I’ve got my gelding, Pride on a trial product at the moment to improve his coat. General gist is I get the product for free, have to supplement it into his feed for a month and provide before and after photos and comments about the product and how well it works.

Consequently, I’m down to see “the horse” every day, feeding him and generally annoying him – he really isn’t a fan of any form of exercise and I think he’s worked out that if he doesn’t get an apple upon my arrival, then he’s up for some exercise before a feed!

I have a lot of time to spare at the moment so stayed for a good chat with one of the women who works there on the weekend. This day she was training up another who was to start part time work at the riding school. It’s very easy to ask people about themselves and what they want to do in life. Turns out she’s from a management background and new to horses. She is interested in courses to further her knowledge and eventually wants to manage her own equestrian facility and be qualified to instruct.

My thoughts? I’m sure we can help each other! With her background I’m certain I could pick her brain from a management perspective and I could offer advice on courses to do or places to look into for further education, employment, etc.

You’ll never know how much you can help someone or vice-versa until you start finding out about them and I love this about networking – it’s easy to find out about someone – just ask them! You never know where the contact will lead you in the future.

“Lessons from your horse: When you’re quick to react, let me teach you that herbivores kick much faster than omnivores.”

tag: networking, australia, instructing, training

So I’ve just spent all my saved money on my trip to South Africa – and it was well worth it! But I’m now back to square one, saving up again. Sometimes it seems a silly task due to the fact that as soon as I’ve saved a decent sum, I spend it all at once!

My mum is a big believer in building up a passive income and I’m starting to see the benefits. The general idea of a passive income is to have funds coming in without having to put in the work. Well that’s not quite right. You put in the time and effort to start off with, but manage to build up a process by which eventually you’re not working but still receiving money for the initial work. For example, you write a book and get it published and then put it as a product on Ebay. You’ve put in all the work and as the book gain’s interest, you continue to sell it with no real continual effort from your behalf.

Now it’s to be a long time before I see this dream realised, but it’s nice to be aware of ways to bring in funds to put towards a goal and if I had this built up now, I’d be less worried about taking working holidays (granted, I learn lots and work lots and acquire contacts on these holidays) that aren’t actually earning me any money while I’m away.

If you’ve a goal in mind – whether it be instructing horse riding; running your own property; renting a horse related property; start up your own business but you’re not sure where to find the funds. For example, for insurance, purchasing a property or shop or ongoing costs of rent, feed, etc I encourage you to look around at the funds on offer. Just be willing to prove that you can make a living off your dream.

The Nescafe Big Break (http://www.nescafebigbreak.com.au/) although taking a break this year, has for the past 17 years provided funds (up to $20,000 to winners) for young Australians/New Zealanders to start up their own business.

The New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (http://www.nna.asn.au/NEIS.htm) is focused on bringing back to the workforce people whom were previously unemployed, by training them up in business skills, creating a business plan and helping with funds to start their own business. I have a friend who is so excited as she has just finished work with NEIS and is to start her own photography business. Have you a passion for taking photos of horses, creating calendars, diaries? Perhaps you hadn’t considered the possibility of turning it into a business!

Sorry that both of these links are Australian oriented, but if the only thing holding you back is funds, start researching the schemes or people that are willing to invest their time and money in others. Initially it may be a way for you to kick start things, but who knows – in the future it may be a way for you to invest in someone else’s dream.

Also, don’t underestimate the value of putting your money to work. Consider a savings account – every little bit helps. Ing Direct, an online savings acount is free to set up, has an interest rate of 6% and has a competition offering $10,000 to a random person whom sents up an account:
“When you use an Automatic Savings Plan (ASP) between 1 August and 31 October 2007 to deposit funds into your Savings Maximiser, you’ll be automatically entered into the draws to win $10,000 in bonus interest. For every one dollar you deposit in August, September and October, you’ll have one entry into the draw for that month. Deposit $100 in August and you’ll have 100 entries into the draw for that month.”

“If money can’t buy happiness how do you get a horse?”

tag: australia, job, training

I always thought farriery was the way to go – variety, good money, physically active – and then concluded equine dentistry was even more appealing. Yes, it was the money that persuaded me, how did you guess? However, I see some pros for farriery in that this business is easier to run on a smaller client base – your horse’s feet need doing every 2 months, unlike the teeth which are done annually, calling for more people to use you to be constantly in work.

Spending the majority of my short working life on studs, I’ve viewed many foals born with the most interesting looking legs. Sometimes it’s the vet’s job to fix problems; others the farrier can fix in various ways.

The legs are a focus over the first few months of a foal’s life as at this age, things can be adjusted to “encourage” growth in a different direction (correcting/minimising the problem).

For example – a foal that toes in – a farrier can rasp a little more off a particular side, encouraging extra growth on this side, pushing the foot in the opposite direction, straightening it out over time. The end result may not be a 100% correct horse, but can alleviate problems, make them more correct and therefore more appealing to buyers/less likely to receive stresses on their legs while in work.

In Victoria it’s pretty common for a farrier to charge around $50 to trim your horse’s feet (less, the more horses you have) and around $100 for a set of shoes all round. Now in a day one farrier can easily manage 20 horses. Say they were all done at the same place, all trims and therefore at a cheaper rate – $30 – this is still $600 for the day. And honestly, they can manage more, but 20 horses would be quite a demand on the body!

To become a farrier in Oz, you’re looking at a 3 year apprenticeship with what I’ve been told is an average income, but once you’ve invested this time over the short term, the wage is a lot more appealing.

Some Associations:
American Farriers Association:
http://www.americanfarriers.org/

Aust. Farriers and Blacksmiths Association:
http://www.afba.org.au/

New Zealand Farrier’s Association:
http://www.nzfarriers.co.nz/

Brotherhood of Working Farriers Association:
http://www.bwfa.net/

“Be wary of the horse with a sense of humour.” – Pam Brown

tag: farriery, job, apprenticeship