Equestrian Related Careers

kitty56
Mon, 28 Apr 2014 01:27:31 +0000

I am a barn manager. I have a BS in equine, but that was many years ago and was not as comprehensive as many programs are now. My most valuable education came from being in barns - many different barns with many different philosophies and ways of doing things. That being said, it can be rewarding, it can be frustrating, it can be exhausting. There is the potential for injury. I make a pretty decent salary right now as I have been in my current position for almost 14 years and had many years of experience before this job. But boy, was this a miserable winter to be in a barn!

There are many areas involving horses that can be considered for a career. I have a friend with a PhD in animal science who is an equine nutritionist. I know people who are equine dentists, vet techs, chiropractors, saddle fitters, tack store owners, feed dealers, farriers, photographers, horse show managers, therapeutic riding instructors, as well as equine insurance agents and lawyers specializing in equine topics.

Just a word about becoming an equine vet - I know three kids from our 4H horse club that went on to vet school to become equine vets. Every one of them changed to small animal after doing all their clinicals (or whatever they are called). The one who I was sure would go equine became disenchanted because all she was seeing was lameness and colic cases. And she had tons of experience working in an equine clinic before going off to vet school. Also with equine you are out in all kinds of weather, in all kinds of barn conditions (not all horses live in clean, beautiful, well kept, easily accessible barns), at all hours of the day and night (unless you have another vet covering) and weekends and holidays (unless you have another vet covering). If it is your calling, more power to you. I admire the vets I work with. They are truly dedicated and passionate.

BTW, as a barn manager, you can run into the same “schedule” issues. Those darn horses don’t seem to look at the calendar and know that they shouldn’t colic on Christmas Eve, or come up three-legged lame on a weekend, or run a 104 degree fever on Friday afternoon when you are supposedly done for the week. And I could go on… But I usually love what I do :).