Imagine A Career With Horses

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Imagine a Career with Horses

Not once in my childhood, in high school nor college, did it ever occur to me that I might have a career in the horse industry. Certainly, in my wildest dreams, I never would have imagined teaching horsemanship as a career for nearly three decades. The first time someone paid me to ride a horse, I was 14 years old and I could not believe my lucky stars—that someone would pay me money to ride a horse! But even then, I never thought of a full-time career with horses. Little did I know that all I did then was preparing me for what I’m doing now. Little did I know then that there are so many ways to work with and around horses. I love that I can combine my love for horses with a career that helps horses—and horse owners.

I have been asked many times if I think there are good career options within the horse industry. While I may not have thought of a career in horses when I was young, I know now that the horse industry is full of great opportunity—if you are willing to take initiative and be creative. You don’t have to ride broncs or muck stalls to be a part of it. People who are smart, educated, passionate and motivated will find opportunity in abundance. Any opportunity you can imagine in the “real world” is most likely available with a horse slant. For individuals who are driven, have dedication and focus, it is possible to combine what you love with what you do. You don’t have to be a hot-shot rider or have calluses on your hands and strong back muscles to find great success in the horse industry—there is opportunity aplenty for those who seek opportunity.

My First Horse Education

My horse training career started at a young age—even if I didn’t know it yet. I grew up on a small horse farm in central Florida with horses, ponies, sundry farm animals and the occasional exotic creature. I was smitten with the horses from the earliest age and I was privileged to have the opportunity to grow up with them and have a father that loved horses and adventure of all kinds.

I delved hard into horse sports as a youth rider and my father, recognizing my passion and my dedication, made sure I got the best education as a rider that he could. He made sure I always had safe and talented mounts and a good trainer to guide me along the way. Although my father is a true Western guy, he allowed me to pursue my dream of riding jumpers and made sure I had the training and education that I needed to do it right. Thus, one of the cornerstones of my career was being formed before we knew it—the solid foundation of classical riding.

Horse activities were something we did for fun—and how could something fun possibly be work? Didn’t work, by definition, have to be something that you didn’t want to do?

It wasn’t until after I graduated from college and got offered a job running a respectable training and breeding farm, that it first occurred to me that perhaps horses were a career option. That was, by the way, after working my way through college riding race horses. The horse industry found me; I didn’t really go looking for it. But honestly, even if I had planned from an early age to be in this business, I am not sure I would have done it any other way. I focused on education first then kept horses close as a hobby and side job. Soon, the two would combine as one career.

Educated Equestrians

What you do need, even if you are a hot-shot rider, is a good education. Like any industry, we in the horse business want to hire people that have good communication skills, good business savvy and an awareness and understanding of the horse industry at large. We are looking for people who are hardworking and dedicated and want to learn and grow—instead of those who are star riders for a fleeting moment.

Even if you are a good rider, getting a college education is paramount to success. If I could do anything over again in my career, I would have majored in business in college. What sets apart successful horse people from the mediocre is their business acumen. Finding employees that are good with horses is not hard; finding people that also have good business sense is what makes employers excited. For me, all the good riding, training and teaching talent I have would have meant nothing without also having good business management along the way.

The horse industry encompasses a huge, diverse spectrum and the more parts of it you know and have experience with, the more your opportunities expand. For me, riding and training in many different aspects of horse sports and horse breeds was a huge contributing factor for success. Although I never planned it that way, having diverse experience (with different breeds, disciplines, associations and areas of the country) not only has taught me a lot about horses, people and the industry, but it has opened many doors for me as well.

Key Advice and Reality Check

The two most common pieces of advice I offer when asked about careers in the horse industry, are to get a college education—preferably business or science-based— and to get as much experience in as many different areas of the horse industry as possible. That may mean volunteering, seeking internships (paid and unpaid), attending shows and offering to help, asking people you admire how they got to their station, and asking to shadow those you admire. Combine that drive with passion and dedication, and you will be unstoppable—whether you ride or not.

For many young people, a career riding and training horses seems appealing. I’ll admit, riding and training are a big part of my passion and a big part of what I do, but it has its downside. Riding, training and the hands-on side of the horse industry involves a lot of hard physical work, long days and long weeks for little pay. When you are in your 20s and 30s and riding 6-10 horses a day, it doesn’t seems so bad, but make sure you have a realistic future ahead of you. You may not want that fast pace and furious work for your body a little later.

As much as I love to ride, I learned fairly young that 1) there weren’t enough hours in the day for me to ride enough horses to get anywhere in my career, and 2) I wasn’t going to last riding the horses that no one else wanted to ride and I needed to take care of my body. I needed to pick the horses I ride wisely and guide my career in a direction that was profitable in the long run. I did not want to end up destitute in retirement, like many of the trainers I saw. Even though I was pretty good at training horses, I needed to diversify and have greater vision for my future.

On a daily basis, I work with colleagues in the industry that have great careers (read that: good pay, good benefits, room to advance) who are not riders, trainers, barn managers or instructors. Like almost any industry, we have great need for business managers, marketing, accounting, journalism, manufacturing, sales, fashion, nonprofit administration, medical technicians, nutrition, facility management, event planning and all things digital from social media to website design and maintenance.

Having a solid education and meaningful experience in as many different aspects of the horse industry as possible will almost certainly guarantee success. I’ve enjoyed working with several different universities that offer programs for equine majors and staying involved in what it takes to produce successful graduates that are wanted and needed by those of us in the horse industry.

There are many great college programs for equine majors that include horse education as well as practical business management courses. I encourage young people to look at the programs, such as Colorado State University, that are aligned with business administration and are science-based. Getting a broad-based traditional education will serve you well. In my opinion, you can get your hands-on horse experience at the barn—go to college to get a college education in all the other important stuff.

To get a job in the horse industry, you’ll need a love of horses, experience with horses and the willingness to work hard. But to have a successful career and thrive in the industry, you’ll need a college education, a broad-based view of the industry at large, ambition and dedication. If that sounds like you, buckle your seatbelt and hang on for the ride, because you are going far!

 

Nurturing The Try In Your Horse

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I have lived with and worked with horses for more than half a century. And the older I get, the more appreciation I have for horses and their willingness, generosity and ability to forgive. It never ceases to amaze me how they tolerate some of the crazy things we humans do and how they will keep on trying to please.

Over the decades, I have learned that horses thrive on structure, consistency, praise and discipline. They crave leadership and authority and they feel safe and content in its presence. Leadership is very black and white to a horse and he knows it when he sees it. There is no faking leadership to a horse.

In domestic herds, groups of horses that are forced together, sometimes there are unqualified horses in the alpha role and the other horses know it—they agree to the terms, but do not have respect or admiration for the stand-in. Being a bully does not make you a leader and although a more subordinate horse will defer to the space of a more aggressive herdmate, he does not respect the bully as his leader and certainly does not like him.

A true herd leader is not a bully, but is willing to dish out discipline when it is needed. The true leader of the herd is responsible for the herd’s safety and for insuring that all the herdmates are good citizens of the herd—sometimes that means disciplining an unruly horse.

Horses recognize true leadership—fairness, courage, authority, confidence, intelligence, honesty, responsibility. When horses find a true leader, they have the highest respect and deference for and come to worship the ground their leader walks on. They trust and want to be with their leader and are always on the lookout for ways to please—to stay in the good graces of the one in charge.

To me, this is the ideal relationship to have with a horse and it makes me a much better and stronger person to live up to the ideals of my horse. When your horse thinks of you as the supreme leader, he will go anywhere with you, trusting you to look out for his well-being, having faith in your decisions and knowing you have his best interest in mind. He will work hard to please you and will get his feelings hurt if he thinks you are unhappy with him. But that attitude comes at a price—you have to earn it– and it is easily lost if you fall down on the job.

Once your horse recognizes the qualities of a true leader in you, it means that he trusts you to be fair, consistent and protect him from anything that could hurt him. That trust can be lost in an instant by asking the horse to do something that causes him to get hurt or frightened. This is an important obligation of the leader and should never be overlooked.

Horses are herd animals and as such, are instinctively drawn to the herd; but membership into any herd is not a guarantee. In the domestic setting, a new horse introduced an existing herd will automatically be shunned and treated harshly, as if to say, “We do not want you—go away!” Once the new horse shows a certain amount of contrition and a willingness to respect the hierarchy of the herd, he will be allowed provisional membership. But he is treading on thin ice and knows that if he is not on his best behavior, he could be once again banished from the herd.

Acceptance into a herd means that you are willing to abide by the rules of the herd and be a good citizen to the herd. Horses are very good at learning and following rules and as long as rules are clearly defined and consistently enforced, horses will follow the rules religiously.

There are many important lessons for us to learn from life in the horse herd. To be accepted as the leader, you have to establish authority right away and not worry about being liked—that will come later. You have to take charge, establish the rules and demonstrate your willingness to enforce them. Then your horse will come to accept your authority, feel safe in your presence and be eager to please you.

You cannot bribe or pamper your horse into thinking of you as a leader. That is not within his frame of reference. If you start out your relationship by begging him to be your friend, you automatically put yourself in the subordinate position. Horses crave authority, not pandering.

If you are the leader in your herd of two—you and your horse—then it is up to you to set and enforce the rules. Always. You lead—he follows. If your leadership skills are inadequate, your horse will step into the leadership role and start making all the decisions, like where you both go and how fast you get there. In that case, sooner or later, your horse will make a decision you don’t agree with.

It is a hard thing for some people to accept, but horses thrive off both praise and discipline; he gets a lot more of the latter in the herd. Praise is only meaningful to the horse if he has earned it and if he thinks of you as his leader and someone he wants to please. And without discipline, rules have no meaning and the horse will not make an effort to please you. If there are no rules, there is no leadership.

Discipline and praise go together and the horse needs both. If you constantly shower praise on a horse, without him making any effort to earn it, why should he keep trying to please you?

Your horse needs to know when you are pleased with him and know when you are not. Often just a stern word is all it takes, especially when the horse has an attitude of wanting to please you. But just like a child, the horse needs structure and rules to follow and ramifications to be meted out if he disobeys a rule. Otherwise, you end up with a very unpleasant animal—whether it is two-legged or four.

All of my horses, selected by me largely for their temperaments, fall into the category of very willing and eager to please. That does not mean that they are always perfect, never make mistakes or never misbehave. Since humans have been breeding horses more for pleasure and recreation than for beasts of burden for nearly a century, as a rule, horses are much better tempered than they used to be.

But this eager and willing attitude can turn into the likes of a tantrumming toddler in the presence of inadequate leadership. Recognizing when a horse is trying his best, when he is goofing off and when he is blatantly breaking the rules, is the first step in nurturing the “try” in your horse.

When I issue a directive to a horse, it is not his actual response or performance that matters—it is the effort he makes to do the right thing. If he tries, he gets rewarded and praised. If he doesn’t, he gets scolded and put immediately back to work. He doesn’t have to be brilliant, but he does have to make an effort.

Although praise is a great motivator for horses and scolding is a great dissuader, the best motivator of all for horses is comfort. When my horse puts out a good effort in response to something I have asked him to do, I always acknowledge it by whispering sweet-nothings to him, rubbing him on the withers and leaving him alone for a moment to let him rest and think about how good it feels to be a good horse. When he cheats me or doesn’t try hard enough, I put him immediately back to work. When he makes an exceptional effort, I might just stop what I am doing and immediately put him away.

Equine behaviorists have long known that safety and comfort are the greatest motivating factors of a horse’s behavior. Often people are surprised to learn that it is not food, as it is with dogs. Horses can find the food on their own—they don’t need a leader for that.

Horses only feel safe in the presence of a strong and committed leader who is fair, in-control and makes all the important decisions. Horses are comfortable when they are allowed to take it easy and have the satisfaction of feeling appreciated. Pampering, indulgence and a lack of rules and structure can turn a good horse bad in a matter of hours.

If you watch for and acknowledge the try in your horse—his effort to do the right thing or to please you– and recognize and reprimand when he is disobedient or distracted, he will work hard to stay on your good side and he will feel safe and content to be with you and to do your bidding.

All the money in the world cannot buy this kind of respect and devotion from a horse—you have to earn it by being a strong leader and recognizing your horse’s effort, be it good or bad. This is a tall order—that’s why horses make us better people.

Enjoy the ride,
Julie