Working horse owners, tell me what you do

You Wont Forget Me

You Wont Forget Me

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(also in careers and education)

Okay, i want you all to tell me what you do for work??
For years i have wanted to be a vet and open my own practice ect but now i am in my second last year of school ive hit realitly and realised that it is not going to happen as im not going to get the grades i need! So basically im looking for a career path to take that will allow me to keep my horses whilst having a good/wealthy lifestyle, it doesnt have to be animal related (i know they jobs are paticuarly well paying) but anything would be of intrest really... so let me know what you do
 
I'm a primary school teacher. It is not the best paid job in the world but it has its advantages - school hols and I can leave work at 3:45 some days, some weeks. I have three horses but wouldn't be able to afford this if I didn't have a horsey OH who has a better job than me and also one of my horses was bought with some inheritance money so I am very lucky.
 
I work for a gas and electricity company doing general office/customer service type work. Pay is not hugely brilliant but is better than working with horses (been there and done it, more than once)
And the hours are ok - i finish at 4:30 so means i get a bit of time and of course dont work weekends, which is very important to me :)
 
i have my own mobile hairdressing buisness , i couldn't even get the grades at school to even go to our local collage :o and back in the day when there was no internet i had no idea i could have gone into a horsey placement (non horsey parents)

i also do a bit of "horse wispering" lol ie loading problems ,general handling problems ,although i'm getting too old to bounce so no longer ride any ,just my own :rolleyes:

this means i can basically work any hours i want :D i could start at 9 finish at 2 - go back to work at 6 etc
if i'm having a skint week i can put myself more work in and if the bills are all paid i can have an easier week work wise and spend time with the horses

the only draw back is i could be running back n fwd getting changed/showered as i have to look/smell reasonably respectable :p
 
In all honesty....Do not give up on your dream.

If you want to be a vet, you really really can do it, i promise you. You say you're into your second to last year at school so im taking it that you took your gcses and your grades werent what you hoped for, but you had probably picked science a-levels?

I friend of mine failed every single one of her a-levels abissmally (got 2 Ds and a U)....she is now a doctor (gp) she decided to re-sit her a-levels whilest all her friends went off to uni. She was told by the school that she was a fool, and would never even pass them let alone get the grades she needed to be a doctor - well, she didnt listen to them she just studied really hard, and was determined to so it - and sure enough she got her grades and went to uni, it took her longer than most but shes the one laughing now!


If you want it bad enough you can do it. You are a clever as anyone who is a vet, don t let people tell you different, and if they do- you work hard and prove them otherwise- it wont be easy, but just think how great you'll feel when you achieved what everyone else said was impossible.

Hard work and self-belief and you can achieve your dreams! Go for it! xxx
 
I work as a trainer for a private hospital group - pay isn't too bad - I would say about average for 2 years post grad, but I hope to renegotiate when I have finished current training course in June.

I work 40hrs per week, and am away 1-2 nights per week, but can be flexible with my other hours to fit in horses.
 
I work in IT sales and manage to keep one on DIY, I have been contemplating putting him on part but I thought I'd spend the money on a lorry instead ;)
 
to be honest if you want money then dont become a vet. there are many better paid jobs out there which involve working less hours and earning a lot more. setting up your own practice these days is almost impossible - i cant even get a mortgage for a house let alone buy into a practice. if you want to be a vet because you would love the job, dont mind working 12hr days and all through the night sometimes as well, then go for it with all your efforts, but if you want to do it because you think it will pay you well enough to have enough money to play with lots of ponies then think again.
 
Do you think you can't be a vet, or has someone told you that you won't get the grades? I was told the very same at school, and instead of fighting back and proving them wrong by going on to follow what I wanted, I caved and ended up doing Zoology at uni (you'll find many 'failed' vets do zoology :rolleyes: ).

I now work as an ecologist, doing wildlife surveys for a consultancy. Hours are pants, and so is the pay. Having spent a bit of time recently at an equine vets whilst my horse was in there, I wish I had tried harder and followed what I wanted. Vets pay is pretty good, and I wanted the work atmophere/ethic that the job/lifestyle would go hand in hand with. I am currently looking at changing what I do, as I feel stuck. But then, I have got married and just turned 30 so think I may be having a quarter life crisis :rolleyes: :D
 
I work as a specialist head hunter. Quite fun, extraordinaryly hard work and high pressure, excellent company and great boss. Do two days a week in park lane, three just outside London in other office.

Pay is pretty satisfactory- commission is uncapped and very satisfactory!!
 
Well I am an oldie now ( well just over 40!! ) and this is my history!!

1. Qualified chef - hours / pay were cr** and couldn't afford to keep my own horse
2. Worked as a rider / groom in the UK for 18 months then decided I wanted my own and pay wasn't great
3. Took a well paid shift job at a local factory, good overtime and no compulsory weekend work - now had two horses, transport and competing on weekends ( Grass livery )
4. Given oppurtunity to ride / groom in Belgium - lived there for 3 years ( took one of my own to compete )
5. Back to the UK and back to factory job, although this time as a manager - so 2nd horse back on the agenda
6. Moved location and took role for a bank as a manager
7. 10yrs on I have been promoted and earn more money than I would ever have expected as a Risk Manager!!

Not sure what I am trying to say but horses cost alot of money to both keep and even more if you want to compete. My 'fun' jobs did not allow me to afford what I wanted but when working for the factory and now a bank supports me financially and gives me the time to enjoy my horses.
If being a vet is not possible I would recommend go for good alround grades and get yourself into a good company that supports training and development.
 
I trained at vet school for 3 years - decided that I wanted to do a bit more for my patients (what owners will pay/level of research/drug licencing for animals means vet med does have a limit on what you can do) and have some enthusiasm left to ride myself so retrained as a doctor.

My chemistry teacher when I did A-levels (comprehensive in the north east) didn't think I was good enough to go to uni at all, never mind study vet/medicine at somewhere like Bristol. If you know what you want there's no harm in giving it a go and just occassionaly uni admissions tutors do something unexpected!

Edited to add - I never did get that A in Chemistry, or Maths, or Physics....
 
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If being a vet is your dream, then please try and find a way to follow that dream. I have huge regrets about my career choices - I wanted to become a barrister,do a law degree and then to to London to study in chambers. Really wanted to end up as a QC. I had the exam passes, but I met 1st husband who did not wish me to to University. Stupid me agreed and we divorced 10 years later.

Many years on I am now the owner of a chain of estate/letting agencies. Yes it pays me very well, but the hours are pretty chronic, as are the stress levels. I have 2 horses - my own beloved cob and Mini TX's eventer. We do get sponsorship from my company which does help, and I now have my horses on DIY livery. It does help that Mini TX lives close by the yard and will do them both and ride mine if I am held up. Its hard work though.

Pleasse dont give up on your dreams. I love what I do now, its a great business, we are doing fine, I work with some fantastic people, have a great business partner etc, but its not what I really dreamed of doing all those years ago. As they say, where there is a will, there is a way, and if its meant to be you will find that way, and it wont pass you by.
 
Thanks everyone! No one has said as such that i wont get the grades i just dont feel i'll manage them, i am still going to try as hard as i can to get them but just trying to get some back ups ready incase i dont get what i need
 
Half the battle is believing in yourself....honestly. As you go through life (im 27..so not really an oldie- but been where you are now) you'll realise that the people who go far are those you have had people tell them how wonderful they are, be it pushy parents, grandparents, or a school which expects excellence and therefore tell its pupils they are the best of the best. Are they better than you? No....but they do have a massive advantage , in that they will believe the world is theirs for the taking and it is up to them to take it.

My dear, if you want to be a vet, or a teacher, or a doctor or whatever, know that you can do it, study hard, ask for help if you need it, but don't listen to anyone who says you cant achieve it- you most definitely can!
 
If you think you want to be a vet, then go for it, but please go and do some work experience and talk to the vets, and take a reality check!

On paper the wages are good - but my standard working week is 8.30 to 6, 5 days a week and that's without taking on-call time into account. The vast majority of practices do not pay you any extra for on call work, so at busy times of year in large animal practice you won't be getting much above minimum wage in real terms! Small animal jobs often come with no on call commitment, but you may be expected to be in doing consults until 8 or 9pm. There isn't really a "ladder" to climb, and the treatment of employees by some practices is, quite frankly, shocking!

The general public think all vets are minted - but that's quite far from the truth! Sure, if you're a partner in a successful practice you can make a good amount of money but assistant wages are very poor in some areas of the country, and you very quickly reach the ceiling of assistant salaries.

So, unless you have the good fortune and finance to be offered and able to accept a partnership, you won't get rich!

I'm lucky in that my practice works (relatively) civilised hours for most of the year - but I have a number of vet friends who don't feel they have the time to be able to look after a horse (and can't afford to keep one on full livery........)

I don't want to discourage you if it's really what your dream is, but go in with your eyes open! Being a vet is not a career, it's a way of life. And also remember that when you've spent all day dealing with other peoples bad mannered and sometimes dangerous horses, the last thing you feel like doing is going and spending time with your own! This is part of the reason why I am now a cow vet!
 
lauraandjack said:
This is part of the reason why I am now a cow vet!
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and why i only deal with small animals! you have to become a vet because you will thrive on the constant challenge and variety and dont mind a bit of hard work, but definitely not because you want to earn lots of money and have plenty of spare time to play ponies!
 
I'm another ecologist - for the first 9 years it was hard work, rubbish pay, I was often sat on my horse at 10pm after walking all day surveying, and every year, without fail, I'd get ill in the autumn because I'd worked such ridiculous hours from March-October/November. I earnt less than minimum wage after 4 years at uni to get a degree and an MSc if you divided my salary by the hours I routinely worked, and as for getting back TOIL, don't make me laugh! I was basically broke and exhausted the whole time, and I hated it. I was also the only person I know who used to do fitness work in the dark, and routinely rode under floodlights in the middle of summer!!

Then I set up freelance. Now effort in has a direct correlation to £££ out, I can set my own agenda, work when and where I like, and basically have a much happier life. I'm not sure I'd do the same given my time again though....but I do really enjoy my job now, it's fascinating, I get to work outside, have an active job, and do everything from expert witness to counting bats or moving reptiles. I thought I hated the job, what I really hated was feeling like some kind of indentured slave who had no life and whom it was perfectly acceptable to send to the other side of the country for weeks on end at the drop of a hat with no notice, then refuse to give any time off in lieu to, and be arsey about holidays between March and October.

I can now afford horses, lorry, eventing etc - but I can only also afford foreign holidays, haircuts and clothes because my OH followed a much more sensible career path and subsidises those things.

When I look at friends though, I think it is pretty typical that for the first 8-10 years you have long hours for rubbish pay, or ridiculous hours which leave you literally no time for anything else for good pay, and then you hit a breakthrough point where you are experienced enough that you can start to set the agenda, negotiate in job interviews to get better Ts&Cs, have decent pay and more flexible hours etc. So TBH pick something you like doing, because despite what everyone thinks, it is generally hard work and not very well paid being a graduate and earning those years of experience, then things suddenly rocket after 10 years or so. I have friends who have left the vet profession after 10 years because it really is slave labour a lot of the time!
 
I'm an ecologist too... and have just made a slight career change...

I worked for a multi-national consultancy for 5 years, thinking the pay would be good. The pay was was ok, certainly not "good", but the hours were long, I was away 2-3 days every week, and there was NO flexibilty in hours.. so no evening compeitions and I had to take annual leave for every vet/ farrier visit. As a result I struggled to keep two horses in full work, especially in winter.

I've just made the decision to change to a charity role which pays less BUT gives more flexibilty. I've also moved back "home" after 9 years away which means I have a floodlit school for after work.. just in time to break my youngster next year and have three in full work - eek!

The moral of the story i guess is that it'll be a struggle, unless you go into the city, work like stink for 10 years, make a fortune and retire at 30 to horse full time for the rest of your life. I kinda wish I'd known this at the time!
 
I'm a civil servant in senior management. I work in the City 8 til 4 and keep my 2 at home.

I work v hard between the hours of 8 & 4, did an MA in my own time & the highest prof qual I could get, & have always volunteered for special projects, extra work etc to scratch my way high enough up the ladder to manage vast mortgage + horses. I ride every day & used to do weekly lessons & comps.

Not a shining eg atm tho as I divorced & remarried, & while my ex & I are squabbling over the house, I've had to sell the lorry & give up lessons & comps, probs til the Spring.

If you set your sights on something & really go for it, you WILL get there! It was no fun studying for MA & prof qual at the same time, studying at lunchtime, on the train, eves & w'ends...but if you stick at it, you WILL get the rewards. Good luck!
 
I do admin for a University College and have 2 horses, this will be the first year they've lived out all winter but before I was at the yard for 6.30am, back at home by 7.30am then at work for 8.50.

Then my boyfriends mom would bring them in for us on the night.
 
I don't think I've ever openly 'outed' myself on this forum before but feel I have to in order to set some facts straight. I am a full-time vet in a mixed practice doing mostly equine/large animal work. I have been qualified for 12 years.

star said:
to be honest if you want money then dont become a vet. there are many better paid jobs out there which involve working less hours and earning a lot more. setting up your own practice these days is almost impossible - i cant even get a mortgage for a house let alone buy into a practice. if you want to be a vet because you would love the job, dont mind working 12hr days and all through the night sometimes as well, then go for it with all your efforts, but if you want to do it because you think it will pay you well enough to have enough money to play with lots of ponies then think again.
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Ditto eveything Star has said.

Stencilface said:
Having spent a bit of time recently at an equine vets whilst my horse was in there, I wish I had tried harder and followed what I wanted. Vets pay is pretty good, and I wanted the work atmophere/ethic that the job/lifestyle would go hand in hand with.
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The biggest problem is people's perception of a vets pay. To put it in perspective my uni flatmates who were studying medicine earn 2-3x what I do now. My mother who's a librarian earns more than I do, as does my little brother who's a fundraiser for a cancer charity. Both family members work 9-5.

Had it not been for a large sum of money that my husband inherited we would have no chance of being able to buy a house, possibly ever (he's a builder so wages not huge). To me that is a pretty shocking statistic for someone in a supposedly well-paid professional job.

As one of the other vets on this thread said we are paid a salary for our basic weekly hours but if we are busy on our on-call hours the money doesn't even break down to cover the mimimum wage some weeks. There is little or no chance of setting up alone or buying into a partnership at the moment as a) the market is pretty saturated and b) you need a LOT of money to do so and those I know who have tried have been turned down by bank after bank.

Yes, it's a lifestyle rather than a career and when it goes well there's no better job in the world but there's huge pressure, a horrific suicide/alcohol/drugs dependency rate and you have to watch every single word and action due to our lovely litigious society who are just waiting for you to trip up so they can get on the phone to their solicitor.

I manage to ride my horses but rely on other income streams to be able to afford to compete and have to keep them on DIY. A house with land would be the perfect solution but that ain't going to happen on my salary!

There is no prospect of advancement in my job either. Enrollments to vets schools are increasingly enormously. When I qualified there were about 65 students in each year. Now there are 200+ and plenty coming from abroad too so jobs are getting very scarce.

Ideally I'd set up on my own but even supposing I got the money to do so vets have an obligation to provide 24/7 cover. This would mean no hacking out, ever; no competing, ever; no more than one glass of wine, ever and no leaving the vicinity of my house/practice, ever. When even the nearest big shopping town is 30 mins away this is going to be a non-starter!

So my career advice is this:
Find a career that pays well, offers advancement opportunities and allows plenty of time to enjoy your horses. Then tell me what it is and I'll come and join you!

(disclaimer - I do, mostly, enjoy my job and went into it with my eyes open thanks to some lovely vets who let me 'see practice' with them before I went to uni. It's the common rose-tinted view in the horse world that being a vet must be the ideal job - money and ponies - that gets me down. Rant over ;)).
 
Ok, so vets pay may not exactly be huge, but honestly, compared to what I am paid in a technical job that took 4 years of uni to get here, for the hours I do, travel I do, and sleep that I lose - I get paid a lot less, trust me! :D
 
Gamebird said:
As one of the other vets on this thread said we are paid a salary for our basic weekly hours but if we are busy on our on-call hours the money doesn't even break down to cover the mimimum wage some weeks.
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Depressingly, until I went freelance, if you broke my pay down into an hourly rate, I didn't get minimum wage at any point in my career working for someone else. I had about 9 years experience when I set up on my own. I earnt more money waitressing at university than I did in my professional job!

In my career though that's because of the people-pressure - there are 10 people waiting to take your place and because it's common-place to volunteer for a year or so before you get your first job, they'll do you job for even less money because it is more than the £0 they were on before!!

I will stop now with the 'I was lucky to get a bowl of warm gravel and sleep in a bog' one-upmanship ;)
 
really? do people on here realise the average new grad salary for a vet is only around 25k and you have to fight seriously hard for any kind of payrise in the current economic climate. you can still be on 25k several yrs in, still working 12hr days and on call all night sometimes as much as 1 in 3. initially it barely left me time to wave hello to my pony a few days a week and he was kept on grass livery with someone else popping their head in on him on the days I couldn't make it there. I'm now 5yrs qualified and just doing small animals in a hospital practice means no on call but I have to work extra shifts for the emergency vets to make competing a possibility and god only knows if I'll ever manage to move out of home and buy a house! I've got so much student debt no mortgage lender will touch me at the moment!
 
I take it you don't mean student loan Star? Because mortgage companies don't take that into account when deciding on eligibility.

I can't speak for anyone else in my industry, but after 9 years I hadn't broken the 25K barrier and was asked (= told) to take a 10% paycut (because of the collapse of the construction industry), so by the time I went freelance I was earning less than that and routinely working 12-15 hour days and 60-80 hour weeks. It wasn't unusual to start work at 8am on Monday, work through to 11.30, crash in the B&B, start again at 2.30am, and work right through until 7pm, have a 'night off' and start again at 2.30 the following morning. In newt season, I used to be sent away from home for a week, start at 8am Monday, work through till 10pm, start again at 5am and work till 10pm = 80 odd hour week. Nightmarish!

My most favourite moment was the manager who asked me why I wasn't answering my emails within 4 hours. I pointed out that a) I was stood in a field and the company wouldn't stump up for a blackberry for me, and b) if I wasn't doing that, I was sleeping. He said he worked at least as many hours as me so I asked if he was doing that for my salary....the conversation ended at that point and he apologised!
 
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I'm a nurse on an Intensive care unit. I work 12 1/2 hour shifts but that gives me lots of time off. I'm a sister so the expectation is that I attend meetings etc on days off (grr). I have my horse on a pretty expensive DIY yard, I pay one of the other liveries to see to him when I'm working. I keep him there as it's adults only, has good facilities and is 5 mins from my house. I have a small lorry and he is one pampered pony. I could never have dreamed of setting back up with horses again though without an inheritence from my gran. I live comfortably, I'm single but he comes first. I can afford to compete BE etc but I do watch the pennies! My job is not badly paid but I can think of many things I'd rather do! My advice would be to keep your horse as a hobby, find a job which pays enough and be realistic about your prospects.
 
star said:
really? do people on here realise the average new grad salary for a vet is only around 25k and you have to fight seriously hard for any kind of payrise in the current economic climate. you can still be on 25k several yrs in, still working 12hr days and on call all night sometimes as much as 1 in 3. initially it barely left me time to wave hello to my pony a few days a week and he was kept on grass livery with someone else popping their head in on him on the days I couldn't make it there. I'm now 5yrs qualified and just doing small animals in a hospital practice means no on call but I have to work extra shifts for the emergency vets to make competing a possibility and god only knows if I'll ever manage to move out of home and buy a house! I've got so much student debt no mortgage lender will touch me at the moment!
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And the nights are IN ADDITION to the days, not shift work. The person who gets me out of bed with a coughing dog at 3am is often rather surprised to learn that I've worked all the previous day, all night and all the next day too :rolleyes:.
 
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