So a friend has recently posted on Facebook about her excitement of having secured foaling work for the next 12 months.  For those familiar with the world of breeding horses, you may be asking, ‘but how is this possible?  Mares only cycle in the warmer months and are consequently bred then.’

This is possible through the joys of working both hemispheres.  Because the northern and southern hemispheres run on opposite seasons, it is possible to work the breeding season in the southern hemisphere and then travel over to the northern hemisphere and work their breeding season.

Consequently, it’s possible to work the position of a foaling attendant, all year round.

What does a foaling attendant do?

• generally work nights when mares are anticipated to foal (often from 9pm – 6am)
• observe mares during the foaling process and help if necessary with the delivery
• notify vets of any issues with a mare foaling that may need immediate attention
• keep an eye on the newborn foal
• test colostrum levels on mares and immunity levels in foals
• deal with compromised foals and mares after foaling

The job in itself is an incredibly rewarding one and extremely important!  Foals within their first 72 hours of life (termed neonates) are extremely vulnerable to a multitude of problems.  Your foaling attendant may be the first person to pick up any issues and help to improve the foal’s health.

“It’s always been and always will be the same in the world:  the horse does the work and the coachman is tipped.” – Author Unknown

So I had my boy’s feet done today by a farrier who is undertaking a course with the Australian Certificate Equine Hoofcare Practitioners.

It seems that these guys are based in Tasmania, Australia but people nationally and internationally are signing up for the course they offer.

The course is started with a 2 week intensive session, and then 9 months of self-paced study.  For those interested in farriery work for their own horses, or perhaps as a career option, why not check it out!

It was evident to me today that this young woman is able to undertake farriery work and having chosen to now do so as a career, she’s keen to have her skills recognised formally by a piece of paper.

Perhaps if you’re in the same boat, it is worth looking into the courses available near you.

“No foot, no horse.” – Author unknown

 

Friday was such a delightfully exciting and productive day at work. (Now tell me honestly, have you ever been able to say such a thing about your work?)

Based on the content of this blog, it should be no surprise that I love horses, the horse industry and education relating to it. Perhaps that’s how I’m blessed to currently be in an equine educational role at a TAFE in Victoria.

My main tasks at this stage focus around generating or updating resources for our horse breeding courses, and getting the related information and assessment tasks online for our enrolled students to utilise. I’ve recently finished writing a learner guide regarding carry out stud and stable management duties and written a couple of assignments and quizzes that the students must complete in order to gain competency in this particular unit of their course.

It felt great to finish this all and have it live online for when the students will be starting the unit at the end of the month. I love finishing tasks before they’re due!

Another staff member who assesses students in the racing industry mentioned that a nearby thoroughbred stud was looking for someone to help with mucking out boxes. I emailed our current students to let them know in case anyone was looking for work in the nearby area. One promptly replied, wanting to know how she could chase up this available work, so I gave her contact details for that particular stud.

A young woman came in a little later, seeking out horse courses that she could undertake, as well as a job in the industry. A couple of us talked with her regarding the courses on offer at the National Centre for Equine Education and I was able to inform her of another job that is available an hour down the road at another thoroughbred stud.

Alongside this, our course coordinator called to let me know that we have a new trainee for one of our courses, and that she is working at a thoroughbred stud that I used to work at and still have close contact with the workers there. Now I’m new to traineeships, but it seems that this particular one at my old workplace could be one of the first for me to sign up and assess out in the industry.

For me, it doesn’t get much better than that for a morning’s work! I was able to:

• Complete resources in advance and have them online for current students
• Help a current student apply for a potential job
• Talk with a potential future student about course options, a possible job and her future career with horses
• Agree to take on a new task that will gain me more skills at work and allow the chance to visit those who first helped me get started in the industry

Yes, life is sweet 🙂

“A dog may be man’s best friend…But the horse wrote history.” – Author unknown