So there are many different courses and holidays that you can do with horses to gain experience and qualifications, but this isn’t always a financially viable option. The best way to get hands on and learn as much as possible is to actually get yourself a job with horses.

If you really want both the qualifications and the hands on, there are places that are willing to help staff by sending them along to seminars, or apprenticeships that can be carried out, or once earning money, it may be possible to invest in doing a correspondence course outside of work hours.

For me, stud work is currently the most appealing as it covers so many aspects of the horse’s life and you can work on a stud almost anywhere in the world. However, if something else appeals – go for it! Polo, dressage, show jumping, cross country, polocrosse, national hunt, western, farriery, vet, pacers/trotters and many more.

http://www.stablemate.net.au/ advertises jobs in most of these fields and in Australia, Europe, America and Canada.
http://www.horsedirectory.com.au/classifieds/index.php?mid=1 – Horse Directory Australia offers the chance for employers to advertise jobs for sale in all states of Australia and also for those seeking to publish their skills and the type of job they are looking for.
http://www.horses-sales.com/horse_classifieds.shtml has links to possible jobs with horses under many different countries.
http://www.agriseek.com/work/e/Employment/Equine-Horses/ advertises jobs based on category or location.

“Even the greenest horse has something to teach the wisest rider.”

tag: online jobs

It all begins here… So the earliest I discovered that I could actually start ‘studying’ horses at school, was in year ten (third last year of highschool in Australia, was 16 at the time) through the joys of work experience.

Only for a period of two weeks, looking back now it seems hardly enough time but I am glad over the course of my last three years of high school, I was able to complete three lots of work experience – at a small racing stable/stud, riding school and a stable at Caulfield Racecourse.

Rather than dissuade me from the not so kind hours and manual labour, this only fuelled the want to get the rest of school out of the way and work with horses.

Fortunately, in between the school I attended had just recently offered the chance to study horses (Certificate II in Horse Studies) as part of your VCE subjects and so over my second last year of school, I was able to actually do one of my chosen subjects as horses, at the end of it having a Certificate II and a little more of an idea of the direction I wanted to head after highschool.

I completed this course at Balmoral Warmblood Stud, attending the stud every Wednesday to work, ride and learn about horses. It is possible to also do the course via correspondence so it doesn’t cut in on classes at school.

“The horse through all its trials has preserved the sweetness of paradise in its blood.” – Johannes Jensen

Take a look at:
http://www.balmoral.info/ – check out the ‘education’ area.
http://www.bhtafe.edu.au/Courses/AST20.htm
http://www.landfood.unimelb.edu.au/courses/tafe/c2-equine.html

tag: certificate II