses as something precious and fun I think.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

No one wants to wake up on a Monday morning and go to work - even people who adore their jobs. I wouldn't want to start resenting horses.

Better to keep horses as something precious and fun I think.

I know a police officer who, a few years into his career, joined the mounted branch. He and his wife also had horses at home. A couple of years later he went back to the traffic branch because he was getting no pleasure from his own horses, having been doing horses all day at work.

 

[LaurenDobson]

Non horsey, after growing up wanting to work with horses, doing my ND in horse management and spending 3 years in racing I now work in accounts!! I have a normal 9-5 job with bank holidays and weekends off and can enjoy my horse! It's something you have to do though, it gives you great life experience, independence and lots of good times but I feel it's a job for when you're a teenager/school leaver and then you grow out of it!

 

[Clarebear*]

Wow! so interesting to hear everybodys opinions! really making me glad i have questioned my future and deferred my uni offers, which were horsey ones! i would never want to view doing my own horses as a chore! thankyou everyone, keep them coming!

 

[LeannePip]

Agree non-horsey job long term - but if you want to do it and get it out your system go for it! i did horses for 2 year after leaving 6th form, it was mainly slog, long hours, little gratitude but it was occasionally good fun and when the weather was nice and you had four horses to run up the gallops i couldnt imagine having a desk job, but winter creeps round again and more horses turn up and your horse is still sat in the field being a second thought!

i now have a mon-fri desk job which has flexible hours so can do the horses and i acctually enjoy my own horse now rather than resenting having to do an extra one after having done some one elses! Its nice to have some money occasionally too!

 

[LittleMonster]

NON-Horsey job all the way

I decided to keep horses as a hobby as i was starting to dislike the whole sport working on the yards so packed it up and happy stuck in the office. The bitchiness is something that always got to me...

 

[Dizzle]

Non-horsey.
When I had a part time horsey job the last thing I wanted to do on days where I worked was ride/muck out another horse.

I do miss the good night's sleep I used to have after a full day's yard work though, physical exhaustion is good for the soul (and mucking out 40 odd boxes good for the body).

 

[claireandnadia]

I love my horses dearly but I could not work with horses. I prefer my temperametal customers over the phone to other peoples temperamental horses.

 

[dollymix]

Worth saving the website http://www.equine-careers.co.uk/ into your favourites and checking regularly - you can register for emails too when new jobs come up.
They offer horsey jobs which are more office based and quite often they are starter positions or even apprenticeships. There was one with the company that run HOYs not so long ago, may even still be there, which I would have jumped at if I were just starting out!

 

[sportsmansB]

Have done both
Loved a horsey job and learned a lot... but every job becomes a bit of a slog in the end!
Always intended to get a 'real' job and now use my horses as relaxation and enjoyment and can actually afford to keep them well and have someone look after them on their days off! Also am able to sneak in the odd trip to Badminton/Burghley/Riding holidays which there was no way I could have done on a groom/rider wage...