Studying equine at uni?

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icyfreya

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I've been looking into different degree course specs, at the moment I'm most interested in Equine Studies, Equine Science, or maybe Equine sports performance...can anyone give me any more info on the courses, and what sort of career path they lead to?
I'm actually about to start my A levels but am looking into it now!
I've heard that equine degrees are quite useless, and that many people who do them are forced to work in a completely unrelated field or are stuck as a low wage groom (no offence to any grooms! :) )and cannot pay off their uni debts. So if this is the case then I think I will probably do a non equine degree.

Also the best uni's to go and visit? I really like the look of aberystwyth...I'd much rather go to a uni than a college...preferably based in the west/south west...

Thanks for reading :)
 
I'm actually just about to start my A levels too, and i've looked into all the various equine degrees and such because that was what i thought I wanted to do originally. From what i've found out though, like you said, the equine degrees don't tend to be very useful in actually getting a job and there's a few people I know who've done them and are now stuck working in office jobs and such that they hate. It's probably not worth it unless you have a specific career in mind like an equine vet or osteopath or something, and even then there are courses specific to those particular career choices.

I think in the end that it's one of those things that sounds ideal and is probably great fun, but in the end it can make it really difficult to get a good job.
 
Hi whilst it is nice to be able to study equine degree, have you thought what sort of job you wish to do later. You are about to take a very expensive choice which without being to dramatic will shape the rest of your life. broadly speaking you could be about 20K plus in debt after a 3 yr course, and what are the job prospects will you have..............groom (just above legal wage) the equine degree will actually be quite difficult to transfer into different areas. i work at a Uni, we have had applications from people with this sort of degree who are trying to get on Msc to give themselves a chance of a job (by the way an Msc cost 4.4k plus living) by the way they didn't fit the criteria.

sorry to sound all doom and gloom


i would consider very hard taking a good degree with transferable skills and then using this to specialise in the equine area this way you have a back up. and more chance of earning enough money for a lorry:)
 
I did a BSc (Hons) Equine and Human Sports Science 3 years ago now. I originally wanted to go on to lecture but didn't get the grades I was after. I then wanted to go into the human side and be a occupational therapist but then spent over a month in hospital and went rapidly off that idea! I didn't want to do pure human so to me the equine and human seemed a good idea as equine kept me interested. It's important to take a degree you are interested in as you will end up hating it otherwise.

Job prospect wise you are on level pegging with a degree such as Geography, English or Psychology. Unless you have a specific job in mind none of these courses will get you an amazing job, make sure in your gap year/placement year/holidays you get as much work experience under your belt as you can.

I left uni and wanted an admin job in the end as equine nutrition takes years to get into and I didn't want to teach FE even though I got offered a position. I went into small animal veterinary reception and a bit of nursing. Now I have just swapped and i'm an equine veterinary nurse and pharmacy manager, my next goal will be to become a drug rep. Friends jobs have been: on to vet school, grooms, admin, marketing, working with children with behavioural problems, hunt staff.

It's tough getting a job coming out of uni no matter what you take. Would I have been better off getting a job and not going to uni? career wise maybe but the life experience it gave me and the chance to grow up and grow in confidence was invaluable.

edited to add: I was at Warwickshire College and loved it there. Every uni has it's negatives but I found it a very friendly uni, small comunity but meant you got that extra help off tutors if you needed it.
 
I disagree with holly and ivy. There are hundreds of jobs that u can do after equine course. Not just a groom lol! I am about to start engine sports science. I chose it just because I prefere science and sporting side of horses. Afterwards I am going to do a part time vet physio course and Di physio for horses as well as other pets. I'd this doesn't work out I will prob do a pgce and do primary teaching. As long s u have good a levels and a high degree most business people will take u and.u can easily do a masters if I wanted to do something completely different after.
 
hi what is engine sports science?

with the credit crunch and the number of job losses annouced daily, don't forget each year there are 1000s of people after these 100s of jobs. i have graduate at the begining of a recession and from experience i know how difficult it is to get a job.

and i pointed out the masters as a route after you have a good back up degree, but if you start uni now and end up going through that route you will have debt of about 30K all i am saying is to keep your options open
 
I did a year of degree in Equine Studies and decided it was a waste of time. My first aim was to get an office job at Stoneleigh Park but in all honesty why do you need a degree to do office admin? I decided to get some work experience doing office work then work my way up. I was turned down for office junior jobs at stoneleigh cuz I didnt have enough experience so started temping for an agency then got offered a permanant role at a company nothing to do with horses but paid 4k more than the average admin job at stoneleigh did!

Have a long think about if you wanna go to uni and pick a degree which is useful to what you wanna do for a career. My friends who have completed equine degrees are doing office work and I was doing the same job as a lot of people who had degrees so they hadnt got any further than what I had. Plus I dont have their debt!
 
Don't touch Aberystwyth with a barge pole unless you want to train at a place where ragwort is a part of the yard's floral decoration and the xc course hasn't been used for years and the staff clock off at 5pm.
 
Lol sorry did it on my phone. It has a hilarious sense of humor wen it comes to predictive txt lol. Equine sports science it is meant to be.
I know I understand where u are coming from but surely with any degree, jobs after are going to b short.
I just would rather spend 3 years learning things I really enjoy learning and wanting to go to my lectures to learn more! For me this means doing horses but it differs for each person. Plus I am staying at home so I won't have any debt! I suppose I am lucky for this.
Everyone has different opinions and experiences I guess everyone has to find out what's best for them personally :)
 
Career wise, I'm not sure what I want to do yet! At A level I'm taking Biology, Psychology, History and Art, so pretty much keeping my options open :) I think, if I do decide to go into equine, I probably want to do something like equine physiotherapist/osteopath, maybe a dentist, or something, or do freelance teaching/running my own yard in the long run. If I don't go equine, then PGCE and primary school teaching is my main back-up plan too! Or possibly go to royal school of music and become a professional flautist/freelance music teacher. I don't know, I just think I'd really like to be able to go off to uni once I've finished my A levels to help me mature and get used to living away from home etc, it's an invaluable life experience.

Ahhh Doncella that sounds pretty bad! Oh nooo :( I just liked the look of it as it's not too far away from my mum, and I've got a few older friends who went to aber to do totally non related courses and really enjoyed it...eeeek. Well I guess I'm going to have to inspect a lot of uni's personally.

Thanks for all the replies! :)
 
Rowy - there is still tuition fee debt, which is 3grand ish per year of study, plus ALOT of books if you're not going to be on campus for constant library access.
 
I think the prob is that equine sci degrees are actually quite sciency but the modules involved aren't always picked up as such by potential employers in non equine fields.

I do think its important to do a degree you enjoy though otherwise it is hard work. I did biology, which has the issue of not being specific and leaving my options a little too open. The only thing I would say is i rushed choosing a bit, if I had my time again I would have studied the individual modules more closely and maybe have chosen a slightly different course but also you never know which ones are going to interest you when you start!
 
Perhaps follow the BHS exams/stages to gain the knowledge through rather than an Equine Degree at Uni. They usually are better recognised/received by an employer. Then you can study something else at Uni or go into a apprentice role/specific training for the equine field you are interested in pursuing.
 
I have just graduated from Equine Dental Science degree, although have decided now that it is not the career for me and I do not have the initial finance to start up such a career! In the 2 months I have been back at home for I have not found a single bit of work.

I want to get into Equine nutrition but have been shot down by many feed companies as I do not have a degree in animal nutrition, I am going to try and pursue getting into this area however it may take me years. At the moment I am looking into officey jobs such as customer service type jobs/accounting etc.

I do wish i could have turned back time and done a degree in Biology or something, however even if I had done a better degree at a more prestigious uni, I would still be in the same situation I am now :(

I agree with ester, the degrees are actually quite sciencey but many non-equine employers overlook them. When I was at college I felt rushed to pick a degree and uni for university applications, without really thinking about what I wanted to do...and am now a bit stuck!
 
i think if you want to go to uni and get the debt i would opt for a NON horsey degree from a good red brick university. that degree is more transferable to jobs, and if you have a keen interest and have come up through pc and compete and a decent personnal cv then you can still do horses! (which are not that badly paid now mw has kicked in) sorry but equine degrees are not specific (a little of this and a little of that). i have employed an equine degree student from an equine COLLEGE who couldnt even spot a fat leg or a sick horse, her practical skills were v bad and her business skills ............ well.
 
Katd66 said:
Perhaps follow the BHS exams/stages to gain the knowledge through rather than an Equine Degree at Uni. They usually are better recognised/received by an employer. Then you can study something else at Uni or go into a apprentice role/specific training for the equine field you are interested in pursuing.
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I'm already working towards my stage 2 :D can't do any of the others till i'm abit older though :( but at weekends I'm working through my stages, intend to get my PTT when i'm old enough, and then do the BHSAI and BHSI possibly when I'm at uni or on a gap year...
 
ofcourseyoucan said:
i think if you want to go to uni and get the debt i would opt for a NON horsey degree from a good red brick university. that degree is more transferable to jobs, and if you have a keen interest and have come up through pc and compete and a decent personnal cv then you can still do horses! (which are not that badly paid now mw has kicked in) sorry but equine degrees are not specific (a little of this and a little of that). i have employed an equine degree student from an equine COLLEGE who couldnt even spot a fat leg or a sick horse, her practical skills were v bad and her business skills ............ well.
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Ahh see that's the rub, although technically my grades are good and I'd be able to get into a good uni and do a good academic subject, I really don't think I'd enjoy it! But it seems maybe needs must, and it would be a complete waste of time/money/effort to go through uni to get an equine degree which isn't valued in the industry so I can't get a job...I'm probably going to have to look at back up subjects that I can do then.

Hmmmmmm.

Just out of interest, if I was thinking of becoming something like an equine physio, does anyone know what sort of course I would need for that?

:)
 
by red brick uni, despite the course not actually being as useful as some of the newer uni's courses still seems to have some clout.

fwiw prob wish I had taken a second gap year and made a slightly diff decision on what I did (mine were gaps in a vet application) and not be rushed as per heather bambi's comment
 
Hey did my a levels over a year ago now, but when i was looking at unis i really thought about a horsey uni, but my instructor and family friend who is quite high up in the horsey world (dressage judges for burghley etc) she firmly told me to keep horses your hobby as there's no money in it for years, and it will take you till you're 35/40 to get where you want to be and doing what you want. But if you really are sure about a horsey uni make sure you go to the better places, hartpury is the absolute best and looks lovely, plus if you're a really good and talented rider you can get some type of scholarship to help you financially
Hope that helped
 
I went to Hartpury College and loved every minute of it, I did Ba (hons) Equine Business Management, and whilst i do not work with horses i do have my own business and have my two horses as a hobby. I did run a livery yard for a short time but there wasn't the money in it to have the lifestyle i wanted with my horses.
A few of my friends on the same course have gone on to be instructors, work for the BHS and equine Mctimmoney Chiropractors.
Hartpury was fab and i wouldn't change my degree, i would much prefer to do something i enjoy for 3 years then not, lifes too short :)
 
the clue is in the title hartbury COLLEGE, morton morell college, etc. they are all classed as university degrees but really are polished up college courses. All the equine courses were at colleges til 3 or 4 years ago when they affiliated into the university system. At the end of the day you have to do what you want! i have done horses all my life, came up through pc, worked abroad at some top yards, travelled half way round the world with horses. loved every minute of it. never went to university to do horses. i did agriculture and land management!(at my parents insistence) this has helped me immensly. Although i have worked in horses i did retrain at the age of 30 and now have a proper part time (tho could be full time) within the nhs and private sector health care, but still run my busy livery yard. Horses have seen me right over the years but it is a lifestyle/hobby job! sadly i now dont have a hobby as my hobby is work, bloody hard at that!
 
icyfreya said:
Just out of interest, if I was thinking of becoming something like an equine physio, does anyone know what sort of course I would need for that?

:)
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You can become a Veterinary Physio two ways.

One way is to study something like BSc Equine Science/ animal science or zoology. Then study MSc Veterinary Physiotherapy (Harper Adams University).

The other way is to study BSc Human Physiotherapy then study MSc Veterinary Physiotherapy at RVC.

I did an Equine Science degree at Oxford Brookes. I loved the course (very science based) and I do not regret doing it but somtimes I think I should have done something else, although I know I wouldn't have enjoyed it and although I am currently working in an office I am studying Vet Physio so I am happy I will get the career I have always wanted.

Good luck with your choices. :)
 
I did Animal Science (Equine) at Imperial College (very highly thought of uni in world of science) and enjoyed every second of it (although agricultural part of IC has been shut down...ahem...we wont go there :) ) I went straight into working as a nutritional advisor at the company that has the brands Spillers, Winergy etc and LOVED it, but due to personal reasons had to move back down to Kent. I am now working in the Animal Health industry and looking in to teaching FE.

HOWEVER, i do agree that you need to do a degree that you think you will enjoy and be interested in. There is no point whatsoever in signing up to do (for example) a maths degree because someone told you that you would get a good job after it, and spend 3 years struggling/bored. Have a look at the equine courses and try and pick the most 'sciencey' ones (if that's the sort of field you want to go into afterwards). Bristol does some, i think Oxford Brookes as well?? All i'll say is dont go for (as my old lecturer used to say) pony patting courses. Look for biochemistry, chemistry, physiology - those sort of modules you can big up to your first employer and on your CV.
 
Best bit of advice my Mom ever gave me -"study what you want, but make sure there's a job at the end of it".
Ive had a few friends study the courses you mention, they have all, without fail, had to retrain in something else to get a job!
 
QR to Rowy

"I'd this doesn't work out I will prob do a pgce and do primary teaching."

Don't rely on this as a fallback. Your degree needs to have at least 50% content that coincides with the National Curriculum at Primary level, so 50% of either science, maths, english (are the first ones they look at) then geog, history, re, pe or music.....they look at the breakdown of your modules, so doing an equine science degree you'd need lots of the science based modules which might not come to 50%

Primary PGCE's are very difficult to get into as they are popular. I did a BSc Animal Science which was over 75% biology, but they still ummed and arghed about letting me onto the secondary science PGCE course.
 
I never said to do a degree you weren't interested in, i only pointed out that this is a very expensive decision you are about to take. gone are the days of fees being paid and grants to support your education, you have to fund this yourself. i know from experience how difficult it is getting a job in and just after a recession, and i only suggested to look into different options to give your self choices later in life. For one if you want to work withing the equine industry do you need to do a straight degree? would you be better doing a part time degree/qualifiaction whilst gaining usefull and valid work experience. i still stand by my reply of getting a good transferable skills based degree before deciding to specialise in an equine area, this will give you back up.

if you read through the replies above quite a few mention retraining to do something else later.

At the end of the day it is your choice, just look at the options and where you would like to go in the world

:)
 
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