I think the reason that is discourage now days is that with the cost of a four year degree versus what one makes starting out in an equine job, they will never be able to afford to pay off that debt or eat.
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There is a huge difference between getting a BS in Animal Science through a university college of agriculture and getting a degree in equine studies from some small college that doesnât prepare you for gainful employment in the real world.
Getting a degree in equine studies from Horsecrazy College, at a total cost of $Ridiculous, and graduating owing $Stupid in student loans is a losing proposition and people who are not independently wealthy should absolutely be discouraged from doing so.
On the other hand, attending the University of Kentucky and majoring in Equine Science is an entirely different proposition and I wouldnât necessarily discourage someone from doing that. https://equine.ca.uky.edu/
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Sadly, itâs the same situation for a lot of careers, including veterinarians (student debt versus starting salaries). Those starting out in my industry face the same problems of not making enough money to live on despite having PhDs.
I think the problem with the horse industry is that, unlike with many other careers, you can get away without having a college degree, and, therefore, jump right into business without getting any education about how to properly run one or any experience working in the ârealâ world.
I donât know what the answer is to fixing this particular problem other than encouraging young people to go to college no matter the degree rather than telling them you donât need a college degree to be a professional horse person.
Fortunately, there are ways to obtain 4-year degrees at university that donât put people in a huge amount of debt. I had half of my tuition paid for by an academic scholarship and the other half I paid for through applying for an interest-free student loan, which I was able to pay off rather quickly. I also worked 3 jobs in college to afford my horse and living expenses.
I am far from the type of person who says pull yourself up by your bootstraps, but there are ways to obtain the education you would like if you have a good academic background going into college and are willing to sift through a lot of different student loan options to find one that works for you.
The good news isâfor any hardcore horse personâa college/university schedule allows a lot of time for outside jobs, especially with horses, since you can usually schedule your classes around your jobs, especially after freshman year. 
Edited to add: Again, not trying to derail the thread, but it does get tiring seeing equine programsâno matter what school they are atâbeing constantly bashed on the forums. As with any college program and college/university, there are good ones and bad ones. Iâm in my 40s now, and I have never regretted the education I received, but Iâve seen a lot of young people skip college and face difficult careers in the equine industry because they were told that a degree was unnecessary. This is obviously not serving the industry well, at least in my opinion.
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The problem with this type of advice is that some people are not able to keep their head above water taking on so much outside of their learning time. Some people need their not in class hours time to study and do homework.
It is great that others are able to work three jobs, get great scholarships, etc.
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Exactly. Itâs the ROI on the degree itself thatâs the challenge.
Honestly⊠if someone has the aptitude to go to college and do a business degree, but wants to do their own horse business or other small business⊠do one of these entrepreneurship bachelor degree programs. They can then gain necessary accounting, finance, human resources, management and marketing knowledge.
I say this after having gotten an MBA⊠which is also general in nature. It gave me exposure to key concepts of contract law, accounting, financial management, project management, and business strategy. Though I a donât work outside the home at present, the general background knowledge is useful in many many basic life situations.
With that said⊠none of these courses are going to âteachâ someone not to rape children. Because thatâs a basic âDuh!â thing. But, the courses can, and do, cover repercussions for poor or unethical business practices. Specifically, when it comes to business law and marketing courses⊠you learn the importance of building a brand and reputation, and key ways contracts can become problematic. THAT aspect of a business degree program would indeed be useful for many many people in the horse industry. Also, learning how to analyze the industry, and think about your own place in the industry as a professional (what are your skill sets), and then put together an actual business plan? Well⊠it seems like that would help many folks be more successful.
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I am always interested to hear about good programs that do an excellent job of educating their students and placing them in solid career paths.
It is my experience that most schools that offer an âEquine Scienceâ degree donât do a great job of either the equine or the science. You canât really teach riding from beginner to a high level in four years, especially not without substantial investment in top coaches or really high quality horses, neither of which a general university is set up to do. Most of the schools offering this are not offering strong science departments either. And most of them are small, private, and expensive. The schools that are offering stronger sciences, usually teach a more general Animal Science, and give an Animal Science degree. They might dabble in horses and have some around but they donât advertise as training people for equestrian careers.
(Some examples of these would include Cal Poly, both Pomona and San Luis Obispo, which if you can get in, would certainly provide an excellent education. They are definitely more veterinary, reproduction, and nutrition oriented.)
I think your point is a good one, that there could be good college programs that weâd be excited to send people through, and I will think on it, and how and whether that would make more sense than suggesting people take a straight business or animal science degree. There used to be some horse-driven programs like the BHSAI certification program at Yorkshire Riding Centre, but I canât think of any that exist now. I think itâs hard to beat the combination of experience that youâd get in our current times from getting a more general degree and creating contacts and expectations there and then getting your horse experience working as someoneâs assistant.
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Iâve taught in different college programs, including equine studies programs. Hereâs my take - an equine studies program isnât going to prepare you for the equine business because they spend a lot of time teaching basics since many students come in with very little equine background. We had students who had never ridden a horse show up saying they were going to major in Equine Studies. Usually they weeded themselves out, but some continued. Are they now working in the business - no. Some equine studies programs have the current modalities to teach their students (MagnaWave, Theraplate, walkers, etc.) but the majority donât so those students have no idea of what the actual equine industry needs. No one wants to hire a person who has an outdated skill set - especially when it comes to dealing with high price horses. And students who graduate with an equine studies degree donât want to muck stalls and rub on horses even though thatâs the average skill set. Nothing wrong with being a groom - I think itâs the most underrated job in the industry, but when theyâve invested $200K the students think they are above that kind of job.
Students are better off taking business courses (or getting a business degree) and interning during school vacations with a top barn. That will get you practical knowledge along with the necessary business skills that a lot of trainers are missing.
Relating back to the topic, I always included ethics in my courses but I know that is not usual. A large majority of students I taught in an Equine Studies program had no idea what the actual equine industry is like and were gobsmacked to hear some of the stories I would tell. Usually scared a few away as wellâŠ
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Thatâs kind of horrifying⊠kids actually paying money to pursue a 4 year degree in âEquine Studiesâ at a private college, when they are total beginners when it comes to horses, and have no realistic reason to presume they will be successful as a professional in the horse industryâŠ
But⊠I got an education in general business and worked as a cost savings consultant for a while⊠and the ROI of spending $200,000 plus on that 4 year degree for that sort of young person?
That just breaks my brain.
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Blew my mind. Most of them ended up in the EAP (Equine Assisted Psychotherapy) focus, but almost none are pursuing it as a career. The most successful were the kids who came in with a strong horse background, be it showing or eventing or pony club or 4H, and even most of those are doing something else.
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Itâs kind of ironic that we are bemoaning the lack of ethics involved in the horse industry. Yet we are looking to more college education as a potential solutionâŠ
Frankly⊠there is an argument to be made that itâs unethical to sell a young person a 4 year degree, at a cost of ~ $200,000 in âequine studiesâ if they donât have much of a prayer at the end of that degree program of actually succeeding as a professional in that field.
But back to the topic at hand⊠I donât think a degree i an equine studies program would have prevented any number of folks, including Rich Fellers, from engaging in the behavior that landed them on the SafeSport list. Heck⊠we were just discussing Tom Navarro on the other thread⊠he actually TAUGHT an Intro to Equine Studies course at George Mason for a semester or two (according to his grandiose bio on his farm website). And heâs a sex offender and banned for life by SafeSport 
How the heck George Mason missed his criminal record when they hired him to teach that course is beyond meâŠ
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This has been my general opinion since I got into the business in the '80s. They think they are going to be the barn manager or the assistant trainer, coming out of school. One girl told me she should be the barn manager, because she had a degree (and proved it by always saying âdimethyl sulfoxideâ instead of DMSO) I asked her how many years she had been an assistant barn manager or groom? Could she drive the van? Tack on a shoe? Calculate how much feed to order? Hay? Shavings? Get the shop to repair the tractor in a timely manner? Remember to hang water buckets for the lesson horses because thatâs why there were screw eyes in the straight stalls? Apparently, none of those things were the duties of the barn manager.
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We had one of those some years back. After a little episode when a couple of the guys got in a fight at the house one evening and one of them had to be fired and given a bus ticket out of town, I said to her, âDid they cover that in your equine college courses?â Apparently they did not. Lol.
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About the same as vet students who have never touched a horse deciding to stream in equine. I live and board near a vet school, and have personally seen a few of these visiting the barn to literally be around a horse in person for the first time ever. I would have a hard time trusting an equine vet to diagnose lameness etc when they have never ridden, been around, watched horses for years. They might have book knowledge but thereâs no replacement for real-world experience.
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Wow! That sounds crazy. I should hope most of the âbe around a horseâ vet students are doing it because they have to take a large animal section and they picked horses (over pigs or cows or such), not that they are actually planning on making their career horses.
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One for sure was considering streaming into equine, so his friend (who was a horse person and boarded at the same barn as me) brought him out. He had never interacted with a horse ever in his life.
I can only hope he changed his mind lol! Also I have to assume that these poor people are completely unaware of how horses pick the worst times to do stupid things, and so you need to be committed to be an equine vet.
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Veterinary students are expected to acquire basic medicine and surgery competencies on all domestic species large or small, and can use their elective rotations to concentrate on an area of interest. The national licensing exam is not divided by species of interest.
You need to know everything from hamsters to dairy cows.
FWIW, I had a classmate in veterinary school who had never been around horses prior to that, who became interested in them. He had/has a good eye for lameness, and last time I saw him, he had a quite successful TB racehorse practice.
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Interesting info, thanks. I didnât even know there was a national licensing exam.
Iâve always imagined one of the biggest challenges of being a vet would be all the different species. Even in an office practice, one minute youâre diagnosing a dog, and the next minute someone might bring in a bird or iguana. Seems like all the organs and systems are completely different.
It is really disappointing to see the typical responses about equine programs, but not surprising.
Iâm not going to address all the posts, but I will say that a lot of people seem to have experience with only one program and/or people from a few programs and are then judging all programs by that impression. An experience of one does not represent all programs and their students.
Also, there is a lot of misinformation. A $200K tuition for an equine studies degree? That is not representative of all or even many programs.
If someone is willing to pay for a college education, they are welcome to it, no matter their level of experience, whether itâs equine science or veterinary science or computer science. A degree doesnât guarantee your employment after collegeâitâs up to the student to make sure they have the knowledge and experience for the job.
And maybe this topic doesnât have anything to do with Rich Fellers, but this thread does show how far behind the horse industry is with supporting a college or technical school education for professionals, as well as certification.
Anyone can hang up a shingle and be a âhorse trainerâ. That doesnât seem to be serving the industry very well. Sure, sexual assault and rape can happen even in academic and corporate backgrounds, but at least they have the organizational structure, regulation, and education being put in place to prevent this.
Other than Safe Sport, which much of the horse industry criticizes and debates, what else are we doing to improve the industry to avoid such unprofessional, unethical, immoral, and criminal behavior. Right now itâs kind of a free for all.
I may not have put all that in the best words, but I hope some of the group understand what Iâm trying to say.
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The exam is national, but various states may have differing requirements.
Back when I took what was then called âthe boardsâ, it was a two part affair with the board exam and then the CCTâClinical Competency Testâwhich was actually kind of fun. You were presented with a case scenario, and had to chose among alternative diagnostic and therapeutic options for managing it, so it wasnât exactly right/wrong, but how well you got to the diagnosis and treatment without going off down a bunch of side paths.
And in those days, individual states could set their minimum passing score on the exams where they wanted. These days, I donât think there is that option.
And then there was a state board âexamâ which was pretty straightforward.
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