Part of a Series on Careers with horses: Horse Trainer
Horse trainers work to exercise, feed and train horses for their riding, show or designated work. There are a variety of different kinds of horse training you can practice. Most trainers specialize in a specific equestrian discipline, such as starting young horses, working with sport and show horses, training horses for therapy programs, retraining horses who were poorly trained or neglected and others. Show trainers may train hunters, jumpers, dressage horses, saddle horses and others in more than 20 divisions. Depending on the stable where you’re working, many trainers also work with barn management, teaching and grooming.
What you need:
An equine studies program at a university or college will help you learn required skills, such as horsemanship, equine anatomy and physiology, facility management and horse behavior. It’s important to have a lot of experience with horses, training and riding. The more time you spend in a stable, the better. A college with an on-campus or accessible stable will keep you working directly with horses while you keep up your studies.
Several horse trainers start out as apprentices where they perform stable chores, exercise, feed and groom horses. Experience with horses is a must. There is no one main national training certification, nor is it required, however there are many organizations – like the Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA)– that work to train and evaluate trainers and instructors on the basis of safety, experience and horse knowledge.
Job Resources:
William Woods’ equestrian students experience 100 percent placement into careers when they graduate. For trainer jobs, many use online sources like Yard and Groom, Equistaff and Horsejobs.ca. Your professors and advisers are also great resources; they’ve got some awesome connections with the kind of training jobs, internships and summer work you’re interested in.
William Woods online masters of equestrian education offers equestrian education professionals with innovative teaching learning skills such as current issues in equestrian education, curriculum construction, and teaching in the digital landscape.
Designed for current equestrian professionals, the online equestrian education program delivers an accessible way to gain field pedagogy skills to transition into the role of educator, improve your instructional techniques and learn to construct effective curriculum by applying instructional theories and strategies.