01/16/2022
Here's a horse business public service announcement. (Borrowed from a friend but worth the read)
Let me preface this by saying the main topic of discussion among horse professionals these days is a complete lack of qualified help. We're fully staffed, with a good staff (and if you try to poach them, I'll hurt you. I'm kidding. Maybe.) but it's been the most challenging year ever to maintain that. So many trainers -- some of the most recognizable names out there -- are challenged more than ever to be fully staffed. And the revolving door it takes to get to the "right" people is incredible.
Which brings me to my public service announcement:
Horse professionals never have extra time and usually not a fantastic amount of extra money. Hiring people that interview enthusiastically only to have them not work out because they didn't think the job through is worse than not hiring anyone at all. So if you're considering a job in the horse industry, let me educate you on a few things that might save you and your future employer some frustration.
First, if you want a job with specific hours and regular time off, the horse business isn't the career for you. If you show up on your first day or first week with a long list of days and weekends you need off, don't waste our time or yours. It doesn't work that way. If you can't handle working insanely long days seven days a week during the busy show season, you will hate this job.
If you can watch hard working people work hard while you work at half their speed, or if you hide on a remote part of the facility to get out of work, you're team mates will not respect you in a nanosecond. And they will know. Once you've lost the respect, it's hard to get it back. And if employers keep slackers around, it's the most demoralizing thing for good employees. You won't last.
If you don't think you "signed up" to clean stalls or wash boots or other necessities to keeping horses healthy and sound, here's a news flash for you: actually, you did sign up for just that. It was part of the job description you applied for. What you don't do or don't do conscientiously, someone else with a full plate of responsibilities has to do instead. Not cool. The most successful trainers you can think of cleaned stalls far longer into their career than you can imagine. Cleaning stalls builds character and those who think they are above stall cleaning need character building most of all.
If blistered hands, blistered butts, illnesses that don't require hospitalization, or mental anguish because it's the anniversary of your pet's death 3 years ago keep you from working at 100 percent, start exploring other careers. Livestock always need to be cared for and shows don't stop because you're tired and sore. Clients have made tremendous investments in getting their horse to that show, and not having it properly prepared because you're not physically or mentally 100 percent isn't how this game works. This is a game of suck it up buttercup. It's about sacrifice. I know trainers who were so sick they've gone in to the emergency room for IV fluids between classes and come back for their set and won it all. It takes grit and strength. If you want to be in this industry, you better be prepared to have that type of commitment.
If you think everyone and everything has to be perfect in order for you to be happy, not only is the horse business not for you, but neither is any other industry where you have coworkers or customers. Sometimes you don't get along with everyone you work with because not all personalities mesh. Put on your adult pants and realize that that is life. You're probably not their favorite person either. You don't have to be friends with the people you work with. But as long as they are doing their job and you are doing yours, and no one is being inappropriate, trust me, your boss doesn't want to hear about how that person bugs the hell out of you by simply existing. The same goes for clients. You might not like each and everyone that walks through the barn but you better respect that it is because of them that the business exists and be a part of providing the cheerful excellent customer service they deserve.
Here's another earth shocking reality: your horse job is not just about riding horses. There's ranch maintenance that has to be done and sometimes that means all hands are on deck tackling a big project. Like filling stalls. Or building/repairing fence. Or reorganizing the tack room. Or cleaning tack. Also interruptions happen. If a semi of hay arrives and everyone else is at show, unloading it is part of your job. If you're attitude tanks on the days your riding is interrupted in big or small ways, you have a utopian view of what it's like to be in the horse business and should probably find something more predictable.
If you aren't willing to care for the animals in your care in all types of elements and put their needs before yours, please don't apply.
If you aren't willing to take direction and accommodate a program's style -- and they are all different -- you will last about 5 minutes. The same goes if you think you know it all. The most successful accomplished trainers I know are great because they continue to learn from others throughout their entire career.
At the end of the day, there's a major difference between liking horses and being a horseman.
Horsemen make sure horses are fed and watered and blanketed and doctored before they are.
Horsemen make sure very single wet spot is cleaned out of every single stall instead of just putting shavings on top of wet. Because they realize that clean stalls keep horses healthy, and that's critically important.
Horsemen never forget a medicine dose administration, to skip wrapping a horse, to miss doctoring an injury or administering a therapeutic.
Horsemen don't quit when their body is wore out. They quit when all the work is done, when the last horse is cared for, when the last client has shown.
Horsemen recognize that all horses are individuals and treat them as such. They train different according to each's unique needs. They don't just trot circles to warm them up, they feel the horse, get to know the horse, and take pride in tailoring their preparing them exactly as that particular horse requires.
Equally important is that horsemen respect their team, their clients and their peers in the same way they respect their horses. They have too much pride to watch another work or pull more than their fair share.
Being successful in the horse business isn't about perfection. We're not perfect. No one is perfect. It is, however, about excellence. Approaching every task, every human or equine interaction, every event with a commitment to showing up in excellence. And that starts with your very first horse job. If you can't commit to doing that, then the best thing to realize is that as much as you might like horses, it should be your hobby not your career. No one is entitled to taking a shortcut to the top. There are no shortcuts at any stage of this game.
This career is not for everyone, and that's ok. No career is. That's what makes the world go round. But before you apply for that horse position, think through if you're ready for the lifestyle and to be a horseman, not just a job.
Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.
