Experience with Horses

Outline your experience with horses here/the scope of your freelance services. If you’re looking for a non-equine or non- yard-based job please use this space to describe your experience skills/abilities and adapt the questions to suit your line of work.

I grew up with horses, and spend a lot of my time with them, so I have a good knowledge of their behaviour. I am also taking an online course on their behaviour and how to train them. My dream is to open my own yard and train horses, however, at the moment I am looking for jobs that can give me as much experience with horses as possible. I have also been riding since I could walk, and last year (2022) I went to work at a dressage yard in Hereford, United Kingdom where I had daily dressage riding lessons for 6 months. I was told that I show a lot of potential and I would love to learn even more about dressage and improve my riding even further. I also mucked out stables every morning, fed the horses, filled hay nets, dressed horses for turnout, turned horses out, took horses to and from the walker, tacked horses up for myself and my employer, prepared the feed for the respective horses, skipped out stables and cleaned the drinkers and kept the yard clean and tidy. I also went to a few shows and acted as a dressage groom for my employers. I learned a lot from that yard, and wish to work at another yard again to further my experience. I have a real passion for horses and am at my happiest when I can be working with them.

 

Key Skills

What are you particularly good at? For example: working alone, working with others, clipping, plaiting, turning out for shows, handling stallions, handling/riding young horses, non-equine skills etc

I am good at working alone as well as in a team. At my previous job on a dressage yard, I had no problem delegating the new employees as well as taking orders from my seniors. We worked well as a team. I have been shown how to clip and plait, however I need more practise. I am good at handling horses, however I have not handled that many stallions.

 

Strengths and Weaknesses

• What do you most enjoy about working with horses?

I love horses so much, they have this amazing way of improving my mood. I enjoy spending time with them and love when I teach them something and they start to show improvement. It is incredibly rewarding to me to work with them and see them making even the smallest improvements. To win the trust of a horse is the best thing in the world. I have learned early on that every horse is different and some take longer to show improvement, but to focus on the little break throughs is also very rewarding, because they do try and most of the time when they don’t do something you ask for, it is because they don’t understand and you have to be more clear. Once I figure out how to ask them in a different and more clear way and they do what I ask, it is amazing.

• Is there anything you’d like to improve?

There is always room for improvement when it comes to working with horses. I still have a long way to go to be the horse trainer that I want to become. I understand their behaviour quite well, however there is a lot more that I need to learn. I am also working to be more patient and I was told that I need to be more assertive with them.

• Why should employers consider you above any other job seeker?

I am a perfectionist, hard-working, patient, responsible, innovative, and able to work well under pressure. I am also very adaptable and a quick learner as I grew up on a farm near a small town and recently went to work in the UK for a big dressage yard. I have never worked at a yard before, however, I learned quickly and within less than a month I became a mentor to new employees, teaching them everything about the yard and the horses. The head girls also frequently approached me to help them in making decisions regarding the yard. I also am extremely passionate about horses and am very enthusiastic to learn as much as I can about them.

Requirements

• What would you like to do or gain in your next job?

I would like to gain even more experience with horses and learn as much as I can from them to help me with my dream of becoming a horse trainer. I would also like to be able to ride or, if possible, have more riding lessons to improve my riding.

• Do you need accommodation?

Yes, I am from South Africa and need a live-in job.

• Do you have any special requirements for any animals you wish to bring with you?

No I do not have any animals that I want to bring with.

• Do you have any ongoing commitments?

I have no commitments.

• Do you have any holidays booked that an employer needs to know of?

I have a holiday booked at the end of June where I am going to travel in Namibia with my parents.