Blog : Equus Education

Great to be Back!

September 9, 2006 by Christine Meunier 1 Comment

Man it’s good to be back at work! Have been back two weeks now and boy did they fly by! Have gotten right back into the swing of things with foaling down mares, holding mares for covers and general feeding, stable duties and vet work.

Boss hired a new person while I was overseas who has been running the farm, handling weanlings and prepping yearlings and I’m now working alongside her for the breeding season. Total blessing – before I went overseas I started my Certificate III in Recreational Coaching and had been doing all the theory, but had no one to mark off my practical. Well, turns out my new co worker is qualified to mark off all my practical work, so I can gain another qualification while working and playing with my horse outside of work! Brilliant!

I’ve also been chatting with her about wanting to learn about artificial insemination and it was suggested to me to do a breeding season with trotters and then look into the short course offered at Glenormiston – http://www.swtafe.vic.edu.au/campuses/glenormiston/ courses/short.aspx. I believe it’s a six week course and suddenly sounds very appealing! Just gotta work out where to fit it all in! Am currently saving up for South Africa now that I’m back from Ireland and earning a decent wage again.

“All I need to know in life, I learnt from my horse: When in doubt, run far, far away.”

tag: instructing, thoroughbred stud season

More Education?

August 15, 2006 by Christine Meunier 2 Comments

So it’s coming up to exam times for those in their last year of highschool and therefore, time to decide what to do next.

For many, it is so appealing to go straight into working with horses after highschool… or possibly even instead of the last couple of years of highschool, but I believe the education is worth it.

With the main outcome being working with horses and earning money from your passion, the last thing I wanted to do was consider a two or more year course after highschool that would ‘stop’ me from doing exactly that! But when I finally settled on a course to do at the start of year twelve, it became evident I would have to see the year out to be able to get into the course. It was either that or gain some experience with horses before hand, and fast!

Anyone with a desire to work with horses and the revelation that they need to work hard, be interested and show initiative can get a job with horses… and then you do your learning, while working. This is a little more daunting than learning the ins and outs of the industry while under the education of those who have been through it all and are now teaching in a horse course.

The VTAC guide shows a few possibilities for working with horses, but it is possible to do so much with them, so for the horse obsessed but discipline confused, look around. Consider a general course (equine management for example) rather than specific (dressage instructor) so you’re at least getting hands on training in a field that offers many jobs and can later lead to a specified area.

If your main reason for getting education is employment, check out courses that have a high employment percentage rate (GOTAFE Diploma has a 98% employment rate for students that finish their two year course). If earning money while studying is appealing, apprenticeships may be the way to go. The pay isn’t brilliant, but it is a bit of support while also learning.

TAFE can be more appealing than Uni price wise, but there are more expensive courses that offer scholarships, and it may be worth looking into these too. Another possbility is working on a horse property while studying, for example working at a riding school while gaining your Level 1 instructor’s certificate. Some riding schools will fund this as your education will benefit their business once the course is finished.

There are many possibilities and it’s well worth the research – you’re talking about your passion and career, not just a job.

“All I need to know in life, I learnt from my horse: New shoes are an absolute necessity every 6 weeks.”

tag: course, training, australia, thoroughbred stud season, education, diploma, horse studies, VTAC guide, TAFE

Diploma of Horse Studies

August 5, 2006 by Christine Meunier 1 Comment

I can’t work some things out, like a course that has honestly helped me to learn about the Thoroughbred industry, has a 98% employment rate for students at the end of the course and offers a scholarship each year to the Irish National Stud having such a low number of students this year. Hence, this post.

I studied at the Wangaratta Campus of Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE, Victoria, Australia in 2003/4 completing my Diploma of Horse Studies (Breeding) straight after year twelve. Of the two courses I was considering, this was more appealing as it is actually run on a stud, for 20 students in their first year and 20 in their second, allowing daily hands on with mares, foals, learning to foal down and even handling of two stallions.

There are three lots of work experience, two in the first year: a four week placement over the breeding season and an eight week placement for a yearling preparation and another five weeks over the breeding season in the students second year of study.

Much more practical for someone who wants to work with horses (how can you learn to handle them through a text book?) and a lot cheaper than any university course with near guaranteed employment in the industry as long as you’re willing to put in the work. How can you lose?

Simple – I didn’t. The course also offers a scholarship to the Irish National Stud. I didn’t manage the scholarship the year I finished the course, but did get accepted into the course a year later and paid to do this as international experience was someting I wanted to gain also. Now, I am headed back to work at a stud where I did work experience during my Diploma.

http://www.gotafe.vic.edu.au/courses/course_info.cfm?CID=DHOR-BRE – Diploma of Horse Studies (Breeding)
Duration: 2 years
Location: Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia

http://www.nationalstud.co.uk/Education-Diploma.asp – The National Stud Diploma Course
Duration: 6 months
Location: Britain

http://www.kmc.ac.uk/courses/engine/detailsF.cfm?id=647&type=Full%20Time%20Course&subject=equine%20studies – First Diploma in Horse Studies
Duration: Full Time and Part Time Courses
Location: Kingston Maurward College, Dorchester, Dorset, England

http://www.nmit.vic.edu.au/courses/horse/equine_dip_a.html – Diploma of Equine Stud Management
Duration: 2 years
Location: Epping, Victoria, Australia

http://www.eit.ac.nz/study_programmes/
advanced_diploma_in_applied_science_equine_studies.aspx – Advanced Diploma in Applied Science (Equine Studies)
Duration: 2 years
Location: Hawke’s Bay, North Island of New Zealand

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/careers/article.php?aid=48204 – Equine courses at Colleges in South East England.

“All I need to know in life, I learnt from my horse: Heaven is eating at least 10 hours a day…and then sleeping the rest.”

tag: course, australia, thoroughbred stud season, education, united kingdom, england, new zealand, TAFE

Musee Vivant du Cheval

August 3, 2006 by Christine Meunier 1 Comment

So, I think I’ve found the horse lovers mecca which is annoying, as I wanted to set up the equine owners nirvana on my property. The Living Horse Museum has given me a few ideas though!

So it’ll cost you around 17,50 euros for a visit to the Living Horse Museum, giving you access to the 30+ rooms of the museum; a small dressage show/lesson (half an hour) and entertainment show (2006 show is called Swing Horse and is around 45 mins long). It is possible to pay more and also see the Chantilly Castle or less and not see the second horse performance.

‘In 1719, Louis-Henri de Bourbon, the 7th Prince de Conde, commissioned the architect Jean Aubert to design and build stables befitting his rank. Legend has it that the Prince believed in metempsychosis and thought he would be reincarnated as a horse after his death…’

In 1982 under the ownership of Yves Bienaime, founded with his wife Annabel, the Musee Vivant du Cheval, designing and equipping it at their own expense. Today the 31 rooms each focus on something different, but all horse related. There are texts, paintings, models, toys and sculptures covering breeds of the horse, disciplines, quotes, systems (digestive, respiratory, circulatory, muscular skeletal and reproductive), tack and accessories, figurines of the horse in history and more.

The end room has over 30 life size models of horses done up under different disciplines – flat racer, steeplechase, trotter, side saddle, dressage, show jumping, eventer, cossack rider, matador, cowboy, carriage, indian and many more.

Now, it couldn’t well be a living horse museum without some real four legged animals. These perform in the show being under saddle, on a lead or long reined. They are also tied in open stalls for all to see. Breeds include the Adulusian, Friesian, Shetland, Ass, Miniature Shetland, Arab and many more.

And I thought I loved horses – this place is for the obsessee, by the obsessed. To top it off, they have an indoor working area, arena outside, kennels for the hundreds that were kept when the prince had the stables full and many hounds to accompany the horses on hunts. And, its right next door to Chantilly racecourse. Can’t beat it!

“In the fray I risk my life to protect him, just as in the night he watches over me and protects me.” – Al Monzir et bon cheval Al Arime

tag: chantilly, france

Great to be Back!

More Education?

Diploma of Horse Studies

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