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| I am so excited to go learn from one of the top futurity trainers. I will be leaving Idaho to go to Texas. I will start around February 6th! I am basically quitting my job working at the hospital and putting school on hold. I want nothing but to barrel race and learn to be able to make a career from it. Nothing makes me happier. I am still young and have my whole life a head of me so me putting off college isn’t going to hurt me. I have some questions. I don’t want to bug her with a million questions when she’s got things she needs to do. But would it be wise for me to fly down and meet her and check the place out. I may or may not be taking my horse. I am not able to take my trailer with me because I live on a ranch and my parents needs the trailer in case of an emergency. My parents want me to go do what I love and do this because they know I may not get another chance. And it’s good timing. What things would you take with you? I will take my car down? Should I take my tack if I get my horse hauled down? I believe I will be going to Barrel races with her like the American and stuff. Any advice is must appreciated. If you’ve done an internship please tell me about your experience. Or if you take people tell me what you have people do and what they usually bring and what not!
Thank you so much |
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 The Vaccinator
Posts: 3810
   
Location: Slipping down the slope of old age. Boo hoo. | Personally, I would not take my horse -- I'd focus on the job at hand. I would take my saddle and car. And I would take a notebook so I could record notes after the day is done -- to help remember what I learned during each day. I would try to be very proactive -- to be very supportive of my
boss" -- to make her job easier and to assure her I am an asset. I would pay attention to not only the horses, but how she conducts her business -- and let her know I want to know all about running a horse business -- there is so much more to making a living with horses than just riding and training -- you have to be able to get along with your customers, manage your cash flow, etc. Pay attention to how she runs her barn, i.e. feeding, stall management, etc. Learn how to pack and unpack a trailer the most efficient way..... Be a polite, diplomatic, dependable, hard-working sponge! And take care of yourself physically -- eat right and get your sleep. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Mountains of VA | Expect to WORK LONG HARD HOURS. You are fortunate that your parents are supportive, as a parent not sure I would be so supportive for you to quit your job and put school on hold to go work as an intern and I'm guessing you will not be paid. There are very few young riders that would be able to make it work as a career, money is not everything but making a living is. |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| I would take your saddle but not your horse for the time being. Get a feel for it and make sure you give your 100%. Soak it up. I’d would have loved to have had an opportunity like this, still would! Good luck! |
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 Expert
Posts: 1302
Location: California | 1) There is a time and a place to ask her questions - make sure you respect that.
2) Think before you ask a question. Make it count.
Some trainers loveeee if you ask questions and pick their brain and others want you to more shut up and watch and learn. I have worked for both and it was night and day which kind they were.
You will learn a lot but you will be a slave. You will get frustrated and you will get spoke down to (typically). You will earn every ounce of the knowledge you gain between the long hours and physically demanding job.
Good luck and I hope it is everything you have dreamed of! I have worked for manyyy trainers and the knowledge is incredible. |
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Veteran
Posts: 180
| I was in the identical situation a few years ago. Feel free to pm me. I personally brought one of my horses, truck and trailer, and would encourage you to do so as well. It was a great experience and I learned a lot. I took a couple online classes every semester (which took dedication and motivation as I basically never had a day off). I quit to finish up my degree and get a big girl job so i could afford to buy nice horses. |
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | Years ago my youngest daughter postponed her first year of college to work for Ray Hunt. We encouraged her to take the opportunity and it was a once in a lifetime experience for her. She did finish an animal science degree at Cal Poly, and that was important to all of us. Just take your tack, you will not have enough time for your own horse. |
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 Too Skinny
Posts: 8009
Location: LA Lower Alabama | winwillows - 2018-01-16 12:50 PM Years ago my youngest daughter postponed her first year of college to work for Ray Hunt. We encouraged her to take the opportunity and it was a once in a lifetime experience for her. She did finish an animal science degree at Cal Poly, and that was important to all of us. Just take your tack, you will not have enough time for your own horse.
I would sell my child to go ride with him. Chance of a lifetime  |
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | cowgalsissy - 2018-01-16 4:57 PM
winwillows - 2018-01-16 12:50 PM Years ago my youngest daughter postponed her first year of college to work for Ray Hunt. We encouraged her to take the opportunity and it was a once in a lifetime experience for her. She did finish an animal science degree at Cal Poly, and that was important to all of us. Just take your tack, you will not have enough time for your own horse.
I would sell my child to go ride with him. Chance of a lifetime
Yes, we miss Ray every day. Those chances for a young rider to spend time with one of the greats should be encouraged if the set up is proper, and the agreement about education is honored. You need that education whether you plan to train horses for a living or not. It can be very hard to go back to it later. |
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| Stay home ... double up on getting your college degree ...
and then go messing around with your life all you want to !!...
Would all the people hold up their hands that were slave interns that are
now making a living as a professional trainer with their own barns.
Listen carefully to someone that has it together with her life plan!!
https://youtu.be/ifbGp5dgqc0 |
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Industrial Srength Barrel Racer
Posts: 7268
| BARRELHORSE USA - 2018-01-17 1:25 AM
Stay home ... double up on getting your college degree ...
and then go messing around with your life all you want to !!...
Would all the people hold up their hands that were slave interns that are
now making a living as a professional trainer with their own barns.
Listen carefully to someone that has it together with her life plan!!
https://youtu.be/ifbGp5dgqc0
This is a much more realistic plan, honestly. Not NEARLY as exciting, but more realistic. |
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Expert
Posts: 1226
| Griz - 2018-01-17 3:50 AM BARRELHORSE USA - 2018-01-17 1:25 AM Stay home ... double up on getting your college degree ... and then go messing around with your life all you want to !!... Would all the people hold up their hands that were slave interns that are now making a living as a professional trainer with their own barns. Listen carefully to someone that has it together with her life plan!! https://youtu.be/ifbGp5dgqc0 This is a much more realistic plan, honestly. Not NEARLY as exciting, but more realistic.
Agree with this. Although riding with a great trainer sounds amazing, I would really consider your future. The horse business is tough. And in my opinion it takes money to make money. This is no offense to trainers but I often wonder if they something like 401k for retirement. Or what if they get hurt and have nothing to fall back on. And this is not meant to offened any one, just being a realist |
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Member
Posts: 42
| I should add I’ve done some college. I also come from a tech horse family where if I knew more about the Trainig Barrel horses I can get into doing it pretty easy because we breed and raise horses already. It’s only for a couple months to go. I have a job st the hospital that I can easily come back too! So my education has been some what done! Just want to go try this out! |
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Member
Posts: 42
| I pm’d you don’t know if you got it |
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  Fact Checker
Posts: 16575
Location: Displaced Iowegian | alawson15 - 2018-01-17 6:53 PM I should add I’ve done some college. I also come from a tech horse family where if I knew more about the Trainig Barrel horses I can get into doing it pretty easy because we breed and raise horses already. It’s only for a couple months to go. I have a job st the hospital that I can easily come back too! So my education has been some what done! Just want to go try this out!
Since it only for a couple of months and with the above scenario of having job to go back to .... GO FOR IT .....However, I would not take a horse. Spend the time learning the hard lessons of making a living at barrel racing. Good Luck! |
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 Expert
Posts: 1631
Location: Somewhere around here | I'd say ask the lady you're going to intern for these questions. I went on two internships; one I was allowed to bring my horse and saddles and everything, the other she just wanted me to bring a suitcase full of clothes and boots. When I was able to bring my horse I got some great tips on what to do with him and it helped my times tremendously. He also treated me with respect, but with the lady she looked down on me and wanted me to shut up and listen. Both had ups and downs, learned from both, and I also learned what NOT to do and where I stand with training horses.
Hope it's a great experience for you! A smile, a firm handshake, and being polite can get you far with internship ladies and their business partners! |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 899
Location: Idaho | alawson15 - 2018-01-16 9:42 PM
I am so excited to go learn from one of the top futurity trainers. I will be leaving Idaho to go to Texas. I will start around February 6th! I am basically quitting my job working at the hospital and putting school on hold. I want nothing but to barrel race and learn to be able to make a career from it. Nothing makes me happier. I am still young and have my whole life a head of me so me putting off college isn’t going to hurt me. I have some questions. I don’t want to bug her with a million questions when she’s got things she needs to do. But would it be wise for me to fly down and meet her and check the place out. I may or may not be taking my horse. I am not able to take my trailer with me because I live on a ranch and my parents needs the trailer in case of an emergency. My parents want me to go do what I love and do this because they know I may not get another chance. And it’s good timing. What things would you take with you? I will take my car down? Should I take my tack if I get my horse hauled down? I believe I will be going to Barrel races with her like the American and stuff. Any advice is must appreciated. If you’ve done an internship please tell me about your experience. Or if you take people tell me what you have people do and what they usually bring and what not!
Thank you so much
As an individual who literally packed up and left home at a young age to follow my dream and train horses professionally, put a halt on my college goals and went to California first and then to Texas where I trained with an extremely well known World champion cutting horse trainer.
I would go down there first, catch a plane ticket, take a few days and go check out the barn. Make sure it is everything you think it is. If you think it's a good fit for you, then go ahead and make the move.
If you have a place to keep your horse say at your parents ranch, I'd leave the horse behind. Because chances are if you are training with this individual, you will have more horses to work and ride than you are accustomed to. On average when I worked for my trainer, we would ride between 6-12 horses a day, and it was all back to back because we were kept on a schedule. Also, chances are that if she didn't offer, she probably doesn't want outside horses coming in that she has not approved on (I know that sounds bad, but I brought my horse with me and I had to keep him at the barn down the road because he couldn't be near his due to how expensive those horses were/insurance reasons). You can bring your saddle but I'd be positive that she will have her own saddles that she likes to use on those horses she is training, because they fit those horses the best and work best for her. You will have to adjust to what she is doing. Take your car, take what clothes you need, small necessities. What are living quarters going to look like? What all does the internship cover? Do you have a small TV to bring so you can have some down time? Bring extra blankets and small comforts.
Also, you want to see if it is a contract deal saying you are training for x amount of time. Unfortunately I have been through a few instances where I pick up and move for the experience, and a few months down the line I get asked to leave because either they just needed someone for a short while or in one case, they just needed help to sell some horses, those horses got sold, and they didn't need me after that and I literally had to move back home on a two weeks notice. I was in Texas for about a year with the trainer I was talking about, it was a great experience and I learned a LOT. But depending on how high up on the totem pole she is with training, you may see some things that you might not agree with in order to accomplish getting that winning run. I don't know if that will be the case with this trainer, but it is something to possibly keep in mind too.
After I went on my adventures, I decided to come back home, train my own horses, give some lessons and start working on my degree. I now have a bachelor's degree and am working on my Master's. While I don't regret doing what I did, as I was young and needed to get out and see the world, horse training is a tough business. Don't neglect your educate for too long, but until you decide to hunker down and finish your degree, have some fun on some nice horses and learn, learn, learn!
Edited by DashNDustem 2018-01-19 7:52 PM
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Member
Posts: 42
| Thank you so much. I feel like I need to go out and experience the world and do some different things. She said I could bring my horses but I can’t take the truck and trailer with me so I’m thinking I’ll just let her stay at home. I am flying down next weekend to meet her and see how things go. I’ll be making the move probably around the 10th. I’m very interested in learning from her and becoming a better rider really. I’m not gonna completely give up my education. Thank you for input and telling me a bit about it. I appreciate it! |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | What part of Texas are you coming to?  |
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Member
Posts: 42
| Either sunset or Collinsville |
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