|
|
Veteran
Posts: 144
 
Location: East TN | Reaching out here to get some ideas/ insight on employment within the horse world. I'm honestly just seeing what all is out there as far as being able to work for someone in the horse world or being self employed and making enough money to "make it". By no means am I trying to make a killing or get rich quick at something...but it would be nice to be able to work while doing what you love.
A little background on me: ridden horses my whole life, unsure what life would be like without them. I did the school thing (as much as i could stand of it lol) and got an associates degree from a local community college here... nothing fancy but the piece of paper pleased my parents 
I've always had "good" jobs; i.e. M-F 9-5 desk jobs.... 5 years at a law office and when i got OVER that world I landed at a high(er) end car dealership doing accounting and title work... much less stress than the legal field and i love the people i work with but its not what i truly love doing.  We've recently purchased a small farm on 25 acres, it came with two barns but they needed some love, so those are going through renovations to accomodate my two horses. ( & After not having my horses at my own house I can't wrap my mind around how people board theirs LOL! I've really learned that horse withdrawals are a serious thing! My two are staying at my parents until the barns are complete).
Anyway, again, just seeing what all is potentially out there or ideas that some of you do to work from your own home or at another barn. I wouldn't hate a part time gig on top of doing something horsey either... I'm just real tired of the paper pusher lifestyle i guess. 
Happy Monday, any input is much appreciated! | |
| | |
"Heck's Coming With Me"
Posts: 10794
 
Location: Kansas | I'd stick to real jobs and loving those horses of your own. Boarding, training, etc. We tried a bit of that years ago. We found ourselves at the bottom of everybody's "folks to pay" list and it sucked. I could retire with the money we lost. These were racehorse people but I imagine it's industry wide.
| |
| | |
| Frodo - 2019-02-04 11:16 AM
I'd stick to real jobs and loving those horses of your own. Boarding, training, etc. We tried a bit of that years ago. We found ourselves at the bottom of everybody's "folks to pay" list and it sucked. I could retire with the money we lost. These were racehorse people but I imagine it's industry wide.
I agree with PP. My husband is an equine vet and I’m his part time tech (when I’m not working my “real” job), and truthfully, by the end of the day after dealing with people and working on their horses, the last thing he wants to do is get home and have to work on ours. We’ve had to cancel day trips due to equine emergencies, and when we’ve had horses overnight at the house it’s as though people forget we live here and show up anytime without any consideration or thought of calling first. My best friend boards ~25 horses at his place and has an indoor arena, and he is rarely able to get away or have any free time to himself, plus there is always something extra to fix or someone needing something.
My real job is a communications deputy for our county sheriff’s office (911 dispatcher), and I love it. The pay and benefits are fantastic, but the stress and rotating schedules can be a little rough at times. My best friend that I mentioned above is also my coworker- even with boarding that many horses he still has to supplement his income (hay isn’t cheap!), plus the benefits are something none of us would ever think of dropping. | |
| | |
 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
 
Location: Texas | I'm an equine vet. I love my job, I love horses, and I make time to ride at least one horse every day after work, unless I get called in. Some weeks nothing happens, other weeks it's like I don't get a chance to do anything but feed them. There are days I'm tired, overwhelmed, not sure how to balance everything, but I make it work. I also don't have kids yet, so I can still designate time after work or during lunch to ride. The negatives- I'm on call every other day and every other weekend. So some of the really cool races with added money I can't go to if they are on weekends I'm on call. Also, BBR finals is during breeding season so, I can forget ever going there because I really love repro and don't want to be gone during the thick of breeding season. Also, it's not as lucrative as people think it is, especially if you're not a partner or owner... so LOL.
In a perfect world I would have every weekend off and a flexible schedule so I could sneak off to rodeo slacks that are always on stupid weekday mornings. But I haven't paid my dues yet to get that lifestyle. I'm not exactly sure what horse industry jobs are around that have that flexibility and also make enough money to live off of. And I thought I would love working shows- absolutely not. I want to just go and enjoy my horse, family, and friends, and be available if a real emergency comes up. The thought of having a booth and working the whole time, not what I want to do at all.
Edited by casualdust07 2019-02-04 7:49 PM
| |
| | |
| casualdust07 - 2019-02-04 5:47 PM
I'm an equine vet. I love my job, I love horses, and I make time to ride at least one horse every day after work, unless I get called in. Some weeks nothing happens, other weeks it's like I don't get a chance to do anything but feed them. There are days I'm tired, overwhelmed, not sure how to balance everything, but I make it work. I also don't have kids yet, so I can still designate time after work or during lunch to ride. The negatives- I'm on call every other day and every other weekend. So some of the really cool races with added money I can't go to if they are on weekends I'm on call. Also, BBR finals is during breeding season so, I can forget ever going there because I really love repro and don't want to be gone during the thick of breeding season. Also, it's not as lucrative as people think it is, especially if you're not a partner or owner... so LOL.
In a perfect world I would have every weekend off and a flexible schedule so I could sneak off to rodeo slacks that are always on stupid weekday mornings. But I haven't paid my dues yet to get that lifestyle. I'm not exactly sure what horse industry jobs are around that have that flexibility and also make enough money to live off of. And I thought I would love working shows- absolutely not. I want to just go and enjoy my horse, family, and friends, and be available if a real emergency comes up. The thought of having a booth and working the whole time, not what I want to do at all.
Kathy Grimes is a perfect example of putting in the years of work as a vet, and then going out and accomplishing your dreams. I think there's a lot to be said for the level of dedication put in by most equine vets, and I know my husband also loves his job and we are both proud of the work he does, but it does take up a lot of our lives.
OP- if you were interested in veterinary medicine but didn't want to become a vet, I would suggest looking into being a vet tech or vet assistant. There's a pretty low ceiling on assistants, and techs make a fair bit more, but that might be a good career path.
If you were thinking of boarding or training, etc., I would still suggest having a regular career/job and doing that work on the side. | |
| |
| |
Folks on-line