What equine job do you have?

PinkFairy

PinkFairy

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Or have had? Such as vet, competer, YO, etc? And what was/is the salary like? How much contact with horses and/or riding did/do you have? Did/do you enjoy it? Would you ever swap for a different horsey job? Just being a bit nosy but I am trapped with 4 ideas of what job i'd like and not sure which would be closest to what i want to be involved in.
 
Used to be a Groom at Hunt kennels and then on a Film Set and then in Austrailia doing tourist rides. Rode everyday and loved my job. Now have a boring job in an office/control room, working shifts, but can at least afford a horse of my own now.
 
I've been a groom twice, I'm still owed £1200 form the first job and the second groom's job I had I was working for a showjumper and I loved it, the pay was okay as well
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I worked at an eventing yard for a year, had an amazing time and got to compete my horse whenever I wanted and to school loads of the young horses on the yard. However had to give that up coz I had quite a big accident (air ambulance job!!) and the general wear and tear on my body from the phisical work was taking its toll. The salary was pretty much non existant but the experience/tuition was amazing. I now work in show organisation (winter nationals, bluse chip, northern ireland, badminton, olympia etc.) am loving it coz I can still compete my own horse in quiet times inbetween shows. Salary is sufficient to cover rent, horse, fuel etc.
 
Well, i'd like a job that means i'd still be able to continue riding doing my job and getting paid enough for my own horse. So I thought of being a competer for someone elses horses but I'm not really sure.
 
I did a working pupil job for about a year. It was fantastic work experience and a real crash course on working on yards. Got loads of teaching experience as well. However, there was bugger all riding except for your obligatory staff lesson 4 times a week. There were 2 WPs who did all the riding and the rest of us just did yard work. Money was terrible (of course) but we did get free accomodation plus a teaching bonus.

I left because I wanted a more 'riding' job with the chance to ride youngsters/ schooling projects/difficult horses that kind of thing.

Now working part time on a riding school/dealer yard/livery yard. It is much busier with fewer staff and a TON of work to do but I get to do a lot more riding on all sorts of horses and I get sole charge sometimes as well. Pay is ok for a yard job and I'm still doing lots of teaching which is great.
 
I do part time teaching at my local riding school, have been there more or less since I was 6 yrs old ( im now 26 , will be in march)
Rode all the ponies that came into the yard (im not tall) and rode them at the likes of cavan sales

have also been a stablehand working with youngstock and stallions

I couldnt sit in an office all day, Im an outdoor person

Wage are ok not ideal but its only part time work
 
I used to be an event groom for international event horses, then I was a livery yard manager and now I am the centre manager of a large equestrian centre in Berkshire. Salary isn't bad at all.
 
well - I muck out my 8 boxes on my equine Butlins where the horses all do sodawl and I do all the work

they eat drink sleep and do not much work - the odd hour at the weekend just to relieve the boredom - and I fall asleep in front of the tv having attended to their inability to use a broom and shovel but total ability to eat and then sh1t a lot

every now and again I award myself a glass of wine (or 3 ) and a tin of cider as a reward

in between I work from home at my office job as a homeworker and enjoy the odd moment when something I've bred does well with one of the rentakids at PClub or my old nag and I dig ourselves out of our rut and go off and do some R. Club dressage

I wanted to do what you've done but my parents insisted on 'proper qualifications' - and now I'm well past 50 I see the sense of what they did - although I didn't when I was 16 and could sit on most horses no matter what they did.

However bear in mind that the arthritis and the Reynauds will catch up with you in the end and you need to have something else up your sleeve to pay the bills.

I envy the kids some days their ability to do what I used to do and 'sort one' when needed but then I remember the bruises when I hit the deck and realise that memories are quite enough
 
Im a groom at an equine retirement home. I don't get to ride at all as they are all retired (obviously!), but I only work 38 hours per week on a rota basis, i do 3 full days 7.30-4.30, then 3 half days 7.30-1 which is great as it still means I have time for my own horse. The salary is good Im currently on £13,500 but it will continue to go up the longer I stay.And im only 21 so not too bad! I also get 4 weeks paid holiday and 6 months full pay if I'm off sick (which has currently just run out
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) Im also being trained for my NVQ 2 in horse care then NVQ 3. I do enjoy it the only bit I don't like is the horses being PTS but thats part of the job.
 
Groom in SJ yard. Lucky enough to be able to keep my own horse. Do a bit of freelance teaching - but wouldn't like to do that full time. There is plenty of travelling in my job - so get to see other countries.

Pay not bad - but I will never be rich!! Hoping to manage my own yard someday.
 
groomed for years (eventers, sjs, p to pts, hunters, equine clinic) and decided enough was enough! Now running my own yard made up of retired or broken down horses. It got tiring doing the circuit and sleeping in the back of a horsebox and piddling in a stable or behind a bush (toilets at 3 day competitions are disgusting after half an hour) was great while I was young and daft. I like my home comforts now and not being told what to do and when. Wouldnt change any of it. Mairi.
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I've owned my own yards for about 18 years now and I love it. I really do! Yes it is long hours and yes you occasionally get a nitwit but it is still a great way of life. Most of my boarding horses are babies - this is our specialty, babies are what I like to have here. They live their baby lives here and then when they are old enough they go back to their owners to be trained in whichever equine discipline they are destined for.

I also am a dealer, specialising in young horses. I generally buy them as yearlings and then sell them as quiet, backed and ridden out 3 year olds. This is probably the most rewarding of all the things I do to be honest. I love working with the little ones and I get so much enjoyment when they finally move on from me after a couple of years and go to loving private homes.

I also have a trail riding business. This allows me to keep a number of horses who help pay their way in life.

We own a hay farm and this is where the majority of our money comes from - it is back breaking work in the summer and moving it again in the winter never seems like fun but when you come home with a big wodge of money in your wallet, it all becomes clear why you do it, LOL!!
 
I was a "yard assistant" (my official title) on sundays at a busy RS - basically the most experienced weekend helper outer who wasn't actual staff

Took the hacks out, both inhand and ridden; helped teach the beginner groups and generally make sure everything was in, fed and tacked up for each lesson etc. Plus kept the yard tidy and running smoothly.

I got £30 for a 9hr day plus obviously hacking out atleast once ridden and a free private lesson (if not many other free rides) during the week.
 
I've worked in all sorts of yards, from trekking to Flat and NH and breaking yards and private grooming, stopped mucking out other peoples' nags when I had my daughter. Went into making rosettes, which paid for my own horses but i was so busy I never had time for them, now I specialise in custom made Parade Costumes and very fancy sashes which mainly end up around the necks of miniature horses worldwide. Not very exciting but it's a job that pays my bills and can be done whenever I like.
 
Iwork part time at a local Riding school/livery yard. Teach most of the weekends at the moment, but come the start of eventing season I wil be out and about grooming most weekends as that is what I am really there for! I love doing it, real sence of pride when they do well and are admired. Dont get any money, however I get free stabled livery and training for NVQ's. I think it is an ok deal as My lad would be the most expensive to keep and I couldnt have him if I had to pay!!
 
Bought an ex dairy farm nearly 5 years ago and needed to take in a few diy'ers to help pay for our own 5 horses. There was no internal fencing, no stables and the place was generally in disrepair. OH has built beautiful stables and we now have a waiting list. We built a 20x60 manege, but will probably never recover the costs of all the building, fencing etc. The liveries pay for my own horses, but thats about it. The cost of repairs and working the land takes up the rest, but I wouldnt change it for the world. There's nothing like being your own boss and being first on the yard when its so quiet, having a coffee and a gass with the horses while they're having breakfast.
 
I'm a horse transporter, love it and have never looked back!
I meet some really fantastic people and horses, work on a lot of repeat business
and am out all hours on breakdowns and emergencies for the RAC and vets.
Getting out of bed at stupid o'clock on a cold winters night is not brill, but really couldn't go back to a "normal" job.
Also in the process of buying a 30 acre farm, so hope to do full livery for 10 horses as well, but will probably end up filling the stables with broken, unwanted Gee gees.....
Jo
 
I dont work with horses anymore but since leaving school i have;

*worked on a dressage stud as a working pupil where i did my BHS exams and got to do a lot of competing.

*Worked as a groom for an Olympic dressage rider.

*worked at a Military saddle club where I was a groom to start off with then took up the teaching, and bringing on of the horses and then taking all of the MoD courses.

*worked freelance for a few years.

*Worked at a military yard bringing on horses and teaching.
 
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