Skills and Qualifications Needed

First and foremost, one of the most important qualifications needed for working in the horse industry is having a love and understanding for these fascinating animals along with a great interest in their care and well being.

In addition to being good with horses in general, you will also want to be comfortable working and interacting with other people as well.

The ability to ride a basic course and be in good physical condition with the stamina to work long hours in various weather conditions are some other skills and qualifications needed to thrive depending on the specific aspect of the equine industry.

Getting your hands dirty will more than likely be a part of the equation at some point or another as hands-on training is an integral part of pursuing an education related to horses. Nearly everyone gets their start helping to muck out at least a few stalls regardless of the type of equine career they are pursuing.

When not working and learning out in the stables, related courses including those in bachelor's and associate's degree programs from colleges and universities may entail learning equine life sciences and equine management.

Equine Career Choices

There are many diverse jobs and career choices related to horses or the equine industry in a wide variety of sectors.

Horse trainers and riding instructors are popular choices to consider and if you are interested in racing and have the excellent skills needed, work to become a jockey or start out as an exercise rider. Exercise riders work closely with both jockeys and horse trainers while playing an important role teaching horses the proper ways to run, walk, gallop, and respond to commands.

If you don't have the talent needed but still want to work close to the action, choose racetrack management or a member of the racetrack's staff.

Naturally horses need quality medical care. Veterinarian, veterinarian assistant, or technician are all ideal career choices for those interested in equine health care.

Horses will also always need grooms or stable hands, barn foremen, farriers or blacksmiths, and breeders. New positions are being created in the equine industry including feed specialists, who specialize in horse nutrition, and massage therapists who work directly with the horses performing animal therapy.

There are also a number of jobs that may not include hands-on work but will still give you the opportunity to work in the equine industry. For example, numerous businesses and companies cater to horses in some capacity or another whether it is making saddles or printing racing forms.

Where to Find a Job

As is the case with many types of careers, networking and word of mouth are some of the most effective means of securing a job in the equine industry. Interacting with as many like minded people as possible has the potential to open many doors you may not have even knew existed.

Spend time at horse shows, talking to breeders, visiting the race track, and offer to volunteer at your local 4-H club or horse group for invaluable experience.

There are online resources to take advantage of and you may find job openings in equine magazines and newsletters. Also visit local feed stores and tack shops with bulletin boards featuring job listings and potential leads.

Make a few cold calls or pay a visit to the local barns, riding schools, stables, and veterinarians to inquire about open positions. Check online or use the Yellow Pages for a list of the closest prospects.

If you aren't able to find a full time position you may want to take on a few part time jobs or do seasonal work to gain experience. You may also want to consider doing an internship while taking courses or cleaning out stalls in exchange for your horse's room and board.

Being flexible and persistent will definitely help you to realize your dream of working in the equine industry.

If you decide to start your own breeding business, you probably have firsthand experience and knowledge, plus a love for horses to start with. No matter where your knowledge comes from, the best way to start is to apply for a paid apprentice position at a breeding farm. Even if your goal is to have your own breeding facility, take the time to learn from others. Spending a couple of breeding seasons at a farm can teach you the fundamentals of the care of the mares, their cycling patterns, types of breeding coverage, the foaling process and the weaning process. These are all important aspects of being a horse breeder that you will need to know. An apprenticeship will allow you the opportunity to learn firsthand from the experts and experience every aspect of what is involved in being a horse breeder.

Working for an established breeding farm will help you decide if you would like to start your own breeding farm or if you would get as much pleasure working for someone else. Having a career as a horse breeder can lead to various other job advancements such as farm manager, breeding manager, foal marketing and stallion promotion. The options are endless and can develop into a fulfilling career.

Owning and operating a breeding farm will require an investment, starting with a horse barn that can accommodate foaling out mares, adequate pastures for mares and foals, and the knowledge you have gained through acquired experience. A career as a horse breeder will require a lot of hard work and dedication. There are large breeding farms nationwide that offer great job opportunities just waiting for you.

Equestrians with a background in English riding may have an advantage at the beginning levels because of similarities in style. However, anyone with an understanding of horses, and some natural ability in riding should be able to adapt and learn dressage. Most professional dressage riders begin working as grooms. In the UK, there is an apprenticeship scheme to provide structured training for hopeful dressage riders. Riders are accepted as positions become available.

To become a professional full-time rider is a challenge. At the Spanish Riding School of Vienna one new pupil is taken each year, and the fastest rise from beginner to Chief Rider was 20 years. It is more likely that a dressage rider may find part-time employment at a large stable where additional skills such as horse training, instruction of riders, and showing of horses for sale will be incorporated into the responsibilities. Positions may include room and board, flex time, and benefits. Experience in other styles of riding such as hunting and jumping is a great advantage.

To obtain employment as a dressage rider, even in a part-time capacity, usually a minimum Third Level experience is required. To reach this level, a rider can begin at local competition levels, or take advantage of training clinics. A beginner might offer to work at a horse barn in exchange for dressage lessons.

Any activities which give a person more dressage experience can help him or her advance. These will certainly include showing and might include coaching, or judging. Dedication and persistence will be required to become a professional dressage rider.

Jockeys will be responsible for caring for the horses in some capacity and they can also add some manual labor to their plate, as well. Jockeys ride in smaller races at the beginning and depending upon their skill level, they might be able to move up to something better.

Becoming a jockey requires some things that are not attainable through practice. Individuals have to meet certain height and weight requirements, though these can vary depending upon where you take a job. It is typically thought that the smaller the jockey is, the better off he is. As far as skills are concerned, jockeys have to be proficient in competitive riding, which requires one to understand how to handle horses and the dynamics of competitive races.

Experience with and around horses is required, and prospective jockeys really have to have a love affair with the horse industry if they are going to make it.

Being a jockey is a job that's based a lot on performance. For those who want to move up, they need to be successful in their races at lower levels and they also need to know how to please horse owners. It's always been an industry that's somewhat difficult to break into, since jockeys have a tendency to hang around for a long time and job openings are somewhat scarce.

Still, the best way to break into the world of jockeying is to take up a preliminary job at a stable with a horse owner. From there, one can show that he has the requisite skills to handle the horses, which can be the opening that you need. Once you have that opening, skill and performance do the rest.

Some people choose to take up marketing and sales positions with individual race tracks, while others join on with horse racing associations. Another option is to work in sales and marketing for a company that sells tack items. With so many possibilities i's no wonder that this is a popular choice for future career endeavours.

For many individuals, the idea is to parlay a type of sports marketing gig into something in the horse industry. Instead of wanting to promote and sell football, these people have a passion for horses, so they sell that. Though you do not need to be some sort of business dynamo to get a start in equine sales and marketing, a business background does not hurt. Many people starting out will have university degrees in marketing and they will have at least some experience putting together presentations. For those shooting for larger gigs with big tracks, it might be necessary to pad the CV a bit more than usual.

The requisite skills for this type of position include not only a knowledge of the equine industry, but also a knowledge of how to package it well. No matter what type of company you work for, the job will essentially be the same. You will be looking to take your own love and interest in horses and sell it to some other person or some other company. This is why a person with strong creative juices to go with their horse love will do well in this sort of field.

Right now, the opportunities in this field are mostly entry level. For those who are willing to start out at the bottom and work their way up the ladder, this can be a fast paced and rewarding career path.

The basic job description all depends upon where you are working, but many of the duties will be the same. For those vets employed by a large stable, the idea will be to work on a daily basis with horses, ensuring that they have the correct shots, the correct diet, and that they are healthy overall. When something happens, it will be the vet's job to fix it or to make a determination on the horse's future.

Other equine vets work in an emergency capacity, where they are only doing more difficult, involved surgeries. In many cases, these people will specialize in doing leg and foot surgeries, as this is the most common type of injury for horses out there. This is a more skilled type of vet position, so it requires more training. The pay is higher to compensate for the difficulty and the high pressure nature of the job itself.

As far as qualifications are concerned, individuals have to complete a program at a certified veterinary school in order to work as an equine vet. These schools can be hard to get into and they can be difficult to complete. As with most industries where the barrier to entry is quite high, the rewards of getting into the field are great. From both a quality of life and monetary standpoint, equine vets do very well. You will probably have to work for a few years under another vet before you can do out on your own and find work, but this should be a good learning experience for many.

In this day and age, professions with a high barrier to entry and a high degree of skill required are thriving. People still need equine vets for their horses, so those who can complete the difficult programs are having no trouble finding work and advancing through their careers.

I's a demanding job, but people who have the right mindset, experience, and skill set are able to really enjoy it. A farm estate manager will basically be in charge of a large or small horse farm, overseeing the day to day operations and keeping the business portion of the farm in line.

Because these positions are very hands on, they require a person with a vast knowledge of horses and the business side of the industry. A typical day might include tending to the health of horses, making decisions on when a horse will train, and calling in a vet to look at a horse for various problems. It is a position that requires a great deal of responsibility, so it makes sense that people don't just get handed jobs of this nature right off the bat. In order to become a farm estate manager, you have to have worked under one or you have to have some sort of relationship with the farm owner.

There needs to be a huge amount of trust in your relationship with the farm owner, so you will have to be the type of person that is reliable and trustworthy. One thing to note for individuals looking to get involved in this is that farm estate manager positions do not come available very often. These jobs are usually held for a long time, as individuals seem to enjoy the responsibilities and requirements of the job.

For those people who are serious about taking this on as a perspective profession, it makes a lot of sense to start out working on a horse farm. Learning the ropes can make all the difference and give you a chance to land one of these competitive jobs when one comes open.

Quite simply, the farrier is in charge of the general upkeep and health of the horse's feet. While this may seem mundane or over-specific, it is actually vital to the well-being of the horse. The farrier must deal with the horseshoes and trimming of the horse's feet, as well as giving the horse a stable routine for their feet. This all requires much experience and training with blacksmith tools that are the industry standard for dealing with horseshoes.

The farrier must be able to deal with different horse temperaments, as some horses are less receptive to farriers than others. They must be able to become easily familiar with the horse's movements, as a big part of their job deals with encouraging natural foot movement in the horse. It also helps a farrier in having people skills, as they will have to deal directly with owners, barn managers, and trainers in matters involving the horses in question.

As long as horses will need their hooves tended to, there will be a job for aspiring farriers. The different prerequisites for becoming a farrier are different from country to country, but it is safe to assume that any farrier job will require some type of certification and training. The more knowledge of anatomy of the horse, the better.

There are some resources for aspiring farriers, including the World Farriers Association online and the European Federation of Farriers Associations. You can find plenty more of information about becoming a farrier through these resources and others that you may discover on your own. Remember that becoming a farrier can be difficult. Your problem-solving skill, attention to minutia, and experience are what will get you placed in the field.

Grooms sometimes work 7 days a week, but many times their work week is shorter, depending on the work environment in which they choose. Horse grooms are the primary caregivers of horses. They feed and maintain horses and they also take care of the stables. Stables must be kept clean to provide the horse with a fresh, comfortable environment. The job is extremely physical, as it takes stamina to care and maintain these gentle giants. Although working as a groom is not a particularly lucrative field, the groom is reward in other ways by being able to spend time with beloved horses.

In order to be a horse groom the applicant must love horses and enjoy being around them for extended periods of time. In addition the groom must be in good physical shape and enjoy the outdoors. Although there is no formal education required for the position of a horse groom, you must have experience in caring for horses. To excel in the position of a groom, you must be an expert rider. Your job will include exercises the horses so that you can take them out for walks.

Horse groom opportunities are usually found in rural areas and riding stables. In addition, horse boarding stables and farms often employ grooms. One of the largest employer of grooms are racetracks. These horses need exquisite care and grooming, so opportunities might be plentiful at racetracks. In order to get a leg up on a horse groom job, do some volunteer work at a horse stable.

You will need to see if horse grooming is right for you. You can inquire about horse grooming courses or programs through local colleges or agriculture programs. Although experience in grooming and horses is essential to become a groom, you must have a boundless love for horses and enjoy caring for them everyday.

Some individuals get involved in the profession on an individual basis, as they take on private clients and advertise for themselves. Though this can be somewhat difficult to begin with, it can be lucrative for those with the right skill set and the ability to market their services. Others sign on with a barn to do the same thing.

In order to work as a riding instructor, one has to have an advanced knowledge of how to handle horses, in addition to the ability to teach. It requires both of these things, since simply understanding how to ride is not enough. Individuals have to be good enough at their craft to be able to instruct others in a manner that is clear and reasonable. For those who work as instructors for a barn, there will be some training involved. Individuals who offer instruction on a private basis train themselves.

In terms of experience, it really depends upon the opportunity that you are targeting. For those looking to instruct at an upper end academy, years of experience are likely necessary. For those who want to start out teaching on their own, very little experience is necessary.

You have to start somewhere, so people with the ability to instruct can make a place for themselves within the industry if they are good enough. It also depends upon what type of instruction you are looking to provide. There are some instructors who specialize in jumping, while others will train individuals for show. Others still will train jockeys for racing.

The industry right now is one where people who want to make it have to make a name for themselves. Those who are able to work hard and establish credibility have a chance to come out well in the profession.