A Career in Horse Management or Equine Husbandry?

Answer 1

Managing a horse barn or other equine facility requires specialized training since it is very different from, for instance, managing a small family dairy or a hay farm. There are a number of schools offering certificates (these generally require a year or less), as well as two or four-year degrees in equine management, horse management, or equine husbandry. The name used will vary from place to place and school to school, but they all refer to training for professional management of a horse barn or other equine property.

Equine programs tend to assume that you already have extensive experience working with horses, not only riding them but feeding, watering, grooming, worming, exercising, treating minor injuries, and cleaning stalls. Many programs assume you have your own horse on the school’s premises, or that you have easy access to horses of your own or at a barn where you work while attending school. In addition to classroom work that will require you to pay attention and retain instructional material, you will be expected to pass written exams and practical exams. You will also need to be in good health, and physically able to lift feed bags and hay bales, control a horse without injury to you, the horse, or a bystander, farrier, or vet, and able to spend a great deal of time outdoors in all kinds of weather.

One indication of a good equine management program is that you are required to work with horses under supervision. Your local agricultural school, extension program or vet school may offer a certificate program in equine management or stable management. In addition to hands-on work with horses and barn work, most programs include lectures and demonstrations about equine nutrition, health, breeding and foal care, training, horse physiology and nutrition, equine safety, and classes in barn management, law and business. The horse management program at Michigan State University is typical of such on-site programs. Other equine management and husbandry programs are listed here.