Re: horse jobs

["Cheryl" <mskit@utec.net>]

Hi Renee -

So far the tone seems to be "Get a job outside of horses, so you can both
afford and have time to enjoy them." Please don't be discouraged, but for
most people, this rings true. It's hard to make a living based strictly on
horses, you're not just working with them, you're also interacting with
owners and clients, and courting potential owners and clients as well.
Sometimes, in order to keep them happy and give them the results that they
want, bad things get done to horses. You have to produce, or people will
just go somewhere else. Board and training bills don't always get paid,
breedings don't always turn out, and "average" horse prices don't always
cover what you have into them when (and if) they sell. Horses always eat,
they always make manure, they (almost) always get hurt or sick, etc., etc.
Don't mean to discourage you, it's just the way it is.

You will always have a feed bill, vet bills, mortgage, utilities, taxes,
farrier, truck pay't. Those are just regular maintainance horse bills. Wait
till something goes wrong!

 Then there's the time involved. I had a few borders and one or two horses
in at a time for training. Seven horses at the most, and with working my
full time job (seven horses alone will not support you!), I didn't have time
or energy to enjoy my own. Now there's only my three "kids" in the barn.
Much better. Feed, go to work, come home, ride & feed, life is good. I have
a good job, don't rely on board and training bills to be paid on time, and
the barn is always nice and quiet. I have a nice home (nothing fancy, but it
passes code), a good car (starts everyday, no rust, and it's paid for, too),
money in the bank, a retirement plan and a little piece of land where I hope
to build a house and barn on in the not too distant future. I treat myself
to something not horse-related every once in a while, you need to. I
actually have clothes and shoes that have never been worn inside the barn!
AND white sneakers, too!

"As little college as possible" worries me. Please, for your own future, get
as much schooling as you can. Ten or twenty years from now, you will be glad
you did. If you don't particularly like the more structured college
classroom, try a trade school. I'm a machinist, I make things out of metal,
and I'm also an artist, and a computer student. I started out going to ag
school with the ultimate goal of becoming a vet (long story). Never turn
your back on education. I had the same dreams you do, I haven't given them
up, they're just modified to fit the way my life is now, and the way the
world is. I'm almost 40, and I still go to school to keep my skills up, as
my field of work is increasingly more technical.

You can still write, train, breed, board, etc, but please, please don't cast
too negative an eye on education. Hope this helps.

Cheryl in WNY
Horse kids Kit, Bobby & Dani



-----Original Message-----
From: Eenergonzillen@aol.com <Eenergonzillen@aol.com>
To: ridecamp@endurance.net <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Date: Friday, January 21, 2000 8:29 PM
Subject: RC: horse jobs


>Hi, I was just wondering if any of you have jobs with horses.  I'm sure a
lot
>of you do.  I am a junior in highschool and want to do something with
horses.
> I don't know what though.  Tell me what all of you do.  I don't want to do
a
>lot of college (as little as possible, preferably no college and money will
>fall from the sky into my lap)  but I know that in order to have any
horses,
>I will have to work hard.  I thought of breeder, trainer, something like
that
>(writing a funny article for trailblazer like angie)
>:) just kidding Ms. McGhee if you read this.  Any hoo, can some of you ,
any
>of you send me some info?  I have been thinking about this for a while and
>need some help
>One person told me I could be hired to condition people's horses for
>endurance riding.  Never knew people were crazy enough to pay someone to
ride
>their horses, but, hey, fine with me. :) :)
>Thank you sooooooooooooooo much, Renee
>
>