If you want to ride and maybe own horses as an adult, figure out the best paying field that fits your abilities, and get good enough at it that you can eventually set your own hours, working conditions, and geographical location to some extent. That way you could, for instance, live in a good “horsey” region, have mornings free to ride while you work afternoon/evenings, and be able to afford it all (horse plus lessons and training as needed). And choose something that is not physically demanding, so you get to the barn full of energy!
Computer work sounds like it would be absolutely perfect. Probably none of us here can advise you as well as some chronicle of the computer programmer forum which I’m sure is out there somewhere.
From the outside, because keeping horses costs so much money, it might seem like it would be a lucrative sector to work in. But actually, it isn’t. Horses are primarily a hobby, the basic ongoing costs are high, and when people lose their jobs they sell their horses. Because the basic costs are so high, most horse owners budget to some extent, hence the huge market in second-hand tack. Plus it’s a small market, shrinking in many places, mostly women. Plus it’s part of the agricultural sector, and jobs in ag tend to pay less than human sectors. Plus because it’s a hobby, and an obsession, a lot of people in the horse field either undervalue their labor, or work for free or barter.
Of course the bigger corporate equestrian brands (Ariat, Purina, etc) run full-scale corporate offices like any other footwear company or food conglomerate, and hire the same kinds of computer and web specialists, salespeople, product designers, etc. You can look on their websites to see what career openings they have.
But I think every field that deals with animals is smaller and less lucrative than the same field dealing with humans. Being a vet is a good job, and takes as many years in school as becoming an MD, but still is usually not as lucrative as being a human doctor. Around here, anyhow, being a vet tech is a low-paid entry-level job, nowhere near as well paid or as secure as being a registered nurse for humans. Equine research is underfunded and thin (as you’ll find if you ever try to look up a topic on horse health) compared to human research. And I"m sure even the very successful Ariat company sells far fewer shoes than Nike or Reebok!
