Your Horse Career Starts Here
Forward resume with cover letter outlining experience to wade@betezy.com.au.
I got a message in facebook with this information and am going to go out on a limb and assume it is in relation to William Inglis and Son.
“Ten ways to get in shape to own a horse… Jog long distances carrying a halter and holding out a carrot. Go ahead and tell the neighbors what you’re doing.They might as well know now. “
tag: thoroughbred, horse sales, australia, career
Many people that want to be carrying out a job that relates to horses, would love to do this from home. As far as I see it, there are three types of jobs relating to horses – those which you can do in your home; those you can do with a small amount of land (a couple of acres); those you can carry out assuming you have a decent sized acreage.
In your home:
Perhaps you have another talent that you can tie in with your passion for horses? Consider:
– Photography – Writing (articles, fiction, non fiction) – Art (painting, sculpting, drawing, etc)
– Saddler (you may be able to repair/stitch up other’s leather works that can either be picked up or dropped off)
– Rug repairs – Website design (focused on advertising horse businesses) – Creating horse gifts/jewellery to sell
On a small amount of land:
– Instructing (as long as you have an arena or area that is set up for schooling and the clientele, you can provide a service from your home; people will travel for private lessons on their horse if the service is right)
– Breeding (if you have a popular stallion of a certain discipline, people can “walk-in” their mare to your stallion
Some home based operations will require more land – dependent on the size of the operation.
– Breeder – Trainer/Breaker – Agistment/Livery Property – Riding School Owner
I’m sure there are plenty more possibilities but above are a few to mull over if you’re seriously considering mixing horses, home and work. Good luck!
“To get in shape to own a horse… Affix a pair of reins to a moving freight train and practice pulling it to a halt. And smile as if you are really having fun.”
tag: job, training, instructing, horse stud, writing, equine art, photography, agistment
Just some housekeeping. For those interested, I’ve started a new category that will ‘Profile’ people from particular disciplines. The aim is to build up a heap of interviews of sorts with those who have made it in the industry and are able to pass on some wisdom/insights about their particular field. Enjoy! And feel free to mention people you’d love to see profiled.
“To get in shape to own a horse… Learn to grab your chequebook out of your purse/pocket and write out a $200 cheque without even looking down.”
With her race mare Ethereal, Sheila Laxon became the first female trainer to win the Melbourne Cup in 2001. John Symons and Shelia Laxon run JSL Racing located in Seymour, Victoria, Australia. Sheila kindly took the time to answer some questions about her profession.
Have you always been interested in horses and when did you start out training racehorses?
We spelled beach ponies at our farm from when I was about three so was riding before I can remember! Was involved in training racehorses from 12 years old when my sister and I went to the local racing stable to groom them and ride them out. Actually had a Trainer’s Licence in 1997 but started training a bigger team in 1999.
How much of your day/week is hands on with horses?
You could say 24/7! Never stops (see what time it is now! 6.30am)
In this field is it possible for someone to be a full time professional, earning a livable income?
Yes, the job is what you make it and I do believe that the more you put in to it, the more you get out of it. There is a lot of luck involved in getting the horse that can run, but there are plenty around if you can spend the time in developing them into wanting to be a racehorse. And certainly the prize money is huge if you can get the right horse.
What are the general steps taken to become a qualified trainer?
If you are horse orientated from a young age (i.e. show jumping / eventing etc) I think you gravitate into the racing game because it’s the most financially rewarding aspect to be involved in. You can be involved in breaking in, spelling, pretraining, re-educating rogue horses and get the chance to continue training them to get to the races.
Any advice for those interested in pursuing this discipline?
I am not sure that the courses available are the best way to pursue getting into training as I do believe the hands on experience you can have developing horses that other people have given up on, gives you the edge on the trainer next door. I would suggest someone who is keen to have a go at being involved with training horses should go to work for a trainer they admire and learn as much as they can about why that trainer has the success he/she has.
Is there anything else with horses you’d love to learn about or try?
I think you can learn something new about horses every day. I’d love to go back to show jumping, which was my initial involvement in the competition world, but it is a very full time pursuit for little financial reward and, in this day and age, you have to consider the time input ratio into whatever path you wish to follow.
Favourite horse memory?
Ethereal getting to the winning post first in the Melbourne Cup!
Future goals?
Doing it again to prove it wasn’t a fluke!!
Best thing about your sport/profession?
Earning your livelihood out of your favourite pastime, meeting so many people, traveling so much, spending a lot of time outdoors.
“To get in shape to own a horse… drop a heavy steel object on your foot. Don’t pick it up right away. Shout: ‘Get off, Stupid! Get off!'”
tag: training, australia, showjumping, thoroughbreds, racehorses, melbourne cup
For me, the idea of running my own business from home is one of the most appealing I can think of. One business that works well from home (if you have the acreage and horse numbers, of course) is trail riding.
In Australia I’ve been to a fair amount of trail riding properties, with at least 50% of these being where the owner/manager also lives and looks after their horses. The trails themselves are on public property, reserves/parks, beaches and possibly across some roads to get to the riding destination.
The trails I went on in South Africa were all across land owned by the council which was apparently open to a couple of trail riding businesses in the area who had received permission to travel over this land as part of their business/service provided.
In Ireland I went to two very different places, one that was set up on a very small acreage with stables and an arena. Here the owner of the business actually had all of her riders one at a time carry out a walk, trot and canter to prove their capability in the saddle before heading out on a trail ride down the road and to the beach. The second was actually a property of about 40 acres set up with many jumps throughout about four different paddocks. You were able to ride the owner’s horses that were used for hunts and therefore capable of jumping. With about a dozen other classmates from the Irish National Stud, we had a ball cantering around on these sturdy mounts and popping over any jump that came along – it was a heap of fun.
Whatever type of trail riding business you run, it’s a given you’ll need land or the use of land which provides areas to ride in that can keep a rider interested for 1 hour, 2 or perhaps a whole day. On top of this you’re going to want bombproof mounts and insurance. Sometimes a piece of paper is a step up to getting yourself insured. Take a look at some qualifications available in Australia at http://www.ahse.info/trailguides.htm.
“EQUINOMIC$ – The distribution and depletion of a large percentage of a horse owners cash flow.”
tag: horseriding, national stud, australia, south africa, career
