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Veteran
Posts: 120
| I'd like more information and experiences with internships or just barn/grooming jobs. How do you go about getting these jobs? Are they advertised or do you choose a trainer and ask for a job? I just moved to Texas and want to see about working for a barrel trainer or even a cutting trainer but I really don't have any contacts and haven't seen any advertisements. I was thinking about contacting some people and offering like a one or two week introductory period where they could get a feel for me and see if I'm a good fit for them. Thoughts?
I have worked with and ridden cutting horses for about two summers so I do have some experience. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1432
 
Location: Never in one place long | Are you set on staying in Texas? Pm me, I have ideas and experiences with internships but mostly in Oklahoma. |
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  Ms. Marine
Posts: 4641
 
Location: Texas | I think a lot of it has to do with being in the right place at the right time. I was in high school working at Tractor Supply when a cutting horse trainer came in to purchase some fencing. We struck up a conversation and the next thing I know he's offering me a job riding for him. Before that, I saw an advertisement in the local paper asking for help riding colts. Best thing you can do is just keep your eyes and ears open. You can advertise yourself in the paper as well. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2097
Location: Deep South | They're advertised on Facebook all the time. I see a job posted almost weekly I bet. You have to follow/friend enough trainers to see them, just horse people sharing job openings with other horse people. "The Loping Pen" is one group that comes to mind, but I see more posts from personal FB's.
Kimmie Wall just posted a really cool opportunity recently. |
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Veteran
Posts: 120
| BamaCanChaser - 2017-03-27 3:52 PM
They're advertised on Facebook all the time. I see a job posted almost weekly I bet. You have to follow/friend enough trainers to see them, just horse people sharing job openings with other horse people. "The Loping Pen" is one group that comes to mind, but I see more posts from personal FB's.
Kimmie Wall just posted a really cool opportunity recently.
Kimmie Wall would be awesome to intern with but I just moved from the Northwest and don't really want to go back so soon! lol |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 899
Location: Idaho | It's been a long time but I had a profile on Equistaff.com, a lot of horse jobs available. Had a training job in California, one in Buffalo, NY and I worked for an NCHA World Champion down in Texas for about a year. Best job I have ever had, came with a lot of perks plus riding some NICE horses that were worth more than most houses, in a multi million dollar industry, you learn a lot. I even had a job offer to work with the Budweiser Clydesdales at one point, but I was already enrolled in college and couldn't leave where I was at the time.
Unfortunately, it is a cut throat industry. I decided I didn't want to do that anymore, because it wasn't worth the money and a lot of them do not provide any type of security or insurance. I have had instances where I was pretty injured by a horse(I recall one time I was bucked off from a green mare, stepped on, kicked in the head and knocked out.) or beyond sore, and I was expected to get up and go train horses the next day. No excuses allowed.
To be a professional trainer was my dream, and I worked hard to achieve it. But at about age 25, I decided no more. But I commend those that do want to follow through with it and do it for a living.
Kimmie's internship opportunity sounds awesome! Good luck :)
Edited by DashNDustem 2017-03-29 2:25 PM
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 851
Location: West Texas | You can find ads on facebook pages. That is one route, but I would suggest you pick some trainers and approach them VERY professionally. Focus on what you can do for the trainer and how you can help make their lives easier. Biggest thing you can do is to work hard, be dependable, and not expect one thing. I have been involved in finding interns and so forth, and a good applicant is extremely hard to find. A good intern is great but a mediocre and below cause more problems than they solve. We have basically given up on the whole intern thing for right now because its almost not worth the hassle. Many trainers will feel the same way so you need to show you are different, mainly hard working and responsible. I can't stress that enough. So many folks think they are being hired to help ride horses. They are not. Its very easy for someone to exercise horses and actually make the trainers job harder, instead of easier. Someone willing to take criticism and really learn will get more attention paid to them and get to ride and increase their horsemanship skills. Those that don't will get let go.
Edited by Tdove 2017-03-29 12:41 PM
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Veteran
Posts: 127
Location: Nebraska | Build connections. Talk to trainers. Ask if they need help, or if they know anybody who does. Prove your worth- work your butt off, always go the extra mile. It will pay off.
Don't go sight unseen into these jobs and have a backup plan, especially in this industry. People can and will try to take advantage of you- although I've found the cutting and cow horse crowd to be pretty honest for the most part. Learned this the hard way when I relocated to work at a reining barn in California (PM me if you want to know who, but I don't want to say on a public forum) where I was promised an internship in the training and breeding field, only to find they actually just wanted an unpaid show groom- no working with foals, or mares, or even spectating the training.
(Also find out the reputations of the trainers. I ignored a lot of red flags and paid the price.) |
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Veteran
Posts: 120
| These are all awesome tips, thanks so much everyone! I'm a very hard worker and don't mind just cleaning stalls and not being involved in the training part until some trust is built. I'm still fairly new to my area and don't have a ton of local contacts so hopefully it will come with time! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 851
Location: West Texas | Good luck Nicole! It sounds like you will be an asset to someone. Just show them and you will find a good job.
Edited by Tdove 2017-03-31 7:41 PM
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| Find some stallion brochures online or Stallion book and just start calling ...
Don't say intern ... ask for a barn job and let them describe the rest ..
On this one look in the upper right corner ..
http://www.stallionesearch.com/ |
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