Qualifications Needed to Own a Horse Stud

So I don't believe there's any rule about this one... one of my bosses bought a stud after managing his own mechanic shop. Another grew up on the property and took over after his dad. I think anyone with the money or interest can manage this one; whether or not they have any pieces of paper to say they know a thing or two about horses.

Just thought I'd put a piece up here cause it's a topic or phrase that was searched upon and resulted in someone visiting this blog.

The above is exactly what I want to do with my life - own my own horse property and breed horses (plus lots of other things!). Currently I have three pieces of paper - all pretty much in the same area. Certificate II in Horse Studies (12 month course gained at 17 years of age); Diploma of Horse Studies (2 year course gained at 20 years of age) and a Certificate of Merit from the Irish National Stud (6 month course gained at 21 years of age).

I don't believe any of these are NEEDED to own or run a horse stud. However, I believe ALL have brought me to the stage where if I had the funds at this very moment, I'd happily consider myself capable of running a horse property; focusing on breeding.

If your desire is to run your own horse place; I encourage you to look into doing a course, expecially if you haven't been brought up with horses. It's an awesome way to get experience and a piece of paper; to gain friends in the industry for life and to learn of important contacts in that same industry.

There's no particular course that is the essential one to help you do so; but if you're considering studying, think about doing a course that is at least 12 months, moreso 2 years or more and is at least at Diploma level. These courses are generally 'management' courses; designed for people with this level of work in mind. Another thought - make sure it covers that which to wish to focus on; find something a little more specific rather than general if you have a specific goal in mind.

"Poverty is another word for owning a horse..."

Job available in North East Victoria on TB stud.

Hello out there! Anyone interested in a job? Was chatting to a previous boss not too long ago who is looking for at least one person to fill in a permanent position at a Thoroughbred stud.

Don't think TB experience is necessary, but definitely horse experience. In the middle of weaning foals currently, breeding season starts August 1 and Yearlings from December. Accomodation available on the property and about 5 mins from town.

I worked here for nine months, learnt lots and gained lots of sale experience through many yearling preps. For the breeding enthusiast they are a decent sized stud with many mares going through the property to foal down and be bred and they have their own stallions.

If interested get in contact with me via darquette_@hotmail.com or leave a comment with a way to contact you.

Chris

"You Know You're A Horse Person When... you try to get by someone in a restricted space and instead of saying "excuse me" to him/her, you cluck at them instead."

Added Benefits

I'm one of those people that jumps more at opportunities to work in an area I'm not familiar with but want to be, rather than looking for the security of decent pay, good hours, etc. For now, anyway.

However, other things that you can get out of a job are really worth looking into, especially if you've been in an industry for say twelve months, have gained some decent experience and are getting to know people in that industry.

For example, currently I'm working at two riding schools with the view to become qualified to teach. Technically, I entered the field blindly, knowing nothing about the rate of pay I should expect, hours or even where to look. I just chose schools that were close to home for convenience and sent out letters to see if any were looking for workers. Now, of the four letters I sent, I got two replies (50%, not a bad strikerate for job searching!) and took on both jobs as it was experience.

In hindsight I realise how blessed I am to have gotten the two positions and how one complements the other. All I really needed was a place to take me on, teach me how to teach others and hopefully help me out with getting a piece of paper to say I had done the study to be able to teach.

What I ended up with was one place where I was expected to do general stable duties and in return, got paid, got to view other's teaching, I'm getting three riding lessons a week to improve my riding and also give me one on one with instructor's teaching and I've got a place to keep my horse at no extra charge. Talk about benefits! At the other school, I am being paid to teach after being under training with other instructors and they are also providing the qualified assessors to mark off my capabilities and teach me so I can get the piece of paper I desire.

If you have been in a field awhile, I encourage you to find out from others why they are staying at a particular job. Do they get benefits?

I have friends in the stud industry who each get different benefits:
- One has literacy problems and on top of being paid to work with horses and working on a stud that could place her in four different countries around the world, they are paying for her to have classes to improve her literacy.
- Another works on a smaller stud where she is given access to all areas of stud work, gaining experience at anything and everything. She also gets a rather nice bonus around Christmas time each year.
- Where I work during the season I am provided with accomodation at no charge which means my only expenses are fuel and food (and I live at work, so there's not too many travelling costs) and my horse is allowed to stay where I work also, an added bonus at no extra cost to me.

On a stud situation or a family run riding property that shows constantly, it is often common for accomodation to be provided. Why not consider adding this to your list of requirements when job hunting? It could save you a lot on rent, especially in an environment where the hours can be many and the rate low.

'You Know You're A Horse Person When... you pull a $17,000 horse trailer with a $1,000 pick-up truck. '

Online Equine Library

Boy am I having fun playing rather than behaving and heading off to bed. Have been strolling through horse sites/blogs and found one that listed horse related books that the person owned/had read and out of curiosity clicked on the link.

This lead me to Librarything.com - a site where you can build an online catalog of all the books you have, drawing information from the likes of Amazon.com. Now, as someone who has recently posted about building up my horse related library, this was totally appealing! Curious to know what I've got in my library? Check out the search I have placed on the right hand column of this page a bit further down. Example, type in the word 'polo' and see what happens... totally cool!:D

You can also have on your blog/site a random show of books in your library like so:


"You Know You're A Horse Person When... ...on rainy days, you organize the tack room, not the house. "

I've been published!

Sorry, no massively insightful piece tonight, just me jumping for joy cause two of my horse related pieces have been published online! Check out http://www.ridersnreapers.com/ and look for the pieces by Christine Thomas. And feel free to check out the others!

"You Know You're A Horse Person When... ...someone asks for a screwdriver and you hand them a hoof pick."

Horse Networking

So I went along to a thoroughbred sale today as I had the day off and wanted to catch up with mates from TAFE. It's a great way to keep in touch with those in an industry that I aim to stay a part of, even when I take short breaks from it.

It's also a great way for someone to get their foot in the door in a particular industry. If you're frequenting events, you're getting your face known and hopefully getting to know others and how they are placed in the industry.

Horse sales can be a great way to get to know who provides a service, sells horses; who is looking to buy horses and race them; who provides transport for horses to and from sales, etc. If you're interested in getting into the Thoroughbred industry, keep on top of when sales are and attend some. So much in relation to employment in this industry is who you know, rather than what. That can be in your favour as long as who you know, is aware of your dedication to the industry.

So maybe Thoroughbreds aren't your scene, but if horses are, look into attending special events - Equitana, the Scone Horse Festival, horse shows or even rodeos if Quarter Horses are more your thing.

Another great way to get contact with horses and meet others who are obsessed and may also be in the industry, is to volunteer for certain horse related events or even sports such as Riding for the Disabled.

If you're interested in a certain horse field but don't know where to start, consider getting yourself known by attending social events relating to that field!

Horse Sales:
Magic Millions
William Inglis
Tattersalls
Tattersalls Ireland
Doncaster Bloodstock Sales
Keeneland Sales

"You Know You're A Horse Person When... your mouth waters at the sight of a truck full of hay."

For Me

If you can't get something out of your own blog, what is the world coming to? So I have a huge obsession with books - namely, horse books. Surprised? I know - of course not!

Currently I have around 70 horse books in my collection - this is discluding all my magazines and catalogues from horse sales. I have been telling myself for the past 18 months that I won't buy any more until I've read all the ones I've got, but it just ain't gonna happen! I love purchasing horse books. Once I've got my property established, one of my dreams is to have a library with books from all over, about anything horse related!

So I have a request for anyone who reads this post:
- Help me to grow this collection of books
- Help me to establish a library that contains fiction books for all ages; non fiction books on any and every discipline, health issues, nutrition, breeding or anything else horsey!

How? Easy, send me an email or reply to this post with the title and/or author of a book that you have or have read that you feel would be an asset in anyone's horse library. If you really enjoyed it/learnt a lot from it; chances are I will too!

The more information you can provide, the better - Title, Author, Subject, even a link to where I can purchase the book online if you'd like! I look forward to your suggestions :D

"You Know You're A Horse Person When... you consider a golf course as a waste of good pasture land."