Gap year experience with horses abroad or in England

[ginorwine]

Dd was about to go to uni this year after being at a focussed academic type of school
Has ridden since she was 4
Helped in dressage stable - riding , prep shows , mucking out . Given chance to compete and support to do so but hated the pressure preferring to be with horses doing the training aspect / v patient and good with her hands .had been doing much re hab work with a stable who said she had v good attributes for re hab eg she is good at working with horses who have developed a fault in behevour or position and for eg works gently and firmly with them
She recently chose to give up riding due to intense school commitments as she needs grade a and b for uni and misses it a lot .
She wanted to be equine physio but her strength is not science .
She said y day that she feels she has had not time to thknk about what she really wants to do and she feels the school have pushed her , like the others ,In 6 th form to apply for and go to uni . It's not that she has cold feet about leaving home . She is v keen to do so and goes Thailand in the summer .
She is now thinking of a gap year and wants to work with horses in a different city or abroad to thknk about things and do what she truly loves .
The only reason she didn't choose career in horses were we are not a monied family and she thought there wd be long hours and low pay .
She was concerned about doing an equine degree for the same reason . ..in that there may be limited opportunity when graduated . So she thought about a criminology degree / police .
Please could anyone advise re opportunities -links to good organisations for gap year opportunities or jobs ?even courses or degrees - my gut is she will want to do it at uni - I do think school have influenced...
any thoughts or advice desperately welcome
Thanks

Not a university but would something like this fit the bill? Dd goes there for holidays and would love to spend a year there before she goes to university.

A criminology degree would be a complete waste of time imo - and she's too young to go into the police force now anyway. If she wants to go down that route, any degree followed by a stint as a special constable or PCSO seems to be the preferred path at the moment.

I think she's right. I worked with horses when I left school, did my AI then went to Italy for a year working on a mixed yard - some teaching, some youngsters and some eventing. It was superb and I look back on it as one of the best years of my life, even 28 years on! I also discovered a reasonable talent for languages, came home, did A levels (partly at night school, partly while au pairing in Paris for a year) and went on to do a language degree. I think going to uni a few years more mature was good for me too.

Just make sure that you find a decent yard or have a back up to come home if not good. PGL or some form of camp America may be good?

Honey
Please could you telll me how you found out about the stables and how did you know it was good conditions i.e. The horses and for humans ..!
How did you judge it befure you got there ?

I think most people find places through contacts - trainers who know people in dressage yards in Germany for example. I have met people who worked on ranches in the US where tourists go 'cowboy' riding. Many places abroad do not have the same caring attitude to horses that we do, so she needs to be aware of this.

Does she know anyone from her previous places who have contacts - if you know equine vets they could point her in the direction of a rehabilitation yard in the UK.

hi I rejoined so I could answer!
my daughter is presently at Wellington Riding as an apprentice, and she has been there for a year.
She gets free accommodation and a proper apprentice wage, (and reduced rate livery).
She is only 18 and for this age , doing really well, I think.
She is not academic at all .
She loves going shopping and having her own money and not living with me...:):)

You can go for a look round when you visit for the interview.
I was quite impressed, having worked with horses myself.

She was at another famous stables in Gloucestershire for a few months that shall remain nameless, but they were not paying their apprentices. The teaching was good though.

We definitely are not ,monied' and I am so happy that she is supporting herself, and she loves it there.

She has already passed her stage 2, and is booked to do stage 3 in May.

Thanks both
Good point about possible different treatment abroad - she would struggle with that especially as she has intrest in rehab and would find potential harm physically or otherwise difficult
Re the yard in England - that sounds fantastic - and thanks for jointing to answer -!
My dd was going to thknk about workaway until she realised dovt pay - she gets satisfaction and esteem by earning own money .

I was lucky in how I found the yard abroad. I'd just finished my BHSAI at a college and the Italian yard owners contacted the college looking for two instructors. They'd always had girls from that college and were friends of one of the instructors.

Agree that contacts are the best place to find work. I also used to find summer jobs on the Yard and Groom website which is still pretty good.

The other thing for her to consider instead of getting one job for the whole year is to follow the tourism season over a few jobs. A couple of people I worked with in Ireland (great shout, no language barriers and such a horsey culture) were doing this, one German and one from NZ. They basically worked their way across the world and I was very jealous!

hi sorry I meant to add - maybe your daughter could take a year out working with horses and then do her degree.
I remember working with a girl who was taking a year out of her psychology degree to do this, then later she did an MSc in Equine Science and is doing very well.